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If there’s any show that epitomizes the wholesome family values of post-war America, it’s The Donna Reed Show. For eight years, ABC let us peek into the lives of the always perfect Stone family and find something we could try to live up to.

 

Donna Reed played Donna Stone, who, along with her husband Alex, are raising their two children, Mary and Jeff. They live together in suburban Hilldale, next to neighbors Dr. Dave Kelsey and his wife Marge. The series focused on their daily lives and the problems they faced – family troubles, school, dating, and illnesses. At the end of each episode, all those little problems were neatly solved.

 

Paul Peterson and Shelley Fabares, the actors who played the Stone kids, also had brief careers as pop stars during their tenure on the show. Peterson had a hit with "She Can't Find Her Keys" (which was featured in an episode of the show) and "My Dad," and Fabares had a #1 hit with "Johnny Angel," written by the show's music composer, Stu Phillips.

 

Reed was more than just the star of the show. Like Lucille Ball before her, Reed was one of television’s first female executives, working to produce and direct the show, even though she was uncredited for doing so. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for her acting several times, and won a Golden Globe Award for Best Female Television Performer in 1962. The show itself won many awards from many women, youth, educational and medical groups.

After Fabares left the show in 1963 when her character went off to college, the Stones got a new daughter in Trisha, an orphan who picks out the Stone family to live with. The actress who played her was Patty Peterson, the actual sister of Paul Peterson. The show continued for another three successful years before being cancelled in September 1966, after an incredible 274 episodes.

 

Now entertaining fans through syndication, The Donna Reed Show continues to garner viewers with its clean-cut message and sweet family lessons. And in a jaded world, what could be better than that?