An upper-middle-class housewife played by Donna Reed on the American situation comedy The Donna Reed Show is Donna Stone. Alongside Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenagers Mary and Jeff, Carl Betz co-stars as her pediatrician husband Dr. Alex Stone. Between September 24, 1958, and March 19, 1966, the show first aired on ABC. Petersen's younger sister, Patty Petersen, joined the cast as Trisha when Fabares left the program in 1963. On January 31, 1963, Patty Petersen made her TV debut in "A Way of Her Own." As the Stones' friends the Kelseys, Bob Crane and Ann McCrea made guest appearances in recent seasons, and Darryl Richard established himself as Smitty, Jeff's best friend, almost on a regular basis. The show included a range of renowned guests, including young Jay North from CBS's Dennis the Menace and baseball luminaries Don Drysdale and Willie Mays as themselves. Teen heartthrob James Darren also made an appearance as a pop artist who had the measles. Reed and her then-husband, producer Tony Owen, worked on the series' development with William S. Roberts. The episodes focused on ordinary family issues of the day, such as dismissing a clumsy housekeeper, planning a retirement party for a friend, and finding time to unwind without the kids. There were sporadic explorations of controversial subjects like press freedom and women's rights.
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