“The Donna Reed Show” continued to air for decades after the show initially ended in 1966 after being bought by different TV networks. The show was last owned by Sony in 2008 before losing it back to the estates of Donna Reed and Tony Owen. Two of its most successful re-airings are from 1985 to 1999 on Nick at Nite and from 2002 to 2004 on TV Land.
The show was also released on DVD by Virgil Films and Entertainment (under the license from the estates of Donna Reed and Tony Owen). Its Season 3 was most currently re-released on June 30, 2015, on DVD by MPI Home Video. Nowadays, it isn’t seen on TV because of the high cost to air it.
The Reunion That Never Took Place
Many years after the show ended, Donna Reed had an idea for another show that would be a reunion for all her former cast members of “The Donna Reed Show”. Unfortunately, Carl Betz passed away in 1978 before the reunion could materialize. Reed and the rest of the cast members agreed to not go forward with the plan.
Carl Betz was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1977. Unfortunately, by the time he was diagnosed, it was too far gone. He kept the tragic news to himself and continued working without sharing his medical condition with anyone else. Months later he was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles where he would spend seven weeks before dying on January 18, 1978.
Celebrity Guests
Most popular TV shows at that time had a tradition of starring numerous famous celebrities to make surprise appearances. “The Donna Reed Show” was no exception. They had a long list of guest stars, the most popular being: Willie Mays, Dony Drysdale, musician Harry James, and singers Tony Martin and Lesley Gore.
Many of these guests often appeared as themselves while other stars had several reappearances on the show. Among them were Jimmy Hawkins (9 episodes), Candy Moore (7 episodes), Lindsay Workman (7 episodes), Charles Herbert (4 episodes), James Stacy (4 episodes), Kathleen Freeman (4 episodes), Don Drysdale (4 episodes) and Jan Stine (4 episodes).
Eye on the Prize
“The Donne Reed Show” became part of one of the most unique cereal box giveaways ever in history, when General Mills offered a DVD of two episodes inside boxes of Total Cereal and Oatmeal Crisp in 2004. It was a pretty successful campaign that was successful in reviving the public’s interest in the show.
Fans were especially happy about the giveaway since “The Donna Reed Show” has stopped airing on any major TV networks. It also became a must-have collectible for die-hard fans of the show. Although it was much more costly than other cereal box giveaways, the people behind the idea were certainly satisfied with the positive reception.
All Good Things Come to an End
The original airing of “The Donna Reed Show” lasted until 1966 for a total of 8 years and 275 episodes. The show’s star, Donna Reed, eventually grew tired of the show and the fact that she had to work every day. She has also reported to complain about how the show has taken up most of her time, leaving very little for her personal life.
Unfortunately, the TV series was still very popular at that time when Donna Reed decided to step away from it and not renew her contract. Many of its fans were disappointed and sad with her decision.