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Life with the Lyons

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For the film version, see Life with the Lyons (film).

Life with the Lyons
GenreSitcom
Created byBebe Daniels
Developed byBebe Daniels
Bob Block
Bill Harding
StarringBebe Daniels
Ben Lyon
Barbara Lyon
Richard Lyon
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series5
No. of episodes40
Production
Running time30 minutes
Production companyAssociated-Rediffusion (series 3-5)
Original release
NetworkBBC TV (series 1-2)
ITV (series 3-5)
Release29 June 1955 (1955-06-29) –
25 March 1960 (1960-03-25)

Life with the Lyons was a British radio and television sitcom franchise that ran between 1950 and 1961.

Background

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Following a highly publicized trial against their stalker, American actors Ben Lyon and Bebe Daniels moved to London in 1935.[1] For several years, the couple commuted between London and Los Angeles, where their children resided with Daniels' mother and Lyon was under contract to 20th Century Fox.

At the advent of World War II, Lyon and Daniels were touring England in vaudeville when Lyon developed the idea for a radio series in an effort to boost morale. In 1940, the couple debuted Hi, Gang!, in which they starred with Vic Oliver with scripts written by Daniels. During the war, Lyon joined the newly formed Special Services unit of the United States military while Daniels served as a war correspondent. Following the war, the Lyons moved to London permanently with their children. Deciding to expand their show into a family effort, Hi, Gang! ended in 1949.[2]

Life With the Lyons was created by Daniels, which she developed with Bob Block and Bill Harding. The trio would often work on scripts late at night in the family's basement.[2] The show featured a fictionalized version of the family, with Barbara Lyon and Richard Lyon starring as their children. Molly Weir was also cast as the family's Scottish maid, Aggie MacDonald. For the fifth to seventh series of the radio show – and the first two series of the television adaption – Richard Bellaers starred as Robin Lyon, the couple's youngest child.[2] Also cast were Horace Percival as their henpecked neighbour, Mr Wimple, and Doris Rogers as Florrie Wainwright, Bebe's nosy friend who frequently spars with Ben.[2]

Radio

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Life With the Lyons debuted on BBC Radio on 5 November 1950. It was the first scripted situation comedy show in the United Kingdom. The series ran for 252 episodes over eleven seasons, ending on 19 May 1961.[2]

Daniels and Block served as writers for all eleven seasons. Harding departed the series after seasons three, and was replaced by Ronnie Hanbury.[2] Other writers for the series used on occasion included Jill Allgood, Brad Ashton, Robert Hounsome, and Ray Sonin.[2]

Many radio episodes were not kept by the BBC and only three episodes are in the archives; these were on BBC Radio 7 in early 2011. Following this broadcast, the BBC were alerted to a private collection of around 200 episodes owned by Graeme Stevenson in Scotland, and a selection of 14 episodes were rebroadcast on Radio 7's successor BBC Radio 4 Extra between July and December 2011 [3] and rebroadcast at later dates.

Cast

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  • Bebe Daniels Lyon as Bebe Lyon
  • Ben Lyon as Ben Lyon
  • Barbara Lyon as Barbara Lyon
  • Richard Lyon as Richard Lyon
  • Molly Weir as Aggie MacDonald
  • Richard Bellaers as Robin Lyon (series 5–7, radio; series 1–2, television)
  • Horace Percival as Mr Wimple
  • Doris Rogers as Florrie Wainwright

Following Barbara's marriage to Russell Turner, he began a recurring role as her husband Russell. Hugh Morton recurred throughout the series as Ben's boss.

Films

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Two feature films both directed by Val Guest were made with the cast of the series between the radio and television versions. The Lyons' contract called for them to receive a percentage of the film's profits.

Television

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In 1954, the family appeared in a special on BBC Television. Following its success and that of the first feature film, the network approved a television adaption of Life With the Lyons. BBC aired the first two series, consisting of four episodes each, in the summers of 1955 and 1956 respectively. In 1957, ITV picked up the series for a full fall series of 10 episodes.[2] The show remained on ITV for another three seasons until it ended in 1960.

Only six episodes survive in television archives. One from the first series, two each from the third and fourth, and one from the final series. The surviving first-season episode was shown on BBC Four on 27 March 2005 as part of the "TV on Trial" season. The episode was not shown "in the clear" – viewers had the choice of a version without commentary but with on-screen logos, or with commentary by Roy Hattersley and Kathryn Flett.

Episode guide

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Series 1 (1955)

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No.
overall		No. in
series		TitleWritten byOriginal air date
11TBABebe Daniels, Bob Block & Bill Harding29 June 1955 (1955-06-29)
22TBABebe Daniels, Bob Block & Bill Harding13 July 1955 (1955-07-13)
Bebe and Ben invite Richard's crush Marilyn (Sylvia Syms) to dinner, only to discover she has a very busy romantic life – which includes Barbara's boyfriend.
33TBABebe Daniels, Bob Block & Bill Harding27 July 1955 (1955-07-27)
44TBABebe Daniels, Bob Block & Ronnie Hanbury10 August 1955 (1955-08-10)

Series 2 (1956)

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No.
overall		No. in
series		TitleWritten byOriginal air date
51TBABebe Daniels, Bob Block & Ronnie Hanbury31 May 1956 (1956-05-31)
62TBABebe Daniels, Bob Block & Ronnie Hanbury14 June 1956 (1956-06-14)
73TBABebe Daniels, Bob Block & Ronnie Hanbury28 June 1956 (1956-06-28)
84TBABebe Daniels, Bob Block & Ronnie Hanbury12 July 1956 (1956-07-12)

