The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from October 3, 1952, to April 23, 1966, and starred the real-life Nelson family.

[2] In the early 1930s, a booking at the Glen Island Casino in New Rochelle, New York, gained national network radio exposure for Ozzie Nelson's orchestra.

The couple married on October 8, 1935, during this series run, and realized working together in radio would keep them together more than continuing their musical careers separately.

When Red Skelton was drafted in March 1944, Ozzie Nelson was prompted to create his own family situation comedy.

[4] The Nelsons' sons, David and Ricky, did not join the cast until the radio show's fifth year (initially appearing on the February 20, 1949, episode, at ages 12 and 8, respectively).

Other cast members included John Brown as Syd "Thorny" Thornberry, Lurene Tuttle as Harriet's mother, Bea Benaderet as Gloria, Janet Waldo as Emmy Lou, and Francis "Dink" Trout as Roger.

The success of Here Come the Nelsons convinced him that Ozzie & Harriet's future was on the small screen, while continuing their weekly radio show.

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet premiered on ABC on October 10, 1952, staying until April 23, 1966; in 1962, it became the first prime-time scripted series on American television to reach the 10-year milestone.

This finally accounted for the small-town atmosphere of the series whereby, like the other main sitcom families of the era (the Andersons and the Cleavers), the Nelson home seemed to be within walking distance of the town center.

Like its radio predecessor (which finally ended in 1954), the series focused mainly on the Nelson family at home, dealing with everyday problems.

When the real David and Rick married June Blair and Kristin Harmon, respectively, their wives joined the cast of Ozzie and Harriet and the marriages were written into the series.

That year, Ozzie tried to recapture the series' early success by introducing nine-year-old Joel Davison and other young children to relate to younger families.

Ozzie realized the impact his musically gifted son could have on the series, and went on to write storylines featuring Rick singing.

Additionally, Ozzie & Harriet Enterprises and the Rick Nelson Company LLC currently hold copyright and ownership for any new material derived from the film elements.

Episodes of the television series have been screened at the non-profit Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention held annually in Aberdeen, Maryland.

Author Jim Cox addressed the radio program's cultural significance in an article that appeared in SPERDVAC's Radiogram in early 2008.

In September 1972, six years after the show ended, NBC aired a pilot episode for a revival of the Ozzie and Harriet storyline.

In the episode, Ozzie and Harriet rent the boys' old room to two college students, portrayed by Susan Sennett and Brenda Sykes, after David and Ricky move out.

Rick and the Band wrote the song in response to having been booed off the stage at a rock and roll revival concert at Madison Square Garden after having refused to play his old hits.

While touring the United States, en route to a New Year's Eve concert in Dallas, Rick Nelson was killed in a plane accident on December 31, 1985, in DeKalb in Bowie County in northeast Texas.

[15] Ozzie, Harriet, and Rick are interred together at Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery, in Los Angeles, California.

Although it was never a top-ten hit, Nelson's long-term contract with ABC and the lower expectations that came with being on the lowest-rated of the Big Three television networks at the time ensured that the show accrued enough episodes to remain the longest-running live-action sitcom in United States television history until It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia was renewed for a 15th season in 2021,[16][1] while also still maintaining the record for most number of episodes aired to the present day for any live-action American sitcom.