Aired: 1955
Syndicated
DAD: Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve (Willard Waterman) / Single 
DAD’S JOB: Water Commissioner of Summerfield
KID: Marjorie Forrester(Stephanie Griffith), Leroy Forrester(Ronald Keith) / Niece & Nephew
WHERE’S MOM?: Dead. So’s Dad.
STAND-IN “MOM”: Birdie Lee Coggins (Lillian Randolph) / Housekeeper
Technically, this show started before WWII — but it was a *radio* show when it began in 1941. Gildersleeve was a spin-off character of the Fibber McGee & Molly radio show, and was originally portrayed by Harold Peary. The premise of the spin-off was that Gildersleeve’s niece and nephew were orphaned, and needed their Uncle Throckmorton to move to Summerfield.
In the early 50’s, Peary was replaced by Waterman in the title role. The series moved to television mid-decade, but suffered from being mostly radio scripts with insufficient on-screen action. Waterman later re-created the role for solo appearances on The Lucy Show.
Big tip of the Porter Ricks Memorial Scuba Mask to Alert Viewer Gwnachman for the heads-up on this series. Thanks!