Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
The Double Life of Henry Phyfe
The Double Life of Henry Phyfe is a 17-episode American sitcom broadcast on ABC from January 13 to September 1, 1966, and starring Red Buttons.[citation needed]
Henry Phyfe (Buttons) was a mild-mannered accountant, until circumstances forced the American Counter Intelligence Service (CIS) to recruit him to impersonate a foreign agent named U-31, who had been killed in an automobile accident. The agent looked just like Phyfe, but the two men's personalities were drastically different. That severe contrast laid the groundwork for many of the episodes.
Also seen regularly were Phyfe's girlfriend, Judy Kimball; Judy's mother (and Henry's prospective mother-in-law) Florence; Mr. Hamble, Henry's boss at the accounting firm; and Gerald Hannahan, the regional director of CIS and Henry's agency boss. Hannahan was the lone series regular to know Henry's secret (though other CIS employees seen in various episodes also knew).
Judy, Florence and Mr. Hamble were all dropped from the show after the ninth episode in production order. However, as the episodes were aired out of sequence, these three characters are seen through episode 8 as aired, then disappear for a while. All three return in episode 14 for one final appearance.
A recurring plot line is that Hannahan has to persuade Phyfe -- usually through trickery -- to undertake each mission, as Phyfe adamantly wants nothing to do with the agency, with Hannahan, or with being a spy. As well, U-31 had a wide range of specialized skills (golf, samurai sword fighting, etc) which Phyfe often attempts to learn (generally unsuccessfully) just before each mission.
Actor Peter Bonerz (The Bob Newhart Show) had auditioned for the role of Henry Phyfe before Red Buttons was selected.
Buttons noted that, unlike Agent Maxwell Smart in NBC's new hit Get Smart, his character was shy, used no gadgets in his work, and was an impostor, not an actual agent. Phyfe's CIS boss was played by veteran character actor Fred Clark, who bore a superficial physical resemblance to Smart's "Chief" played by Edward Platt.
The show marked Buttons' return to weekly television after his variety show had ended a three-year run in 1955. During the interim, Buttons found roles in 15 different motion pictures, including an Academy Award-winning performance in the 1957 Marlon Brando film, Sayonara.
Hub AI
The Double Life of Henry Phyfe AI simulator
(@The Double Life of Henry Phyfe_simulator)
The Double Life of Henry Phyfe
The Double Life of Henry Phyfe is a 17-episode American sitcom broadcast on ABC from January 13 to September 1, 1966, and starring Red Buttons.[citation needed]
Henry Phyfe (Buttons) was a mild-mannered accountant, until circumstances forced the American Counter Intelligence Service (CIS) to recruit him to impersonate a foreign agent named U-31, who had been killed in an automobile accident. The agent looked just like Phyfe, but the two men's personalities were drastically different. That severe contrast laid the groundwork for many of the episodes.
Also seen regularly were Phyfe's girlfriend, Judy Kimball; Judy's mother (and Henry's prospective mother-in-law) Florence; Mr. Hamble, Henry's boss at the accounting firm; and Gerald Hannahan, the regional director of CIS and Henry's agency boss. Hannahan was the lone series regular to know Henry's secret (though other CIS employees seen in various episodes also knew).
Judy, Florence and Mr. Hamble were all dropped from the show after the ninth episode in production order. However, as the episodes were aired out of sequence, these three characters are seen through episode 8 as aired, then disappear for a while. All three return in episode 14 for one final appearance.
A recurring plot line is that Hannahan has to persuade Phyfe -- usually through trickery -- to undertake each mission, as Phyfe adamantly wants nothing to do with the agency, with Hannahan, or with being a spy. As well, U-31 had a wide range of specialized skills (golf, samurai sword fighting, etc) which Phyfe often attempts to learn (generally unsuccessfully) just before each mission.
Actor Peter Bonerz (The Bob Newhart Show) had auditioned for the role of Henry Phyfe before Red Buttons was selected.
Buttons noted that, unlike Agent Maxwell Smart in NBC's new hit Get Smart, his character was shy, used no gadgets in his work, and was an impostor, not an actual agent. Phyfe's CIS boss was played by veteran character actor Fred Clark, who bore a superficial physical resemblance to Smart's "Chief" played by Edward Platt.
The show marked Buttons' return to weekly television after his variety show had ended a three-year run in 1955. During the interim, Buttons found roles in 15 different motion pictures, including an Academy Award-winning performance in the 1957 Marlon Brando film, Sayonara.