The Donna Reed Show is a situation comedy that was produced in the United States and starred Donna Reed in the role of Donna Stone, an upper-middle-class housewife. Carl Betz plays her husband, a pediatrician by the name of Dr. Alex Stone, while Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen play their children, Mary and Jeff, who are both in their adolescent years. The program had its debut on ABC on September 24, 1958, and ran all the way until March 19, 1966. In 1963, after Fabares had departed the program, Petersen's younger sister, Patty Petersen, was brought on to play the role of Fabares' adopted daughter, Trisha. On January 31, 1963, the episode "A Way of Her Own" was where viewers were introduced to Patty Petersen for the very first time. Bob Crane and Ann McCrea made cameo appearances in the final seasons of the show as the Kelseys, friends of the Stones, while Darryl Richard established himself as a near regular in the role of Smitty, Jeff's closest companion. The show featured a number of famous people as guests, including Esther Williams as a famous dress designer, baseball superstars Don Drysdale and Willie Mays as themselves, teen heartthrob James Darren as a pop singer with the measles, canine superstar Lassie as herself, and young Jay North from CBS's Dennis the Menace as himself. William S. Roberts conceived of the series, and Reed and her husband at the time, producer Tony Owen, were responsible for its development. The episodes centered on normal family issues that were prevalent at that time period, such as how to deal with an incompetent housekeeper, how to celebrate the retirement of a coworker, and how to find quality time away from the children. In a few instances, more controversial topics like the rights of women and the freedom of the press were discussed.
