All Episodes 1958 - 1966

Shelley Fabares recollection of The Donna Reed Show..

Interview with Paul Petersen who played Jeff Stone on The Donna Reed Show.

Donna Reed PSA for U.S. Savings Bonds.

Featurette with Jimmy Hawkins.

Children's Educational Film - For More Tomorrows starring Paul Petersen (Jeff Stone).

An Interview with Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen

An Interview with Paul and Betty Petersen

Opening and Closing of program with Campbell's Soup and V8 Commercials

Network Promo for The Donna Reed Show.

An Episode of This Is Your Life featuring Donna Reed.

This is the very first episode of the long-running series, in which audiences were introduced to the beloved Stone family. In this episode, we get a glimpse of the sometimes chaotic day-to-day life of the Stones, always buffered by the sweet and loving persona of Donna Reed as Donna Stone, TV's first ""highly visible"" Mom of the 1950s. She dispenses advice, discipline, humor and wisdom to her family, something that was usually reserved for the TV Dads of the era. In the premiere episode, Donna hopes to get away to a ski weekend with her brood, but pediatrician husband Alex's on-call schedule makes this tricky, especially since one of his young patients, Eddie Barclay (played by one of the Corcoran siblings of Disney film and TV fame; sister Noreen was on ""Bachelor Father"" with John Forsythe), has a mysterious illness and Alex doesn't want to leave him in the care of another doctor. Not wanting to disappoint Mary and Jeff (who are both experts at verbally matching wits and insults wit

Jeff gets a black eye from a boy who mocked Donna's acting in a local play, so Donna tries to teach Jeff how to box.

Donna tries to prove women can out smart men when Dr. Stone is called away to treat a patient.

Alex feels bad about his ego and proves his independence when Donna buys the suit he wants.

Jeff wants a uniform for the team picture. Jeff must work for the money to buy it.

A woman abandones her child at the Stones place. Attached to the baby is a note, that upsets the entire household, including their Irish maid: Dear Mrs.Stone, His name is Willie. He's a good boy and hardly ever cries. When the local police is informed, Donna can't part from the baby. She wants to stay with him until his mother is found. Alex caves in to Donna and allows the baby to stay for the time being. Jeff, meanwhile, doesn't like the thought of a person who might become a sibling, but he soon warms up to it. Meanwhile, Donna does some invesitagtion on her own. She realizes that a baby name Guillermo might be called Willy. And who has a son named Willy? The milkman! Donna goes to his house to investigate. She finds out that the milkman is upset due to his young wife dying while having little Willy. But why did he choose Donna Stone to look after it? Because he knows Donna has a happy and loving home, and that she'd look after the child. The milkman says he realizes he did the wr

Donna tries to go to 3 places on the same night.

Mary has a crush on George the basketball star George who wants to take her to the varsity Prom but can't dance.

Donna tries to get a concert pianist to perform at a benefit at the same time Jeff is trying to raise money for a football tackling dummy.

An ex-patient seeks refuge at the stones.

Alex is judge at a Beautiful Baby contest run by Donna's club.

Donna tries to get an expensive bag for birthday.

Uncle Fred brings trouble to the stones.

Donna searches for the person who gave money for the hospital party.

Mary's Junior prom is coming up, She feels two boys on the football team are two possible dates to choose from. She waits until the day of the prom to decide.

After nosy neighbor Mrs. Wilgus (the inimitable Kathleen Freeman) alerts Donna and Alex about Mary having a noisy party while they were out, the kids get lectured about being the children of a doctor, and that they should behave accordingly. Not too long after this, Jeff takes a ride from Mary's troublemaker friend Tommy Hendricks, who doesn't have a license and has taken his father's car out for a joyride, and they get into a minor accident while fleeing a cop. He hides it from Donna and Alex, but must tell Mary when she notices him favoring his injured left arm. Not wanting to disappoint his parents or ruin his father's practice with a small-town scandal (i.e., Jeff (to Mary): ""I can see the headlines now: 'Doctor's Son Injured as Police Chase Hot Car'. It would ruin Dad!""), Jeff goes incognito to the new pediatrician who has just set up shop in Hilldale.

David Barker returns to the Stones home for his birthday.

