Back in the time when “The Donna Reed Show” was televised, it was common practice for TV show casting agents to bring back actors to play other roles. That way they had a handful of actors at their disposal to play usually insignificant roles that the audience would probably not even notice. (Well, except for a few die-hard fans with a keen eye.)
“The Donna Reed Show” had its fair share of actors who appeared more than once, playing different roles throughout the show, these include Jimmy Hawkins, Richard Deacon, Gale Gordon, Miyoshi Umeki, Harvey Korman, Doodles Weaver, and Dick Wilson.
The Gilmore Girls Watch The Donna Read Show
Another testament to the popularity of "The Donna Reed Show’" is the fact that it's still referenced in pop culture. For instance, it was featured in the title of an episode of "Gilmore Girls," an American comedy-drama TV series. The 14th episode of its first Season was entitled “That Damn Donna Reed.”
It featured a story in which Rory and Dean disagreed about their views on a woman’s role in the household while watching an episode of the "Donna Reed Show." Iconic! Similar to "The Donna Reed Show," "Gilmore Girls" had non-stereotypical female leads, and has generated praise for its witty dialogue, cross-generational appeal, and effective mix of humor and drama.
Hollywood Pays Homage
"The Donna Reed Show" became an inspiration for many more TV shows and movies years after it went off-air. While the series went off the air in the mid-sixties, the influence of "The Donna Reed Show" was prominently seen three decades later in the 1998 American fantasy-comedy-drama “Pleasantville”.
The critically acclaimed film starred Tobey Maguire, who came to be more famously known for his role as Peter Parker and Spiderman in the first Spiderman movie trilogy. This movie borrowed heavily from black and white sitcoms, mainly the core idea of a nuclear family famously seen on "The Donna Reed Show".
Esther Williams and Donna Reed
"The Donna Reed Show" has not only opened the doors for the success of Donna Reed’s career. Another actress whose career took off because of this show is none other than Donna Reed’s friend, Esther Williams. She and Donna Reed had been friends since the 1940s and they both started their Hollywood careers at around the same time.
They were also both signed to MGM and were considered two of the best rising stars of that time. Esther Williams was an American competitive swimmer before she became an actress. She was doing very well in her sport, as she had set multiple national and regional swimming records in her late teens as part of the Los Angeles Athletic Club swimming team.
Writer's Block
"The Donna Reed Show" was always praised for its fresh new take on the family-themed sitcom genre, constantly pushing the envelope and introducing unpopular opinions in its plots and characters, which greatly contributed to its success. This can be attributed to Donna Reed herself, her husband, and their team of writers.
However, in 1962, the whole team of writers for the show admitted that they had run out of new ideas for new episodes. They even considered ending the show at that time because they did not want to ruin the show's reputation by airing too many poor-quality episodes and knew that even their die-hard fans would get tired of the show if it continued that way.