Donna Reed

Remember Donna Reed? She wore pearls and high heels to clean her spotless house that you would never suspect had two teenagers living in it. She greeted her husband at the door with a smile and a full course meal each night. Sigh.

Well most working women today are working outside the home and full course meals have become whatsoever you may unthaw and cook the fastest. Life has changed for most families since the idealized days of Donna Reed but that doesn’t mean your house will have to look like a tornado hit it each day.

Between driving kids to school and back, sporting events and social events you may commence to feel like you spend more time in your car than in your home.

Coming home to a house that is messy and disarrayed may make you feel overwhelmed. Nobody wants to work all day and then come home to a messy house that needs to be cleaned.

A good one will do the fundamental principle such as dusting, vacuuming and cleaning floors. Some services are competent to do extra jobs such as washing dishes, doing laundry and cleaning windows.

When you are looking for a service make sure to ask what services are provided and how much extras will cost. It is always a good idea to make a list of what you want done and the priorities for getting it done and leave the list with the service when they come. If your priorities change it is helpful to have an modified list to reflect the changes.

If you are hiring a service you may either choose to hire a business that will employee their own contractors and you will be the client or you may hire a cleaning person and assume the role of employer.

If you determine to go with a cleaning person you will have a great deal of added responsibilities such as ensuring the person is legally competent to work in the United States which is verified by a government identification card and a valid social security card.

You will also be liable for completing any employer tax forms so if you go this route and plan to have a regular service it is a good idea to consult a tax consultant on your responsibilities.

If you choose to hire one that workers cleaning contractors you won’t have to worry in regards to any of these issues since you will be the client. Whichever choice you make be assured when you come home from a hard day at work you may not have a full course meal waiting for you but you will have a clean house

Donna Reed Image

Donna Reed Photo

Donna Reed Pic

Donna Reed Image

Donna Reed Picture

Donna Reed Photo

Most helpful client reviews

102 of 115 people found the following review helpful.
Time to Celebrate!!
By E. Hornaday
It’s time to celebrate, the First Season of the ground-breaking and genuinely iconic classic The Donna Reed Show is coming to DVD after years of fan pleadings – along with a promise to release Season 2 next year!

Joe Amodei, President of Arts Alliance America and Mary Owen (the daughter of Donna Reed) made the happy proclamation together. The release will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the show’s debut episode. ABC initial aired The Donna Reed Show on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 1958 at 9:00 p.m.

The series took place in the fictional town of Hilldale. It centered around the dreams, ambitions, and foilings of the Stone family: Alex, a pediatrician; his wife, Donna; and their children, Mary, Jeff, and Trisha (unofficially adopted in later episodes).

It was the beginning of a long kinship with America as viewers tuned in weekly to visit the Stone family for eight years, representing 274 episodes. The series’ final episode aired March 19, 1966.

Ms. Reed was Emmy nominated four times for her role on the show, and in 1963 won a Golden Globe as Best Female TV Star. She also won the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in 1953 for her performance in “From Here To Eternity,” but is in all probability best known for her role as Jimmy Stewart’s wife, Mary Bailey, in the Christmas masterpiece, “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

The series was one of various family-based shows that in a literal sense helped shaped the landscape of reality in America – rather than the other way ’round. Other Classic iconic family shows of the era included Father Knows Best, Leave It to Beaver, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, The Patty Duke Show and My Three Sons.

The adventures of the Stone family were similar to what those other TV families had to contend with – measles, girlfriends and boyfriends, school problems, little white lies, and so on, compounded by the fact that Dr. Alex was always running off at odd hours to attend his patients. Like those other shows, it had a wholesome quality that endeared it to audiences.

But, the ground-breaking divergence amidst this show and all of the others was it is focus: In this series, it was the Mom who knew best. This was the basi show of it is kind where the Mom was the lead character. And what a Mom! In my opinion, Ms. Reed was – and remains – in a class by herself.

When this show in the first place aired, Ms. Reed became an influential role model to women – as mother, wife and professional.

Despite all of these shows utter lack of racial and religious diversity and conservative depiction of conformity at all costs, I still love them all. I’m a liberal feminist so it makes utterly NO sense, but there it is. My bestloved is Father Knows Best, but this show comes in a very close second because of it is star.

Ms. Reed was effervescent without being mechanical. She was sweet, funny and forgiving – everything a child could ever want in a Mom. In addition, her kinship with her “husband,” played by the brilliant Carl Betz, had just a hint of real sexuality that was blatantly missing in the other shows.

In addition to Mr. Betz (who later starred in the Classic TV courtroom drama Judd for the Defense,) the cast included Shelley Fabares and Paul Peterson, as the Stone’s children, Mary and Jeff. The Donna Reed Show remained on the air so long that the initial children grew up. Mary left for college in 1962 and Jeff did the same two seasons later. An 8-year-old orphan named Trisha was adopted by the Stones joined the cast in January of 1963 to maintain the “family” appeal of the series. Patty Peterson, who played, Trisha was Paul Peterson’s (Jeff Stone) real-life sister.