Mr. Popkin won't let Alex treat Joey because he has no money. Donna hires him to repairs around the house, Later Alex fires him. Donna sees that he is an inventor and helps Mr. Popkin market his product.

Jeff fells Donna and Alex love Mary more than Jeff. Donna and Alex turn on an intercom after finding out the information and hope Jeff listens.

Mary comes home from a date in tears. Donna And Alex tell 2 different stories on how they met each other on there first date.

Donna Tries to get Bo and Celia to fall in love.

Donna And Alex help celebrate the 20th anniversary of Willber & Celia Wilgus only to find that Celia walked out.

Donna feels that Jeff is just an average Student.

David Barker is brought to Alex to be treated for rabies only to learn that student bit David.

Everyone praises Donna,""the ideal wife,""so much that she goes on a rampage and purposely loses her temper at people.After a day of this she regrets her tirage and apologizes to all.

Marry is elected class secretary, and may drive her family crazy trying to Win the election.

Donna Tries to make her marriage more romantic.

Buzz Barry America's Idol comes to Hildale to sing at a school Dance but then is ill with the measles.

The Stones campaign to help the Kelppers marrige backfires on them!

Alex's roommate Biff Jameson comes to Hilldale but Alex and Donna have trouble finding out what he does for a living.

Donna gives advice on how raise children.

Alex takes advantage of a tip on the market.

Donna plans a speech for Dr. Jason

A housekeeper is hired to help Donna.

Donna wants a day alone without kids. But is she and Alex ready for that?

Mary gets advice on how to handle love.

Alex collects money Jeff owes.

Mary Tries to Act.

Donna is too excited to sleep because Alex is giving a speech at a convention. While trying to sleep on the plane Alex gives Donna a tranquilizer to help her sleep.

Donna has trouble deciding whether or not buy a new dress.

Jeff's 'friend' Doug keeps getting him into trouble at school, and Jeff silently takes the blame for him because he knows Doug's mother constantly picks on him and wonders why he can't be more like Jeff, who behaves like an innocent cherub at their house. One day when Dr. Alex is at Doug's house, he witnesses Doug's mother berating Doug unfairly, so Donna invites Doug's mother over just before Mary and Jeff get home from school so she can be there to see Jeff's behavior at home. Doug's mother learns that Jeff is obnoxious to his sister, loud, and unruly at home (just like any other adolescent boy) and all ends well when Doug arrives and his mother sees that he too, is just like any other boy, but knows when to be polite in somebody else's house.

Alex must contend with overly anxious new parents who constantly call him in a state of panic, thinking that there is something wrong with their baby.

Mary wants to meet a boy, so she talks Jeff into going to his kid sister's party.

Alex is hurt that Jeff likes the new neighbor.

Donna mistakenly accepts an invitation to 'culture vulture' Lydia Langley's cocktail party, at which Lydia mentions that she also conducts a book discussion group. She goads Donna into joining it and then reporting on Tolstoy's ""War and Peace"" at her first meeting. Donna then attempts to immerse the whole family in culture, by buying Jeff a Dickens book, Mary a Tchaikovsky record, and a copy of Tolstoy's epic for her and Alex to read together. She then tries to read the lengthy novel in a week...

Jeff's class has a new teacher, Miss McGuinness. The boys in particular complain that she is too strict, so Donna meets with the new teacher to get matters settled.

Jeff's friend, Phillip, has a problem. He wants to play football, but his mother is over-protective and won't let him.

Jeff finds out the reason why he wasn't made a member of a club: He is friends with a boy no one else likes.

Dilemma in the Stone household: How to discipline the children without having Donna look like a villian by meting out the punishments, or having Donna look like a squealer when Alex does .

Donna gets cornered into accepting an invitation from a couple that neither she nor Alex really care for. Alex refuses to go, sparking an argument that they try to keep quiet from the children.

Alex and Donna chaperone Mary's date with a college man.

Lately all Donna has been hearing is how wonderful Alex is, and how lucky she is to be his wife. After a while this gets Donna to wondering if what people really mean is that Alex got the short end of the stick by marrying Donna.

Mary gets an engagement ring and phone calls from Matt, a freshman at UCLA, but doesn't tell anyone in the family about the ring or why Matt is calling. So what's going on? As Donna says, ""Alex, our daughter has a secret.""