Series 3 (1957–58)

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No.
overall		No. in
series		TitleWritten byOriginal air date
91"The Green-Eyed Monster"Bebe Daniels, Bob Block & Bob Ross17 September 1957 (1957-09-17)
102"Family Secrets"Bebe Daniels, Bob Block & Bob Ross1 October 1957 (1957-10-01)
113"I've Got You Covered"Bebe Daniels, Bob Block & Bob Ross15 October 1957 (1957-10-15)
124"Cool Cat on a Hot Roof"Bebe Daniels, Bob Block & Bob Ross29 October 1957 (1957-10-29)
135"Going, Going, Gone"Bebe Daniels, Bob Block & Bob Ross12 November 1957 (1957-11-12)
146"Where There's A Will"Bebe Daniels, Bob Block & Bob Ross26 November 1957 (1957-11-26)
157"Unlucky Winner"Bebe Daniels, Bob Block & Bob Ross19 December 1957 (1957-12-19)
168"'Twas the Night Before"Bebe Daniels, Bob Block & Bob Ross24 December 1957 (1957-12-24)
179"Danger – Woman at Work"Bebe Daniels, Bob Block & Bob Ross7 January 1958 (1958-01-07)
1810"Signs of The Times"Bebe Daniels, Bob Block & Bob Ross21 January 1958 (1958-01-21)

Series 4 (1958–59)

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No.
overall		No. in
series		TitleWritten byOriginal air date
191"Who's Your Lady Friend?"Bebe Daniels, Bob Ross, Ronnie Hanbury & Bob Block19 September 1958 (1958-09-19)
202"The Reluctant Genius"Bebe Daniels, Bob Ross, Ronnie Hanbury & Bob Block3 October 1958 (1958-10-03)
213"Dangerous Curves Ahead"Bebe Daniels, Bob Ross, Ronnie Hanbury & Bob Block17 October 1958 (1958-10-17)
224"Boxing Gloves"Bebe Daniels, Bob Ross, Ronnie Hanbury & Bob Block31 October 1958 (1958-10-31)
235"A Guest in the House"Bebe Daniels, Bob Ross, Ronnie Hanbury & Bob Block28 November 1958 (1958-11-28)
246"Thirteen Shop-Lifting Days To Christmas"Bebe Daniels, Bob Ross, Ronnie Hanbury & Bob Block12 December 1958 (1958-12-12)
257"The Sheriff of Fractured Wrist"Bebe Daniels, Bob Ross, Ronnie Hanbury & Bob Block26 December 1958 (1958-12-26)
268"It's A Woman's World"Bebe Daniels, Bob Ross, Ronnie Hanbury & Bob Block9 January 1959 (1959-01-09)
279"King Richard The Last"Bebe Daniels, Bob Ross, Ronnie Hanbury & Bob Block23 January 1959 (1959-01-23)

Series 5 (1960)

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No.
overall		No. in
series		TitleWritten byOriginal air date
281"A Cowboy in Kensington"Bebe Daniels, Ronnie Hanbury & Bob Block1 January 1960 (1960-01-01)
292"Home Sweet Homicide"Bebe Daniels, Ronnie Hanbury & Bob Block8 January 1960 (1960-01-08)
303"Stupid Cupid"Bebe Daniels, Ronnie Hanbury & Bob Block15 January 1960 (1960-01-15)
314"Teddy Boys' Picnic"Bebe Daniels, Ronnie Hanbury & Bob Block22 January 1960 (1960-01-22)
325"For Love Or Money"Bebe Daniels, Ronnie Hanbury & Bob Block29 January 1960 (1960-01-29)
336"Just What the Doctor Ordered"Bebe Daniels, Ronnie Hanbury & Bob Block5 February 1960 (1960-02-05)
347"Top Secret"Bebe Daniels, Ronnie Hanbury & Bob Block12 February 1960 (1960-02-12)
358"Tease For Two"Bebe Daniels, Ronnie Hanbury & Bob Block19 February 1960 (1960-02-19)
369"Your Presents Are Requested"Bebe Daniels, Ronnie Hanbury & Bob Block26 February 1960 (1960-02-26)
3710"A Chip Off The Old Blockhead"Bebe Daniels, Ronnie Hanbury & Bob Block4 March 1960 (1960-03-04)
3811"The Nelson Touch"Bebe Daniels, Ronnie Hanbury & Bob Block11 March 1960 (1960-03-11)
3912"Sauce for the Goose"Bebe Daniels, Ronnie Hanbury & Bob Block18 March 1960 (1960-03-18)
4013"Be My Ghost"Bebe Daniels, Ronnie Hanbury & Bob Block25 March 1960 (1960-03-25)

Other versions

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Life With the Lyons also appeared as a play, and in seven Royal Command Performances.

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References

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  1. ^ Slide, Anthony (2 March 2018). Magnificent Obsession: The Outrageous History of Film Buffs, Collectors, Scholars, and Fanatics. University Press of Mississippi. p. 111. ISBN 978-1496810533.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i McKay, Mark (15 February 2009). "RADIO: LIFE WITH THE LYONS". Laughter Log. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  3. ^ BBC Radio 4 and 4 Extra Blog, 7 May 2011
  4. ^ "Past, Present and Future". Al Stewart. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
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