The Bill Dana Show

The Bill Dana Show is an American comedy series starring Bill Dana and Jonathan Harris that aired on NBC from September 22, 1963 to January 17, 1965. The plot follows the daily lifestyle of Latin American José Jiménez, as a bellhop in a New York City hotel.

The Bill Dana Show
Dana as José Jiménez, 1964.
Genre	Comedy
Created by	Danny Thomas
Written by	Jack Elinson Charles Stewart Garry Marshall Jerry Belson Ray Singer Dick Chevillat Howard Ostroff
Directed by	Sheldon Leonard Coby Ruskin Danny Thomas Stanley Z. Cherry Al Lewis Theodore J. Flicker Howard Morris Jerry Paris Jay Sandrich
Starring	Bill Dana Jonathan Harris Gary Crosby (1963-'64) Maggie Peterson (1964-'65) Don Adams
Theme music composer	Earle Hagen
Opening theme	"Jose's Theme"
Composer	Irving Szathmary
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	42
Production
Executive producer	Sheldon Leonard
Producers	Howard Leeds (season 1) Jack Elinson (season 2)
Production location	Desilu Studios
Running time	24 mins.
Production company	Amigo Productions
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	September 22, 1963 (1963-09-22) – January 17, 1965 (1965-01-17)
Related
Make Room for Daddy

Bill Dana and Maggie Peterson (1964)

The series was a spin-off from Make Room for Daddy, which showed the character of José as an elevator operator before he became a bellhop.

Synopsis

The hotel was practically José's entire world; he lived in special bachelor headquarters provided for hotel employees, ate in the hotel kitchen, and had social contact only with employees and guests of the hotel. In his goodhearted naivete, he saw only the good in the people around him. His biggest problems were his fellow bellhop Eddie (Gary Crosby), who was constantly trying to get José to wise up; the less-than-understanding hotel manager Mr. Phillips (Jonathan Harris, who would soon play Dr. Smith on Lost in Space) and the bumbling hotel detective Byron Glick (Don Adams, in a predecessor to the character he would play on Get Smart). In the second season, Maggie Peterson played Susie, a waitress in the hotel's coffee shop.

Walter Mitty-like dream sequences were occasionally used to extricate José from the hotel environment.

Dana did a cameo as José Jiménez on an episode of Batman. He introduces himself to Batman and Robin by saying "My name- José Jiménez". This episode was titled "The Yegg Foes in Gotham" and originally aired on ABC on October 20, 1966. It was the last time Dana played José Jiménez on network television, though he still occasionally performed the role on records and on stage.

Bill Dana was a close friend and collaborator of Don Adams. It was Dana who helped Adams develop his William Powell impression into a character. Dana further brought Adams onto The Bill Dana Show in virtually the same character he would later play on Get Smart. The "Would You Believe" routine, which Dana created, was seen first on Dana's series, though Dana never received credit nor compensation for creating Get Smart with Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, another perfomer whom Dana brought to television on The Steve Allen Show.

The Disney Channel series The Suite Life of Zack and Cody also featured a haughty hotel manager and a more comical Hispanic bellman.

Series run

The series, sponsored by Procter & Gamble, premiered on September 22, 1963 and ran for a season-and-a-half, before its run ended on January 17, 1965 (the following week, it was replaced by Branded).

Awards

The Bill Dana Show received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Comedy at the 16th Primetime Emmy Awards in 1964.