Little David Barker is very excited. His father is getting married and he hopes this means he can leave military school and live in a real home, but things don't work out the way David thought they would.

The radio show ""Housewives Corner"" is broadcast from McClure's Market. Host Jerry Parker is asking the ladies if housewives find questions like ""While baking an upside down cake,do you recommend standing on your head?"" This presents an opportunity for Donna to defend homemakers like herself as being a bit more than ""just a housewife""!

Alex's Uncle Dan takes a break from traveling all over the world. Jeff likes the idea of going to Alaska, Saudi Arabia, Malaya, Australia, and doing whatever he wants, just like Uncle Dan. Jeff decides to join him. Will Donna and Alex allow him to go? Would you believe, yes?

Jeff and his friends get into trouble when they are discovered using an abandoned house as a hang-out. This prompts Donna and the other mothers to create a nice meeting place for the children.

Donna and Alex decide to shake up their daily routine by going out on the town...and on a Monday night, no less! Nothing works out the way they planned.

Alex lays down the law when Jeff and Mary slack off on their responsibilities at home and their schoolwork. Now Alex is furious when it appears that Mary didn't come home from a bowling date with Roger on time.

Alex's wild room-mate from college is getting married, and Alex is invited to the bachelor party. Donna doesn't like this idea at all.

Donna makes Jeff take trumpet lessons when she discovers he has perfect pitch. Jeff would rather be on the track team.

While Alex was the ""belle of the ball"" with his fantastic dancing at the Woman's Medical Auxiliary Dance, the dance cost more to produce than the income from ticket sales provided. Each member agrees to contribute $27 using her skills in moneymaking to make up the budget shortfall. Donna will sell 54 jars of her famous pickle recipe at fifty cents per jar and donate the money to the Auxiliary. Will Donna's plan work?

Donna is away and Alex has to manage the house and children.

Donna's old school mate, who has been a single career woman all these years, is now engaged to a doctor. She visits Donna to see what life is really like for a doctor's wife.

Jeff starts swapping possessions to pay off a debt. Zack: Mike Montgomery. Mrs. Pruitt: Marjorie Winters. Alvin: Mike Peters. Sprague: Percy Helton. Paul Petersen.

Mary vows not to go to the school dance unless Ellen has a date for the dance. Ellen is rather plain so Mary goes to work to transform Ellen into a glamorous young lady.

Donna and Alex have different stories about how they first met. Also Donna plays matchmaker to a new doctor in town and a pretty nurse at the hospital.

Donna tells Emily, the town gossip, that Kay Watson is having a baby. Then Donna learns from Alex that Kay is keeping it a secret so that she can stay working longer. Donna is crushed, knowing that she may have let Kay's secret out.

Sixteen- year-old Petie is home from military school and visiting the Stone family. Petie and Mary have been friends for years, but seeing how beautiful Mary has become, he would now like to be more than just friends. As Alex puts it, ""springtime has come to Petie!"" How can Petie catch Mary's eye?

Aunt Lettie is coming to visit, so Donna and Alex try to find the wedding present she gave them so she would be certain to see it. It would help if they could just remember what it was! And by the way, Alex, can Donna buy a $250 Porcelain Dresden figurine?

Jeff wants to keep a cat that followed him home, so can Harry the Cat stay? The Stone family will decide by using the democratic process.

The family wants to get away for the weekend. The brochure shows Lakeview Lodge to be a great place to go, so Donna and Alex head up there early with Mary and Jeff to join them later, but Lakeview Lodge turns out to be a major disappointment. Now what can they do?

A lady spots Donna and Mary having lunch in a restaurant, so she stops to say hello. She recognized Donna, even though ""it's been 13 years."" Donna doesn't recognize her but is polite and too embarrassed to ask her name. Later, Donna realizes she must find out who the mystery woman was.

Donna tries to redecorate the house, but neighbor boy Dennis Mitchell (Jay North) tries to help her...and ends up making things more of a mess. Donna finally calls Dennis' nearer neighbor Mr.Wilson (Joseph Kearns) to ask if Dennis would help him with anything. (I'm sure Mr.Wilson sympathized.) This was a crossover show-with two people from ""Dennis the Menace"" guesting. It turns out both shows are set in the town of Hilldale...but Dennis probably lived in a different neighborhood than Donna.

