Me and the Chimp is an American sitcom which aired for one season during 1972 on CBS. It was created by Garry Marshall and Thomas L. Miller and produced by Alan Rafkin for Paramount Television.
Contents
Premise
Mike Reynolds is a dentist who lives with his wife, two children, and a chimpanzee named Buttons, who is a washout from the space program (a fact unknown to Mike and his family until an old army sergeant visits).
Episodes revolve around Buttons' doings or undoings, such as extending the line Mike drew on a map (to mark their driving route) onward to a ghost town, and stealing an alarm clock which gets Mike arrested for public indecency (in his pajamas).
Cast
Ted Bessell as Mike Reynolds
Anita Gillette as Liz Reynolds
Scott Kolden as Scott Reynolds
Kami Cotler as Kitty Reynolds
Jackie as Buttons
Production
The series was created by Garry Marshall and Thomas L. Miller, both of whom are better known for their later work on Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley. Bessell originally refused to participate when the title was first given as the "grammatically incorrect" (sic) "The Chimp and I".
The chimpanzee who portrayed Buttons was owned by veteran animal expert Lou Schumacher and was trained by Bob Rydell who was responsible for teaching the chimpanzee to perform its "acting" tasks on cue by responding to various hand and voice signals.
Reception
TV Guide listed the show at #46 on its 2002 list "The 50 Worst Shows of All Time".