Series Description

The My Mother the Car TV show was a 30 minute comedy series on NBC about a mild-mannered attorney who heard a car say his name through its radio while shopping at a used car lot. He soon discovered that it was his dead mother's voice. Even though the car was an antique in pretty horrible condition, he bought it. His family gave him a bad time about buying such a junkie car so he had it completely restored. A car that nags a man as a mother might should have been a recipe for great comedy but, somehow, it just didn't work!

My Mother the Car Cast

Jerry Van Dyke .... Dave Crabtree
Ann Sothern .... Gladys Crabtree / The Car (Voice)
Maggie Pierce .... Barbara Crabtree
Avery Schreiber .... Captain Bernard Manzini
Cindy Eilbacher .... Cindy Crabtree
Randy Whipple .... Randy Crabtree

My Mother the Car Theme Song

Title: "My Mother the Car"

By: "Paul Hampton"

Everybody knows in a second life, we all come back sooner or later.
As anything from a pussycat to a man eating alligator.
Well you all may think my story, is more fiction than it's fact.
But believe it or not my mother dear decided she'd come back.

As a car ...
She's my very own guiding star.
A 1928 Porter.
That's my mother dear.
'Cause she helps me through everything I do
And I'm so glad she's near.

My Mother the Car.
My Mother the car.

My Mother the Car Trivia

Jerry Van Dyke ("Coach") was offered the role as "Gilligan" on "Gilligan's Island" but turned it down to take the lead role on My Mother the Car. That was, to say the least, one of the worst decisions in television history!

My Mother the Car was once voted the worst TV show ever! That sentiment has often been repeated over the years. TV Guide was not much kinder when, in 2002, they stated that it was the second worst. The Jerry Springer Show got their number one spot!

Allan Burns and Chris Hayward created My Mother the Car but don't judge them too harshly! They had better luck with some of their other "silly" series including, "Get Smart", "The Munsters", and "Rocky and Bullwinkle".

The Porter's California license plate number was "PZR 317".

There were two 1928 Porter automobiles made for My Mother the Car. They were built from 1927 Ford Model T Touring cars, a Maxwell, a Hudson, and a Chevrolet by George Barris, a fellow who also built the Batmobile for the 1966 "Batman TV Show" from a 1950s Lincoln Futura experimental automobile. Mother was also comprehensively rebuilt from those other cars. One of them even had removable floors and hidden mirrors that allowed a stunt man to drive the car without being seen so it appeared that Mother was driving herself!

Jerry Van Dyke is the real-life brother of Dick Van Dyke ("Diagnosis Murder"). Jerry and Dick played brothers on TV on "The Dick Van Dyke Show"!

Ann Sothern had been a huge star for many years by the time that My Mother the Car appeared on TV! She starred on "The Adventures of Maisie Radio Show" from 1949-1951. Her first big hit TV series, "Private Secretary" ran for five seasons. She also had her own titled series, "The Ann Sothern Show" that lasted three seasons for 93 episodes.

Episodes List With Original Air Dates

The First And Only Season

1. Come Honk Your Horn (9/14/1965)
2. The De-Fenders (9/21/1965)
3. What Makes Auntie Freeze (9/28/1965)
4. Lassie, I Mean Mother, Come Home (10/5/1965)
5. Burned at the Steak (10/12/1965)
6. I'm Through Being a Nice Guy (10/19/1965)
7. Lights, Camera, Mother (10/26/1965)
8. The Captain Manzini Grand Prix (11/2/1965)
9. TV or Not TV (11/9/1965)
10. My Son, the Ventriloquist (11/16/1965)
11. My Son, the Judge (11/23/1965)
12. And Leave the Drive-In to Us (11/30/1965)
13. For Whom the Horn Honks (12/7/1965)
14. Hey Lady, Your Slip Isn't Showing (12/14/1965)
15. Many Happy No-Returns (12/21/1965)
16. Shine On, Shine On, Honeymoon (12/28/1965)
17. I Remember Mama, Why Can't You Remember Me? (1/4/1966)
18. Goldporter (1/11/1966)
19. The Incredible Shrinking Car (1/18/1966)
20. I'd Rather Do it Myself, Mother (1/25/1966)
21. You Can't Get There From Here (2/1/1966)
22. A Riddler on the Roof (2/8/1966)
23. My Son, the Criminal (2/15/1966)
24. An Unreasonable Facsimile (2/22/1966)
25. Over the Hill to the Junkyard (3/1/1966)
26. It Might as Well Be Spring as Not (3/8/1966)
27. Absorba the Greek (3/15/1966)
28. The Blabbermouth (3/22/1966)
29. When You Wish Upon a Car (3/29/1966)
30. Desperate Minutes (4/5/1966)