Nick the Greek is the handyman at the Stone's house. He's still learning how to write English, so he asks Jeff for help in writing a love letter to his girlfriend. Later, Mary finds this love letter in Jeff's handwriting and wonders if Jeff is involved in a new romance.

Mary's friend Ginny lives in a mansion with a maid, a tennis court, and a swimming pool. Now Ginny is going to spend the weekend at Mary's house. What can Mary do to impress Ginny, with the Stone family having no maid, no pool, no tennis court, and with a wild unruly younger brother Jeff at home?

Mary is enamored with the new boy at school, Elroy! Why? Because he reminds her so much of what her dad must have been like as a teenager. Alex can't see the resemblance at all.

Like, are we worried about Mary riding in Scotty's car? After all, its only a hot rod made with parts taken from wrecked cars!

Alex is cited for his research in a Medical Journal article that he tries to read throughout the whole episode, but he's constantly interrupted. Mary gives up boys when Roger and Elroy let a coin toss decide which one will play tennis with her. She decides to become a scientist. Boys are back in her life when she discovers the new boy Stanley mowing their yard and conducting a science project at the same time.

The Stones' cleaning lady has troubles. Her baby is sick and her husband lost his job due to illness. Alex takes care of the baby's health, and Donna hires the husband to do odd jobs in their house. Now the Stones have troubles. The twenty dollars that Alex left on the counter for Mrs. Cruikshank's charity is missing. Could the handyman be a thief? Mrs. Cruikshank thinks so and makes Donna wonder if it's true.

The tables are turned as Alex becomes a hospital patient, and a difficult one at that.

Mary goes to a session at Taffy Cinders Charm School and wins a scholarship to learn how to be a model. Most of the girls who went with Mary also ""won"" scholarships, too! Then the expenses mount up, as she needs the School instruction book, the School grooming aids, etc.

Mary is so indecisive, always asking her mother about what clothes to wear which boys to date. Tonight though, she starts making her own decisions when she, Roger, and Larry go out on the town. They go to the Hungry Onion coffeehouse and listen to poetry. They get into money troubles with dinner at the Flamingo Club, and that's when Mary makes the right decision.

Donna heads to a Blaine Women's College reunion, and while she's away, Jeff adopts Duke, the dog.

Jeff wants a motor scooter like Gordie just got, but Alex won't agree to that. Gordie shows off his riding skill until he drives the scooter into a tree in the Stones front yard. Gordie proceeds to fake a leg injury that puts him in Jeff's bed overnight, with Donna taking care of him. Why would Gordie do that? Does it have anything to do with his new stepmother or his dad giving him anything he wants? Does Donna have an idea about how to help Gordie's mom with this problem? You bet she does!

Donna can't fit into the dinner dress she bought a few months ago, and she wants to wear it! She decides it's time to exercise and diet the extra pounds off. Then, Alex notices his tuxedo is a little too tight now, so he decides, well, you get the picture! And will Jeff ever repay the money he borrowed from Mary so she can buy that sweater she's been wanting for a long time. And what do you think happens when she finally does get that sweater and tries it on?

When Donna's letter-to-the-editor about parents needing to make sure that their children follow through by finishing what they start gets published, it prompts Donna to follow through herself. Now Mary can't play tennis till she finds her lost jacket and returns a library book, and Jeff can't rest till he finds the tire pump he borrowed from a friend.

Jeff just can't seem to do anything right --- he slams the door and the angel food cake in the oven droops; his model airplane has cockeyed wings; airplane glue gets on the carpet, so he bleaches it out! The family needs to build up his spirits, so when he does mediocre imitations of movie stars like James Cagney, Peter Lorre, and Edward G. Robinson, he gets all the family's praise. So he decides to enter the upcoming school talent show! Now what can Mary, Donna, and Alex do?

The piano becomes a parking lot with everyone dropping things on it, like books, the newspaper, so Alex decides to sell it. All of a sudden Mary has a problem with that idea and won't let it go. She'll start practicing again , everyday. It turns out a boy she'd like to date just loves to play the piano!

