The Courtship of Eddie's Father
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The Courtship of Eddie's Father is a 1963 comedy film directed by Vincente Minnelli. It tells the story of a widower played by Glenn Ford, with a young son played by Ron Howard who believes his father should marry but disapproves of the women his father is interested in. It also stars Shirley Jones, Stella Stevens, Dina Merrill and Jerry Van Dyke.
Its success led to a television sitcom which ran from 1969 until 1972 and starred Bill Bixby as Eddie's father, Tom Corbitt, Brandon Cruz as Eddie, and Miyoshi Umeki as their housekeeper, Mrs Livingston (she called Tom, "Mr. Eddie's Father"). The theme song of the television show, "Best Friend", was written and performed by Harry Nilsson, and was played over opening credits showing Bixby and Cruz in various happy moments. The song has often been used since as an iconic indication of father-son bonding.
It was eventually cancelled when Bixby had a falling out with producer James Komack on the direction of the show. Many of the later episodes focused on Komack's character Norman Tinker, rather than the dyadic relationship between Tom Corbitt and his son Eddie.
In 2003, filming began on a new series which starred Ken Marino and Josh Hutcherson. The child star of the previous series, Brandon Cruz, played a supporting role.Template:Mov-stub