Father Knows Best
Bud Takes Up the Dance
Season 1, Episode 1 · Aired 1954-10-03
Synopsis
Jim and Betty help Bud learn to dance so he can go to the school dance with a girl.
Pilot desk note
From the desk: Father Knows Best opens its catalog run with “Bud Takes Up the Dance” (1954-10-03). Codified domestic sitcom hierarchy — and gave later satire a perfect target. Behind the warmth: the usual Hollywood tension between image and private lives.
In the series
This episode is part of Father Knows Best (1954–1960) on CBS/NBC.
The polished patriarch sitcom that sold middle-class calm as destiny.
Key cast
- Robert Young as Jim Anderson
- Jane Wyatt as Margaret Anderson
- Elinor Donahue as Betty Anderson
- Billy Gray as Bud Anderson
- Lauren Chapin as Kathy Anderson