# What TV show had a doorknob in the center of the front door? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 21, 2006, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-show-had-a-doorknob-in-the-center-of-the-front-door/341021 "2006-01-21T20:58:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2006, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-show-had-a-doorknob-in-the-center-of-the-front-door/341021/1 "2006-01-21T20:58:59Z")
When my parents were planning details of the house they had built in 1957 or '58, I was 9 or 10 years old. I suggested they get a front door with a doorknob in the middle, like they had on that one show. I was sorta kidding, and I didn’t think they’d pay any attention. They went for it, though, and when I last checked, it was still there. So, which TV family had the oddball front door? BTW, on our door, it was done with a Schlage lockset with an extension between the latch and the lockset. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2006, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-show-had-a-doorknob-in-the-center-of-the-front-door/341021/2 "2006-01-21T21:53:12Z")
I think I remember that and am trying to guess what I might have been watching from that time period. Was it _The Adventurs of Ozzie and Harriet_? I’m picturing Ricky Nelson grabbing for that but it’s quite possible a figment… ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2006, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-show-had-a-doorknob-in-the-center-of-the-front-door/341021/3 "2006-01-21T22:33:14Z")
This probably isn’t what you’re thinking of, but one of the funniest skits on the Carol Burnett Show had a door with a huge knob in the middle. It was a mansion, and Tim Conway and Harvey Korman played butlers. The doorbell rang, and Tim Conway went to answer it. The problem was, he was wearing gloves and couldn’t turn the knob. So he ends up climbing up on the knob to sit on it and tries to turn it by gripping it with his thighs and swaying his whole body from side to side. That’s not the funny part. Harvey Korman, from what I remember, was incredibly easy to crack up. He walks across the stage, I assume in an attempt to help Conway’s character open the door, and he stops halfway. You see Korman, his face in a rictus, his eyes screwed shut, as Conway straddles the doorknob, swaying from side to side. I believe Harvey had stopped dead in his tracks because he knew, if he moved one more inch, he would have collapsed on the floor, screaming in laughter. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2006, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-show-had-a-doorknob-in-the-center-of-the-front-door/341021/4 "2006-01-21T22:40:15Z")
IIRC, the door to Uncle Bill’s apartment in _Family Affair_ had a center doorknob, but that was the late 60s. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2006, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-show-had-a-doorknob-in-the-center-of-the-front-door/341021/5 "2006-01-21T22:48:25Z")
Could it have been _The Beverly Hillbillies_? ---
**Author:** ![GrizzRich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7ba0ec/32.png) [@GrizzRich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrizzRich)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2006, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-show-had-a-doorknob-in-the-center-of-the-front-door/341021/6 "2006-01-22T04:13:38Z")
I seem to remember that _The Brady Bunch_ lived in a house that had DOUBLE front doors… both with doorknobs in the middle. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2006, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-show-had-a-doorknob-in-the-center-of-the-front-door/341021/7 "2006-01-22T04:24:25Z")
I can even picture the door, but I can’t quite resolve that to an actual recognizable studio set, dammit! ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2006, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-show-had-a-doorknob-in-the-center-of-the-front-door/341021/8 "2006-01-22T04:46:43Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > I can even picture the door, but I can’t quite resolve that to an actual recognizable studio set, dammit! Me too and this is driving me crazy. I remember wondering about that weird door knob when I was a kid. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2006, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-show-had-a-doorknob-in-the-center-of-the-front-door/341021/9 "2006-01-22T04:50:13Z")
My immediate thought was also _Family Affair_. I think they showed the front door at the beginning of every ep. StG ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2006, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-show-had-a-doorknob-in-the-center-of-the-front-door/341021/10 "2006-01-22T04:51:58Z")
I assume there were no TV sitcoms of this era set in a hobbit-hole… ---
**Author:** ![Wolfian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Wolfian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolfian)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2006, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-show-had-a-doorknob-in-the-center-of-the-front-door/341021/11 "2006-01-22T05:53:12Z")
That’s the beauty of it! The knob doesn’t do anything! ---
**Author:** ![OneChance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/74df32/32.png) [@OneChance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneChance)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2006, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-show-had-a-doorknob-in-the-center-of-the-front-door/341021/12 "2006-01-22T09:59:23Z")
Wasn’t there a centered doorknob in _The Wizard of Oz_? ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2006, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-show-had-a-doorknob-in-the-center-of-the-front-door/341021/13 "2006-01-22T10:17:45Z")
> [@Wolfian](#): > > That’s the beauty of it! The knob doesn’t do anything! Maybe the show was _My Three Memes_? ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2006, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-show-had-a-doorknob-in-the-center-of-the-front-door/341021/14 "2006-01-22T20:52:41Z")
It was on a show I liked at the time, which lets out The Brady Bunch and Family Affair. Maybe it was Father Knows Best or something. ---
**Author:** ![SylverOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@SylverOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SylverOne)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2006, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-show-had-a-doorknob-in-the-center-of-the-front-door/341021/15 "2006-01-22T21:09:53Z")
It wasn’t a TV show, but in the movie Johnny Dangerously, the door to Johnny’s apartment had a knob in the middle. Oddball thing to remember I suppose, but I’d never seen one before, and it kinda stuck with me. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2006, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-show-had-a-doorknob-in-the-center-of-the-front-door/341021/16 "2006-01-22T23:05:23Z")
Shot in the dark: The Loretta Young Show? hh ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2006, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-show-had-a-doorknob-in-the-center-of-the-front-door/341021/17 "2006-01-22T23:14:28Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > Shot in the dark: The Loretta Young Show? > hh No, those were the fancy French doors. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2006, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-show-had-a-doorknob-in-the-center-of-the-front-door/341021/18 "2006-01-22T23:14:59Z")
I’m almost certain that Captain Kangaroo’s door had a knob in the middle. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-show-had-a-doorknob-in-the-center-of-the-front-door/341021/19 "2006-01-23T03:44:52Z")
I’ll admit that I don’t have an answer or suggestion, but honestly! Why are people suggesting things like The Beverly Hillbillies (1962-71) or The Brady Bunch (1969-74) when he said the house was built in 57 or 58? ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-show-had-a-doorknob-in-the-center-of-the-front-door/341021/20 "2006-01-23T04:56:07Z")
> [@zweisamkeit](#): > > I’ll admit that I don’t have an answer or suggestion, but honestly! Why are people suggesting things like The Beverly Hillbillies (1962-71) or The Brady Bunch (1969-74) when he said the house was built in 57 or 58? I don’t know. Maybe because memories can be tricky sometimes. For instance: Just the other day I thought I was only about 8yo when Conan the Barbarian came out. Turns out I was actually 12. Either that, or maybe people are just making conversaiton. What with this being a board and all. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-show-had-a-doorknob-in-the-center-of-the-front-door/341021.md?page=2)