The Good Guys was an sitcom which aired on CBS from September 25, 1968 to January 23, 1970. 42 color episodes were filmed in all.As with The Governor & J.J. and Get Smart, it was produced by Talent Associates and CBS Productions. CBS Paramount Television also owns the rights to this program as well.
The show centered around Rufus Butterworth (Bob Denver), the driver of a customized 1930s touring car turned taxi and his childhood friend Bert Gramus, played by Herb Edelman, owner of a local diner and neighborhood hangout called "Bert's Place," which Butterworth advertised on the taxi's fender-mount spare tire covers. Plots usually revolved around "get rich quick" schemes that invariably backfired. Other characters included Bert's schoolteacher wife, Claudia and diner regulars Mr. Bender and Hal Dawson.
Never a huge hit with fans, The Good Guys failed to finish in the Nielsen Top 30 and has never been shown in reruns in the US. In his autobiography, Gilligan, Maynard and Me, Bob Denver related that poor-quality prints of the show were shown for a time in South America. TV Land considered showing episodes of the show in 1998 but opted instead to air episodes of another "lost" sitcom, He and She.
Rufus' taxi was created by George Barris. A 1/25-scale model kit was manufactured by MPC Corporation and examples are highly collectible today.
Bert Gramus and Rufus Butterworth were childhood chums who decided to pool their savings and purchase a diner, which they called "Bert's Place". Originally bachelor Rufus worked as a cabdriver, while Bert and his wife Claudia operated the diner, but Rufus eventually quit his cabbie gig. Hal, Andy & Big Tom were some of their regular customers. Written by Marty McKee
