The series' star,
Stuart Erwin, played a bumbling high school principal named Stu Erwin. His wife, film ingenue from the late silent and early sound period,
June Collyer, played the principal's wife, June Erwin. Although Erwin and Collyer, who were married in 1931, had a son and a daughter, the series presented them as parents of two adolescent daughters played by
Sheila James and
Ann Todd who was replaced by
Merry Anders in the series' final season. One notable aspect of the show was that it featured black actor
Willie Best in a regular supporting role. Predating modern single-camera sitcoms,
The Stu Erwin Show originally aired without a
laugh track (one was added in its final season), and each episode was around 26 minutes long, without
commercials. During its original network run on ABC, it was sponsored by
General Mills (1950–54),
Paper Mate (1953-'54) and
Liggett & Myers (1954–55). ==Production==