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Here’s a promotional spot ABC’s The Paul Lynde Show, which premiered in September 1972 and ran for a single season of 26 episodes. The sitcom was scheduled opposite The Carol Burnett Show and Adam-12, both of which ended the season in the Top 30.
This was seen through January 1973. Probable live announcer tag at :25- “Wednesday at 8, 7 Central Time, on ABC.”
Only 10 years later than expected….the full story of this dates that far back.
Originally a failed Broadway play titled “Howie” by Phoebe Ephron (wife of Herny, mother of Nora and Delis), a series pilot was made with Will Hutchins as the title character (a misfit genius) and Lynde as his aggreved father in law, it was picked up by CBS for the 1962-63 season–until Sheldon Leonard’s efforts got THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW back on the schedule
(ironically, this version was produced by Peter Lawford’s Chrislaw Productions, who also did another unsold pilot–HEAD OF THE FAMILY, which became THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW without Lawford–the new take was by William Asher and his Ashmont Productions–“Mont” being for his then wife Elizabeth Montgomery)
This must have been one of the few shows that was still making 26 episodes per season. BEWITCHED, which this show replaced in a way, being in its previous fall 1971 timeslot and its production by the same company, also had 26 episodes in its last season, but by this time networks were cutting back to 24 and even 22 episode seasons for most of their scripted shows.
Asher & Montgomery had a year left on their contract for BEWITCHED and gave ABC this program as a replacement.