Alex needs to go to Hollywood to discuss suggestions for a Children's Clinic, so the whole family takes the opportunity to go along and see Hollywood, except it rains, for 2 days! They had so much wanted to meet a movie and TV star before they leave, They do! Also enjoy Donna dreaming that she is a big Hollywood star.

Donna fills in for the director of Mary's drama group when he is called to Hollywood for a part in a movie.

Jeff has been complaing that there's nothing to do. To top it off, Ricky comes over and brags about how his dad is taking him on an exciting camping trip this weekend. Now Jeff wants to go camping, but Alex is away at a conference. So Donna decides to take Jeff and Mary camping at Truesdale Park right in town. This isn't the kind of camping trip Jeff had in mind.

The new doctor has a Japanese Geisha girl for a wife. She is constantly seeing to her husband's needs, can't do enough for him. The married couples of Hilldale have a difficult time adjusting to her. Leave it to Donna to ""Americanize"" her in matters of wifely duties.

In a try for more togetherness, Donna signs Alex and herself up for painting lessons.

While driving through Hilldale, Tony Martin is arrested for speeding by a policeman using radar. He knows he wasn't speeding, but figures he'll just pay the fine and be on his way. In court, Tony sees Donna fighting a parking meter violation and insisting on a jury trial rather than pay a $2 fine. Tony decides to ask for a jury trial, too. It's a matter of man versus machine: is the parking meter keeping correct time or did Donna? Was the radar unit accurate or not? Will popular singer Tony Martin sing a song in this episode? Yes!

Donna and her friend consider opening a poodle parlor where owners can bring their poodles to get clipped and buy them fancy accessories. The husbands think the whole idea is ludicrous which make the ladies all the more determined to succeed.

While babysitting for the Damons, Mary meets their older son, Rick, who has dropped out of college because he wasn't accepted by his father's old fraternity. He plans to join the Foreign Legion and wants Mary to help him.

Dr. Steinhaus is retiring as the head of the Board of Health. Donna thinks this is the perfect opportunity for Alex to have a position that offers him more regular hours and she intends to help him get it.

Income tax time, so Alex decides to save money and prepare his own taxes this year rather than have Harvey do it. When Alex figures out he owes money, he gets mad about a hat he thinks Donna bought for $49.50. When Harvey arrives at the Stone residence, having done Alex's taxes anyway and announces that Alex will be getting a refund, Alex's attitude becomes very pleasant indeed! Turns out Harvey's wife Nora had Donna buy the hat, but it was for Nora!

Donna gives Alex an apothecary jar with a wind-up music box inside, which plays "their song." However, it turns out that Alex doesn't like the song.

A story about every married couple's dilemma: what decisions can a husband make on his own and which require a conference for his wife's permission? Like Alex and Joe, who tell the guys they will go fishing and they don't need to ask their wives. But see, Joe has a system: he bribes his wife Myra with an expensive gift first. Now Alex, on the other hand, faces an episode-long issue with Donna about this matter. Does he resort to a bribe, too?

Yes, Jeff is elected class Treasurer. He has the class dues to protect all $32 of it. Now what could possibly happen? Could he, oh, I don't know lose it? It's Thursday. The class picnic is Saturday. Mrs. Haskell needs the money to pay for the bus that will take the class to the picnic. Can Jeff find it in time?

The school bully, Jocko, makes fun of Jeff being in the choir. Jeff starts ""pumping iron"" because it looks like there will be a fight. Can Mr. Trestle's sage advice possibly do Jeff and the guys any good and stop the conflict?

When Herbie suggests his visiting friend Ken goes along with them to the dance, Mary decides not to go to the dance at all. Then she meets Ken, who's in full uniform from the Carter Military Academy. Yeah, she wants to go to the dance now! But where does that leave Herbie? It's another good ""Mary learns a lesson""

Scotty, smitten by Mary, agrees to teach Mary how to drive. Oh boy! Does he have his hands full! Will their romantic friendship last through this experience?

Alex growing a mustache turns out to be quite a controversial event in the Stone household.

Mary and Mark decide to have a Saturday nursery school (i.e., day care) to earn enough money to paint Mark's car. Alex, on the other hand, would like to sleep late on Saturday morning, unaware of the bedlam that's about to take place!