Close friends of the Stones were Midge Kelsey, played by Ann McCrea, and her husband, Dr. David Kelsey, played by Bob Crane (long before the Classic TV comedy Hogan’s Heroes.) Children pals were Smitty, played by Darryl Richard and Herbie Bailey, played by Tommy Ivo.

The Donna Reed Show had a great deal of particular guests stars including Buster Keaton, who appeared twice on the program, Marlo Thomas, Esther Williams, and baseball greats Don Drysdale and Willie Mays who appeared on the show as themselves.

For 10 years syndicated re-runs of The Donna Reed Show pleasantly occupied new generations of young persons on Nick at Nite. In a growing resurgence of nostalgia and a salute to Mothe;’s Day, the cable television network, Nickelodeon, aired a week long “Seven Day Donna-Thon” of sequences in 1990.

Ms. Reed’s daughter, Mary Owen, said, “My Mother always said that she and my Father (Tony Owen was the Producer and primary architect of The Donna Reed Show) had climbed a mountain together making this show. For a whole generation of Baby Boomers, the Stone’s were their second family. Today, when Boomers are starting to retire, it’s time again to sit and watch The Donna Reed Show, this time with their grand kids and let them be amazed at who traditionalisti and sowed the seeds of the American family. In the 1960′s, before we lived with computers and cable TV with over 200 channels of for the most part junk, the Stone family showed what love, respect and help for one another looked like.”

In the debut episode, “Weekend Trip,” audiences were introduced to the Stone family and got a glimpse of their on occasion chaotic day-to-day life flavored by the loving influence of Donna Stone who dispenses advice, discipline, humor and wisdom to her family. When series begins, Donna and Alex Stone had been married for 15 years.

All of the First Season sequences are included in this boxed set and are: 1. Weekend Trip (9/24/1958); 2. Pardon My GLoves (10/1/1958); 3. The Hike (10/8/1958); 4. Male Ego (10/15/1958) 5. The Football Uniform (10/22/1958); 6. The Foundling (10/29/1958); 7. Three-Part Mother (11/5/1958); 8. Change Partners And Dance (11/12/1958); 9. Dough Re Mi (11/19/1958); 10. Guest In The House (11/26/1958); 11. The Baby Contest (12/3/1958); 12. The Beaded Bag (12/10/1958); 13. The Busy Body (12/17/1958); 14. A Very Merry Christmas (12/24/1958); 15. Mary’s Double date (12/31/1958); 16. Jeff’s Double life (1/7/1959); 17. Nothing But The Truth (1/14/1959); 18. It’s the principle of the thing (1/21/1959); 19. Jeff vs. Mary (1/28/1959); 20. Have Fun (2/4/1959); 21. Donna Plays Cupid (2/11/1959); 22. Love Thy Neighbor (2/18/1959); 23. The Report Card (2/25/1959); 24. Boys Will Be Boys (3/4/1959); 25. The Ideal Wife (3/11/1959); 26. Mary’s Campaign (3/18/1959); 27. The Flowered Print Dress (3/25/1959); 28. April Fool (4/1/1959); 29. The Parting Of The Ways (4/8/1959); 30. The Hero (4/15/1959); 31. Do You Trust Your Child? (4/22/1959); 32. Grateful Patient (4/29/1959); 33. The Testimonial (5/6/1959); 34. Miss Lovelace Comes To Tea (5/13/1959); 35. Tomorrow Comes Too Soon (5/20/1959); 36. Advice To Young Lovers (5/27/1959); and 37. Operation Deadbeat (6/3/1959).

The theme song for the series, “Happy Days,” and was written by William Loose and John Seely.
Several family and medical groups honored the series with awards. In fact, the President of the American Medical Association made a brief aspect on one episode.

Arts Alliance America has promised to follow this release with The Donna Reed Show: Season 2 next year.

33 of 35 persons found the following review helpful.
The Donna Reed Show – An American Classic!
By Glenn M. Schoditsch
With the blessings of her children and production by Arts Alliance America, “The Donna Reed Show” has at long last made it is way to DVD!

As with Oscar winner Walter Brennen in ‘The Real McCoys’, Academy award winner Donna Reed moves to the the little screen as homemaker Donna Stone accompanied by Carl Betz (future Emmy winner) as her pediatrician husband, Dr. Alex Stone. With Shelley Fabares and Paul Peterson as their children Mary and Jeff (and soon to be teen idols), the ‘The Donna Reed Show’ depicts a late 1950′s sitcom family resulting in for the most part comedic outcomes while including a great deal of tender family moments representing poignant & groundbreaking social issues of the time.

Arts Alliance America brings us this delightful series with the finish Season One (no half season release here) with a whopping 37 sequences in pristine Black & White. Although 50 years since it is debut, the ‘The Donna Reed Show’ will delight viewers old and new with it’s contemporary family friendly moral themes.

Even after 50 years this is unfeigned quality family programming at it is best!

UPDATE: 11.02.08

I just finished watching Disc #1; it just took me straight back to 1958 (yes I was a little guy back then but do do not forget the show in it is basi run). I can’t think of a finer TV show for the whole family, perchance ‘The Real McCoys’, that genuinely puts forth family values.

