My Mother the Car

Did You Know?

• Sammy Davis Jr. performed a cover version of the theme song as an opening number on his 1966 musical variety show.
• The theme music was later used on an episode of Arrested Development also called 'My Mother, the Car'.

Synopsis

The show follows attorney David Crabtree, played by Jerry Van Dyke, who buys a dilapidated 1928 Porter touring car at a used-car lot instead of the station wagon he intended. The car turns out to be the reincarnation of his deceased mother, Gladys, voiced by Ann Sothern, who speaks only to Crabtree through the car's radio, with the dial light flashing in sync with her voice. Crabtree has the car fully restored, drawing the attention of a fanatical collector named Captain Manzini, played by Avery Schreiber, who constantly pursues Crabtree to acquire the valuable automobile. Manzini, resembling a 1920s silent film villain, repeatedly mangles Crabtree's name in a running gag. The cast also includes Maggie Pierce as wife Barbara, Cindy Eilbacher and Randy Whipple as the children, and various veteran character actors in supporting roles.

Production

The series was created by Allan Burns and Chris Hayward, who had earlier success with Rocky & Bullwinkle, The Munsters, and Get Smart. A black-and-white pilot was filmed and later refilmed in color; the pilot did not originally air but has been shown on Canadian television. Network censors required the deletion of a scene where the car backfired. The on-set car, called a 1928 Porter Stanhope touring car, was a custom vehicle rebuilt by Norm Grabowski from a 1924 Ford Model T and later restyled by property master Kaye Trapp and Norm Breedlove. A stunt car, driven by a hidden rear-floorboard driver, was built as a replica by George Barris. The actual Porter Motor Company existed briefly from 1900 to 1901 and made only a runabout style automobile. The on-set car was located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in 2016, owned by Dave Bodnar. The stunt car was once owned by casino magnate William Harrah and later sold at auction in 2017 for $50,000. Aluminum Model Toys introduced a 1/25-scale model kit of the Porter in late 1965. The theme music was composed and conducted by Ralph Carmichael, with lyrics written and sung by Paul Hampton.

Critical reception

Critics and adult viewers panned the show upon its original airing. A DVD Talk review noted that while the concept is considered stupid and the show has a reputation as one of the worst ever to air, it is actually not that bad, praising Jerry Van Dyke's performance and Maggie Pierce's work. A Vulture review described it as the epitome of dated, campy, lowest common denominator television, stating that attempts at comedy were not successful and that the lack of a laugh track for most episodes created tonally confusing work.