
Rowlf and Jimmy Dean rehearsing Kennel Place
Peyton Place was a 1957 film, followed by a 1961 sequel (Return to Peyton Place) and a prime-time soap opera (1964-1969). Based on a bestselling 1956 novel, the movies and series were all produced by 20th Century Fox and focused on the hotbed of sex, intrigue, and scandal in a New England town. The earliest seasons heavily involved the relationship between wealthy Rodney Harrington and writer Allison MacKenzie. During the 1960s, "Peyton Place" became synonymous with overwrought, spicy happenings.
References[]
- The November 19, 1964 broadcast of The Jimmy Dean Show features an extended parody of the series, which debuted earlier that season on the same network (ABC). Rowlf is writing his own version, Kennel Place, or as he describes it, "Peyton Place with tail." He also jokes about selling the movie rights to 20th Century Fox. Like the series, Kennel Place features alcoholism, domestic violence, and complicated romantic entanglements. In a script reading, Rowlf plays rugged retriever Rodney while Jimmy Dean adopts a falsetto as Allison the airedale.
- Rowlf mentions the show again in a 1969 IBM meeting film "Rowlf-In." He quips that the overseas troops to whom the show is being broadcast "think that Rowlf-In is Vietnamese for Peyton Place."
Connections[]
- Rosemary Clooney sang the theme for Return to Peyton Place (1961 film)
- Ruby Dee played Alma Miles (1968-1969)
- José Ferrer directed Return to Peyton Place (1961 film)
- Mia Farrow played Allison MacKenzie (1964-1966)
- Lorne Greene played the district attorney in the 1957 film
- Mariette Hartley played Claire Morton (1965)