Dobie Gillis

Dobie Gillis, originally The Many Loves Of Dobie Gillis, was a popular family sitcom that ran from 1959 to 1963. 

Dobie was a high school student at the beginning and a college student at the end. He was played by Dwayne Hickman (who was actually in his late 20's) who had previously starred in the Bob Cummings Show. His best friend was Maynard G. Krebs, played by Bob Denver who later found fame as Gilligan in Gilligan's Island. His mother was played by Florida Friebus who in the 70's would be one of Bob Newhart's group therapy patients in his popular "Bob Newhart Show" comedy.  Frank Faylen played the father, Herbert T. Gillis. Other actors with roles included Sheila James as Zelda, Tuesday Weld as Thalia, and Steve Franken as Chatsworth Osborne Jr. Both William Schallert and Jean Byron appeared in a number of episodes as teachers before they became Patty Duke's parents on the big 60's sitcom the Patty Duke Show. Even Warren Beatty appeared in 6 early episodes as Milton Armitage. This was one of the first sitcoms to be developed and find success after the entertainment industry realized in the mid-50's that there was huge "teen" market to exploit. Unfortunately, not too many people in Hollywood had a clue what was actually happening in that market and their productions were usually at least 5 years behind the times and were often considered dumb by their intended target. But that's show-biz.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Many_Loves_of_Dobie_Gillis