Love on a Rooftop
Pete’s filmography on this site was compiled and written by Cherie and is listed in reverse order of airdate. Active links are to the Internet Movie Database for more information; they are not to video or video clips.
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Love on a Rooftop … as David Willis (30 episodes, 1966-1967)
Julie and David Willis marry after a whirlwind courtship. They move into a small, windowless apartment whose only redeeming feature is access to a breathtaking rooftop view of San Francisco. Along with the apartment come neighbors Stan and Carol Parker (Stan is played by Rich Little and Carol is played by Barbara Bostock). Stan is a “freelance genius” and Carol his admiring wife.
Murder in Apartment D (Season 1, Episode 30; Airdate: 4/6/67)
A new tenant in the building is thought to be a murderer. No known copy of this episode is available.
Debt of Gratitude (Season 1, Episode 29; Airdate: 3/30/67)
David’s army buddy and others begin to live on the rooftop. No known copy of this episode is available.
One Too Many Cooks (Season 1, Episode 28; Airdate: 3/23/67)
After keeping his skill hidden from Julie, David is revealed to be an expert cook — exposing him to Julie’s competitive jealousy and ridicule at the office over his womanly skill.
Stork on a Rooftop (Season 1, Episode 27; Airdate: 3/16/67)
Julie guesses that Carol is pregnant because she is eating scads of oranges, including the skins. Julie gives David the task of telling Stan he is going to be a daddy. After Julie questions her father whether her mother ever ate strange things when she was pregnant, her parents become convinced they are about to become grandparents.
The Letter Bug (Season 1, Episode 26; Airdate: 3/9/67)
Not having learned how David feels about property rights from “The Chocolate Hen” episode, Julie opens a letter that David wrote before their marriage. Learning that he had had doubts about her, Julie goes to a matchmaking computer, which declares she and David are completely wrong for each other.
The Sell Out (Season 1, Episode 25; Airdate: 3/2/67)
David takes a designing job in order to pay Julie’s art school tuition. No known copy of this episode is available.
Low Calorie Love (Season 1, Episode 24; Airdate: 2/23/67)
Conflict arises as David tries to gain weight and Julie tries to lose it. No known copy of this episode is available.
Musical Apartments (Season 1, Episode 23; Airdate: 2/16/67)
Stan’s burgeoning ant colony force David and Julie to move to a hotel. No known copy of this episode is available.
Shotgun Honeymoon (Season 1, Episode 22; Airdate: 2/9/67)
Stan’s ability to imitate John Wayne over the telephone turns David and Julie’s long overdue budget honeymoon into a truly first-class extravaganza.
Who Was That Husband I Saw You With? (Season 1, Episode 21; Airdate: 2/2/67)
Julie’s relatives are demanding wedding photos, but she and David have none. So Stan gets them a job posing as bride and groom for an advertisement. They plan to use the photo as if it were their own wedding. All goes well until the photographer insists David doesn’t look the type and makes him exchange roles with the model portraying the “Best Man.”
My Father, the TV Star (Season 1, Episode 20; Airdate: 1/16/67)
Without saying that Fred Hammond is her father, Julie promotes her father’s used car business to a client at David’s firm. David wants the relationship kept secret so the client doesn’t feel pressured, but Stan creates a publicity campaign for Hammond, complete with a TV commercial in which David and Julie accidentally appear.
King of the Castle (Season 1, Episode 19; Airdate: 1/19/67)
Should a wife earn more than her husband? When Julie gets a great job drawing caricatures at a restaurant, David takes on three part-time jobs in addition to his regular job so that he still brings home a few dollars more than she does.
Let It Rain (Season 1, Episode 18; Airdate: 1/12/67)
Julie and David swap apartments with Julie’s parents. No known copy of this episode is available.
Going Home to Daughter (Season 1, Episode 17; Airdate: 1/3/67)
Mrs. Hammond leaves her husband. No known copy is available.
Frocks of Trouble (Season 1, Episode 16; Airdate: 12/27/66)
Julie tries unsuccessfully to remodel a formal gown to wear to a banquet in honor of her father. When she fails, David buys a shop-worn substitute of faded velvet, the best they can afford. When Julie’s father sends over an expensive gown, Julie is put in an impossible situation, forced to choose between hurting the feelings of her husband or her father.
The Fifty Dollar Misunderstanding (Season 1, Episode 15; Airdate: 12/20/66)
David hopes to win a bonus in order to buy a used refrigerator, but his design is rejected. At loose ends for a project, Stan decides Julie can earn money drawing caricatures, and when one of her paintings sells for $50, his belief in her art career skyrockets, while David’s ego takes a nose-dive.
But Is It Really You? (Season 1, Episode 14; Airdate: 12/13/66)
Julie’s Aunt Adrienne gives the newlyweds a huge, valuable Chien Lung vase. David and Julie spend their savings redecorating to match the vase, with horrible results. Add Stan’s drunk clients to the mix and chaos ensues. From the characters’ comments, we can deduce the redecorated apartment is an avant-garde red, but can’t see the color because many ABC affiliates didn’t have the equipment needed to broadcast in color. Also note that many of Stan’s “crazy” ideas have become reality, including “Drive a Drunk.”
