Although Friday night has evolved into a network TV wasteland, there was a time when it featured some of my favorite shows: Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Twilight Zone, The Avengers, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and...Love, American Style. To be sure, Love, American Style pales in comparison to the aforementioned Friday night classics. I recently viewed some episodes from season 1 and concluded that the series was more hit-and-miss than I remembered. Still, it was--and is--a pleasant show with some great guest stars, a catchy title tune, and a playful sense of humor.
Love, American Style offered a unique TV series format when it debuted on ABC in 1969. It was an one-hour comedy anothology complete with laugh track. Each epsiode featured three "playlets" connected by "blackout skits" (lasting but a few seconds). The playlets were always titled "Love and the (fill in the blank)" and featured that week's guest stars. The casting call for Love, American Style was certainly eclectic and included: Tony Randall, Dorothy Lamour, Julie Newmar, Milton Berle, Burt Reynolds, Sue Lyon, Tom Smothers, Regis Philbin, Christopher George, and others. Many guest stars appeared in multiple episodes (e.g., Stefanie Powers did five).
One of the best segments from season 1 is "Love and the Big Night," which stars Tony Randall as a married businessman who escorts his 
voluptuous secretary (Julie Newmar) to her apartment after a late night at the office. Eager to get home to his wife, Randall hurriedly tries to open a stubborn jar of mayonaisse and winds up covered with mayo. Newmar cleans his suit, but while it's drying...it's stolen. After a series of amusing mishaps, Randall finally gets back to his own apartment and creeps into bed with his wife--only to find out she's not there. It's a clever episode performed with flair by the two stars and includes a satisfying resolution between Randall and spouse.The most famous segment of Love, American Style was "Love and the Happy Days," which chronicled a couple of teenage friends (Ron Howard and Anson Williams) in the 1950s. The segment was originally produced as a TV pilot, but didn't sell. After it was featured on Love, American Style, ABC expressed an interest in it and the TV hit series Happy Days was born. (It helped that George Lucas's American Graffiti was released around the same time, popularizing teenage nostalgia.)
I suspect many of Love's fans still harbor a special fondness for the blackout skits. These short bits were performed by the series' only regulars: Stuart Margolin (brother of producer Arnold Margolin), James Hampton (F Troop), Phyllis Davis, and others. Many of the blackout skits were silent visual gags, but sometimes they depended on a single line. For example, in the photo shown to the right, the woman states simply: "A penny for your thoughts, Lamar."
The perky theme song was performed by The Cowsills (the real-life Patridge Family) during the first season. Although never released as a single in the U.S., the recording is still included on the Best of the Cowsills album.
Love, American Style ran for four-and-half seasons in both hour and half-hour versions. ABC launched a daytime revival in 1986 called The New Love, American Style, but it was cancelled quickly. However, Aaron Spelling borrowed much of the premise--but interwove the playlets--when he created the long-running hit The Love Boat in 1977.