Episode list

Season 1 (1963–64)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	1	"You Got to Have Heart"	Sheldon Leonard	Howard Leeds	September 22, 1963 (1963-09-22)
2	2	"The Hypnotist"	Sheldon Leonard	Jack Elinson & Charles Stewart	September 29, 1963 (1963-09-29)
3	3	"Jose, the Playboy"	Sheldon Leonard	Don Hinkley	October 6, 1963 (1963-10-06)
4	4	"Jose, the Opera Singer"	Jerry Paris	Unknown	October 13, 1963 (1963-10-13)
5	5	"Jose, the Stockholder"	Coby Ruskin	Sheldon Keller & Howard Merrill	October 27, 1963 (1963-10-27)
6	6	"The Bank Hold-Up"	Coby Ruskin	Don Hinkley	November 3, 1963 (1963-11-03)
7	7	"Honeymoon Suite"	Jerry Paris	Don Hinkley	November 10, 1963 (1963-11-10)
8	8	"Jose, the Agent"	Seymour Robbie	Sam Locke & Joel Rapp	November 17, 1963 (1963-11-17)
9	9	"The Poker Game"	Unknown	Don Hinkley	December 1, 1963 (1963-12-01)
10	10	"Mr. Phillips' Watch"	Coby Ruskin	Bill Dana & Howard Leeds	December 8, 1963 (1963-12-08)
11	11	"Beauty and the Baby"	Unknown	Unknown	December 29, 1963 (1963-12-29)
12	12	"Jose and The Brat"	Jerry Paris	Don Hinkley	January 5, 1964 (1964-01-05)
13	13	"Jose's Dream Girl"	Unknown	Don Hinkley	January 12, 1964 (1964-01-12)
14	14	"A Tip for Uncle Sam"	Howard Morris	Jack Elinson & Charles Stewart	January 19, 1964 (1964-01-19)
15	15	"The Masquerade Party"	Unknown	Unknown	January 26, 1964 (1964-01-26)
16	16	"Jose's Four Amigos"	Coby Ruskin	Unknown	February 2, 1964 (1964-02-02)
17	17	"Eddie Gets Fired"	Coby Ruskin	Unknown	February 9, 1964 (1964-02-09)
18	18	"Speak for Yourself, Jose"	Coby Ruskin	Jerry Belson & Garry Marshall	February 16, 1964 (1964-02-16)
19	19	"Jose, the Manager"	Coby Ruskin	Jack Elinson & Charles Stewart	February 23, 1964 (1964-02-23)
20	20	"The Party in Suite 15"	Unknown	Unknown	March 1, 1964 (1964-03-01)
21	21	"Jose, the Matchmaker"	Unknown	Dick Chevillat & Ray Singer	March 15, 1964 (1964-03-15)
22	22	"Jose's Hot Dog Caper"	Coby Ruskin	Seaman Jacobs & Ed James	March 22, 1964 (1964-03-22)
23	23	"The Hiring of Jose"	Coby Ruskin	Unknown	April 5, 1964 (1964-04-05)
24	24	"The Astronaut"	Coby Ruskin	Irving Elinson & Fred S. Fox	April 12, 1964 (1964-04-12)
25	25	"Master of Disguise"	Coby Ruskin	Bill Persky & Sam Denoff	April 19, 1964 (1964-04-19)
26	26	"Jose Resigns"	Howard Morris	Unknown	April 26, 1964 (1964-04-26)

Season 2 (1964-65)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
27	1	"Blood from Two Turnips"	Sheldon Leonard	Dick Chevillat & Ray Singer	September 20, 1964
28	2	"Danny Thomas, I Love You"	Danny Thomas	Jerry Belson & Garry Marshall	September 27, 1964
29	3	"Laughing Gas"	Coby Ruskin	Don Hinkley	October 4, 1964
30	4	"The Essay"	Stanley Z. Cherry	TBA	October 11, 1964
31	5	"What Elephant?"	Sheldon Leonard	Bill Dana	October 25, 1964
32	6	"Jose on the Ledge"	Stanley Z. Cherry	Don Hinkley	November 1, 1964
33	7	"Jose, the Flower Thief"	Al Lewis	Don Hinkley	November 8, 1964
34	8	"Jose's Inheritance"	Theodore J. Flicker	Martin Ragaway	November 15, 1964
35	9	"The Suggestion Box"	Howard Morris	TBA	November 22, 1964
36	10	"We'll Get You for This"	Theodore J. Flicker	Dick Chevillat & Ray Singer	December 6, 1964
37	11	"Phillips, the Lover"	Theodore J. Flicker	Howard Ostroff	December 13, 1964
38	12	"Tonsils for Two"	Jerry Paris	TBA	December 20, 1964
39	13	"Glick, the Strongman"	Jerry Paris	TBA	December 27, 1964
40	14	"Beauty and the Bellhop"	Jay Sandrich	TBA	January 3, 1965
41	15	"Jose, the Old Man"	Jerry Paris	TBA	January 10, 1965
42	16	"The Court Jester"	Jay Sandrich	Don Hinkley	January 17, 1965

See also

• 16th Primetime Emmy Awards

External links

• The Bill Dana Show at IMDb