Nanny and the Professor
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Nanny And The Professor was a 1970s U.S. fantasy sitcom that was produced by 20th Century Fox Television. The series first aired on January 21, 1970 and was last telecast on December 27, 1971 on ABC. Later, the series enjoyed a brief run in syndication.
The series starred Juliet Mills as Nanny Phoebe Figalilly, Richard Long as Professor Harold Everett, and veteran character actress Elsa Lanchester as Aunt Henrietta. Figalilly was apparently psychic, and had regular flashes of what was often more than intuition (she frequently knew who was ringing the doorbell before the bell even rang). There was the vague suggestion that she may have been at least several hundred years old and more than human. Figalilly watched over Professor Everett and his three children: Hal, the intellectual tinkerer, played by David Doremus, Butch, the middle child, played by the late Trent Lehman, and Prudence, the youngest, played by Kim Richards. Showbiz veteran and future Purina Cat Chow commercial star Patsy Garrett had the recurring role of nosey neighbor Mrs. Fowler. Midway through the brief first season, a yellow 1930 Model A Ford, "Arabella," joined the series.
The opening theme song sung by the Addrisi Brothers described Figalilly as, "Soft and sweet, wise and wonderful.. mystical, magical Nanny." This theme song careful exploits the theme of the series that Nanny may just be a regular lady, as in the line, "is there really magic in the things she does, or is love the only magic thing, that Nanny brings." The theme song close by again stating, "What is the magic thing about Nanny, is it love, or is it magic?"
- A clip of the show's opening theme can be seen in the 1996 film Waiting To Exhale.
- In 2005 Mills would revisit her former character in an episode of Passions, in which her current character Tabitha Lenox would bring a doll to life...Phoebe Figalilly! (except it would be Mills' real-life daughter that would play the role).
- Dawn Lyn played the part of Prudence in the series pilot, but she signed to join established series, My Three Sons before the pilot was picked up.