And best of all The Donna Reed Show: The Complete Second Season and The Donna Reed Show: Season Three are out now. And rumor has it Season 4 due out by Mother’s Day 2010! Very indispensable that we aid Virgil Films and Entertainment to let them know we want the whole series run. They are setting the bar high for CBS/Paramount and others.

37 of 41 persons found the following review helpful.
The Donna Reed Show is at long last on DVD!
By Tante Maren
I have waited what seems like an eternity (Actually it’s been 50 years since the show debuted) for The Donna Reed Show to in the long run be on dvd. I am just so happy to be capable to view this fantastic show again whenever I want!

The Donna Reed Show debuted on ABC, on September 24,1958 and ran until 1966, for eight seasons. It’s initial sponsors were the Campbell Soup Co. and the Johnson and Johnson Company. It starred the Stone Family, Donna Stone (Donna Reed) the most fantasti mother you could ever want, Dr.Alex Stone (Carl Betz) her pediatrician doctor husband, Mary Stone (Shelley Fabares)(1958-1963) Donna’s 14 year old daughter, Jeff Stone (Paul Petersen) Donna’s 11 year old son, and a later on adopted 9 year old daughter Trisha Stone (Patty Petersen, Paul Petersen’s real life sister)(1963-1966). Trisha came into the show after Mary (Fabares) went away to college, in reality, Fabares left the show to pursue her acting and singing career. The other regulars in the show were Donna’s next door neighbor and best friend, Midge Kelsey (Ann McCrea)(1963-1966) and her husband Dr. Dave Kelsey (Bob Crane)(1963-1965, Bob left the show to star in Hogan’s Heroes). Jimmy Hawkins played George Haskell in 1959, then became Scotty Simpson from 1960 to 1965. Scotty was Mary’s boyfriend. Darryl Richard (Smitty 1962-1966) and Janet Landgard (Karen Holmby 1964-1965)were likewise regular friends on the show.

The Guest stars were some on the show as well, including a good deal of of the better known: Jamie Farr, Buster Keaton, Ted Knight, Jack Albertson, John Astin, Harvey Korman, Dabney Coleman, Kim Darby, James Darren, Don Drysdale, Kelly Drysdale, Ginger Drysdale, Gale Gordon, Swoosie Kurtz, Johnny Crawford (the Rifleman’s son), Paul Winchell, George Sidney, Margaret Dumont, singer Tony Martin, Cloris Leachman, Willie Mays, Leo Durocher, Ellen Corby, Arte Johnson, Marlo Thomas, Jay North (Dennis the Menace), Marion Ross (Happy Days Mom), Mary Wickes, George Hamilton, DeForrest Kelly, Lassie, Esther Williams and on the last show in 1966, singer Lesley Gore.

This show always had such a real “loving home” and “loving mom” type atmosphere with the performance that Donna Reed gave each week. Playing Donna Stone, she was always there for her children, with love, counsel and always caring when it comes to any needs they had at the moment. Donna’s pediatrician husband Dr. Alex Stone also had his office in the front of their home, making it such a comfortableness for Donna to aid out with his exercise by working as his nurse when he necessitated her help. Many doctor’s had their offices in their homes in the 1950′s, it was very common. The doctors likewise made house calls, like Alex and expended a lot of hours in the hospitals as well. This aspect of the show is great for any individual who remembers these times, and how differently we lived back then, equated to now.

Paul Petersen had already been a child star before his debut on the Donna Reed Show as Donna’s son Jeff, as he was briefly, a Mouseketeer on The Mickey Mouse Club Show. After two weeks as a Mouseketeer, Paul (real name William Paul Petersen) was fired for disorderly conduct. Paul said at the time he was 10 years old as a Mouseketeer, and that ” I didn’t know that a kid actor shouldn’t act like a kid.” On The Donna Reed Show in 1963, Paul sang a song called “My Dad”, which went on to be a hit for Colpix Records.

Shelley Fabares (Mary Stone, Donna’s daughter) went off to college on the show in 1962. During her college year on the show, she sang a song called “Johnny Angel”. The song became an instant hit record, retail over a million copies and going Gold. Shelley recorded 5 albums after this hit from 1962 to 1964. Of course, Shelley (real name Michelle Marie Fabares, she is the niece of actress Nanette Fabray) left the show after having this gold record, and pursued her acting and singing career, which led to her sucessful movies and television shows for numerous decades. Following The Donna Reed Show, Shelley then became widely known and esteemed for co-starring in the Elvis Presley movies, “Spinout”, “Girl Happy” and “Clambake”. Besides her parts in a great deal of movies, Shelley also starred in some television shows, such as Mork and Mindy, Murder She Wrote, Love American Style, The Twilight Zone and a heap of more. Shelley was last known for her television show “Coach”. In October 2000, Shelley received a liver transplant due to an auto-immune disorder.

It will genuinely be so wondrous to see all these genuinely heartwarming, great shows again. These shows in truth give you a outstanding view of life in the late 50′s and early 60′s with one of America’s Best T.V. Moms ever!

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