One of the first sitcoms on the air happened to be a real family affair. Foreshadowing the path TV has taken in modern times, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet  were more reality than fiction. The show depicted the lives of an average American family, who were played by an actual family, the Nelsons. The sets were a replica of the Nelsons’ real home and their real kids played their TV kids. The show is iconic of the 50s and the idyllic (if only superficial) wholesomeness of that decade.

Ozzie Nelson was the leader of a popular dance band in the 1930s and his wife Harriet sang in the same band. The band had a busy schedule of film and radio appearances and it was in radio that the Nelsons first launched their show. At that time, their sons—David and Ricky—were too young to participate so professional actors took on the roles. The radio show was well received and in 1952, Ozzie negotiated a contract with the nascent ABC network to bring the premise to television. He turned out to be a shrewd businessman, insisting on a long-term contract and creative control. In fact, Ozzie wrote and directed every episode of the series.

With Harriet, David and Ricky, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet debuted on ABC. Most of the story lines revolved around day-to-day problems the family faced and centered in the Nelson home; Ozzie drew a lot of his ideas from actual occurrences in real life. David and Ricky grew up before America’s eyes, dealing first with high school, then college and then the adult world. Strangely, when the two brothers got married in reality, their wives joined the cast of the show as their TV wives. It’s entirely possible that the entry for ‘nepotism’ in the dictionary has a big, glossy picture of the Nelson family under it.

The series was a big success. Audiences enjoyed the upstanding, squeaky-clean family, maybe because they were representative of middle America or maybe because they were nothing like middle America. The show ran for 14 years—the longest running sitcom to date—until 1966, when changing mores and social upheaval relegated the Nelsons to quaint relic status. Ozzie tried to bring back the show in 1973 as Ozzie’s Girls, with two college girls renting the boys’ old room but the concept didn’t catch on.

Ricky Nelson parlayed his TV fame from the show into a hugely successful music career. He became quite the teen idol with songs like “I’m Walkin’” and “Travelin’ Man.” He would frequently sing on the show, either as part of the plot or in special segment after the end of the episode.

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet has become synonymous with the utopian vision of the 50s and early 60s of the nuclear family; Dad with his pipe and paper, Mom cleaning and cooking in a fancy dress and high heels, the clean-cut boys who are always polite and respectful. It was reality TV but not, portraying an idealistic version of real life.