There’s Got to Be Something Wrong With Her (Season 1, Episode 13; Airdate: 12/6/66)
David’s ex-girlfriend proves to be such a sophisticated beauty that no one believes he dropped her, and Julie is overcome by insecurity.
Dave’s Night Out (Season 1, Episode 12; Airdate: 11/29/66)
David’s friends at work convince him that, as a newlywed husband, he must take a stand and insist on one night out each week with the boys, whether he wants it or not. Finding he doesn’t enjoy the night out, David has to find some way to pass the time while pretending to Julie he is living it up on his boys’ nights.
War on a Rooftop (Season 1, Episode 11; Airdate: 11/22/66)
Upset by Stan’s constant unannounced visits, David tries to ask him tactfully for more privacy. Stan is offended and Carol becomes angry, too. Events escalate until the two couples are at war.
Who Is Sylvia? (Season 1, Episode 10; Airdate: 11/15/66)
After having a disturbing dream, Julie wakes up angry and accuses David of having an affair with a woman named Sylvia. David must defend his honor and prove there isn’t a Sylvia in his life, either real or imagined.
Chinchilla Rag (Season 1, Episode 9; Airdate: 11/1/66)
Stan is given two chinchillas as payment for a job. When the landlord invokes the no-pet policy, Stan moves the animals to David and Julie’s apartment, hoping they can be more securely hidden. Still, the landlord finds out, and surprises everyone with an important piece of information about the chinchillas and their newborn offspring.
One Picture is Worth . . . (Season 1, Episode 8; Airdate: 10/26/66)
Paul Burgess, a former bohemian admirer of Julie, has cleaned up nicely and is now a handsome man with a successful art career. Meeting up with Julie, he gives her a bargain on one of his prints. David’s jealousy over Julie’s past is revealed when he makes her return this Burgess print and then praises a painting by Julie to the skies until he learns Paul, and not his wife, is its creator. Note the early appearance of Daniel J. Travanti, later known for his roles in Hill Street Blues and the movie Adam, as John Walsh. Travanti also guest-starred on Gidget in the episode, “Now There’s a Face.”
Homecoming (Season 1, Episode 7; Airdate: 10/18/66)
Mr. and Mrs. Hammond invite David and Julie to spend a weekend with them in Julie’s childhood home. Being short of funds and forced to hitch a ride on a poultry truck, the newlyweds arrive travel-stained and smelling of chickens. David is overwhelmed by the Hammonds’ wealth and his recognition of what Julie has given up to marry him. Intimidated by that realization and the success of Julie’s friends, he responds by drinking far too much.
The Chocolate Hen (Season 1, Episode 6; Airdate: 10/11/66)
David and Julie congratulate themselves on never having had a big fight, but when Carol gives David a discounted chocolate Easter hen to thank him for listening to Stan’s ideas, Julie, not realizing it is David’s, passes the hen on to a neighbor child, and a big fight soon ensues. David is outraged over the violation of his property rights and Julie finds his behavior ridiculous and childish, which David emphatically denies — while stomping his feet.
The Six Dollar Surprise (Season 1, Episode 5; Airdate: 10/4/66)
In this touching episode, David acts indifferent about his birthday, and says he doesn’t believe in them on general principle, but Julie deduces that he has never had a birthday party because he was raised in foster homes. David has limited her spending to just $6, and she must think of a way to make his birthday special.
The Big Brass Bed (Season 1, Episode 4; Airdate: 9/ 27/66)
Now married for two weeks, David is tired of sleeping in a tent on the roof and demands a bed. Insisting they not get just any bed, but one that “has character,” Julie buys a large brass one. The seller won’t deliver and the couple has to push the bed home through San Francisco. In her poignant autobiography, Laughing on the Outside, Crying on the Inside, Judy Carne discusses working with Peter and reveals the brief “friends with benefits” relationship they began during the filming of this episode on location in San Francisco. Note that there is a shot of famous Lombard Street, the curviest street in America, and a favorite San Francisco tourist attraction.
My Husband, the Knight (Season 1, Episode 3; Airdate: 9/20/66)
David’s boss, the uptight and cheap Mr. Bennington, invites his wife and himself to the Willis’ apartment for dinner. Feeling pressured to make a better impression than their scanty furnishings allow, David and Julie take temporary jobs found for them by Stan so they can spruce up the apartment.
117 Ways to Cook Hamburger (Season 1, Episode 2; Airdate: 9/13/66)
After chiding her for blowing their money on 109 books for $9, David is surprised and impressed with Julie’s budget — until he realizes she’s forgotten money for food. To compensate, Julie buys 50 pounds of hamburger cheaply and plans to use one of the cookbooks to create variety in their meals, only to find David loathes hamburger. Note in this episode’s introduction, the fateful sandwich’s bread has been switched from pumpernickel to rye.
Pilot Episode (Season 1, Episode 1; Airdate: 9/6/66)
In the pilot episode, the newlywed’s budget is tight and David is dismayed when Julie’s parents make a surprise visit and it is revealed she comes from a wealthy background, a condition Julie says David makes “sound like a disease.”
Love on a Rooftop received respectable ratings, even against formidable competition from shows like Petticoat Junction and NBC’s Tuesday Night at the Movies, but was not renewed. Some episodes were broadcast during the summer of 1971, but it was never syndicated and is unavailable commercially. There are no known copies of seven episodes.