The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis is about the life and loves of a young dreamer as he progresses from high school to a stint in the army and then college. Stories related Dobie's continual thoughts about the future, his running battle with his father over the prospect of acquiring work, his relationship with his "good buddy", slacker Maynard G. Krebs played by Bob Denver, and his endless romantic heartaches.
Dobie meets the beautiful but high maintenance Thalia Menninger. With the help of his beatnik buddy, Maynard G. Krebs, Dobie plots to rig the movie theater's jackpot giveaway to get enough money to take Thalia to the junior prom--that is, if his conscience doesn't get in the way.
When Thalia starts paying too much attention to wealthy Milton Armitage (Warren Beatty) because of his suits, Dobie strikes a deal with the owner of a men's clothing store (owner played by Mel Blanc) to let him model suits for him. But what will money mad Thalia do when she finds out Dobie doesn't own the fancy suits he wears?
Dobie has the soul of a poet, but greedy Thalia wants him to become a doctor. That means science classes, and that's where Dobie first meets Zelda Gilroy, the girl that will eventually pursue Dobie harder than he pursues even Thalia.
Given bad advice by his older brother, Davey, Dobie convinces a girl that he is having an affair with his teacher.
Everyone thought Bob Denver would have to leave the show, so they produced this grand goodbye of an episode. Maynard feels rejected by all of his friends and family, but when he is drafted, they all come together to give him a tribute. But don't worry! Maynard--and Bob Denver--will be back soon.
Thalia wants Dobie to become a popular singer, but he hasn't the voice for it--that is, until he gets his tonsils out. Now he can croon and make girls swoon--but with all those girls after him, will he forget Thalia? Also, this is the only episode featuring Jerome instead of Maynard.
Maynard is back, and in love for the first time! Dobie vows to help him win the love of this mystery girl, but then he realizes that Maynard's chick is Pearl Arnold, the same girl Dobie is in love with.
It's time for the Big Game--the football match between Webster and Dobie's Central High. Hoping to break Central's losing streak, Dobie masterminds a plot to kidnap Webster's mascot goat.
Dobie tries out for the starring role in the school play, hoping to get a smooch from the leading lady. When Milton Armitage gets the role instead, and Dobie is picked as his understudy, Dobie and Maynard will stop at nothing to get Milton off stage.
Dobie charms a new girl, but if his father doesn't also charm her, then that's the end for their romance. It doesn't help when Dobie screws up some important grocery deliveries he makes for his father's store. Will Herbert T. Gillis be able to keep his temper?
Feeling depressed after his parents seem to have forgotten his birthday, Dobie stays out of the house. Maynard, who knows Dobie's parents are throwing a surprise party for him, tries to get him to go home, but Dobie refuses. Will Dobie miss his own party? Guest starring a very young "Ronny" Howard.
With his wife pestering him about Christmas cards, his sons Dobie and Davey pestering him for money, and customers making unreasonable demands, Herbert T. Gillis' Christmas cheer literally goes out the window!
Taking a psychologist's advice the wrong way, Herbert forces Dobie to "confess" that he hates his father. Besides his strange Dad, Dobie also has to deal with greedy Thalia demanding top class treatment if he wants to take her to the big dance.
Dobie and his Dad are mad when a handsome young man from Argentina charms both Thalia and Mrs. Gillis.
It's homespun Dobie Gillis against the wealthy and powerful Milton Armitage for class president. When Milton's mother makes Herbert an offer he can't refuse, will he sell out his son's chances to win?
Dobie's fist sends a legendary boxer reeling. After that, Dobie is the most intimidating force on campus, something Milton intends to change.
The girls of Central High sing Dobie's praises and the boys want to hit him when he goes on a hunger strike to impress Thalia. This episode introduces Stephen Franken as Chatsworth Osborne, Jr.
When his latest girl and her family welcome Dobie with open arms, he learns he better be careful what he wishes for. Immediately, they start to train him for their acrobatic act, the Flying Millicans!
Unless Dobie passes the math exam, Thalia's going to see he's sent packing to a boarding school. When Dobie is recruited into babysitting for his math teacher, the urge to sneak a peak at the test answers proves impossible for him to resist.
Dobie gets taken in by a charlatan touting the power of electro-magnetic forces on life, but the stranger's final words to him may be advice worth taking.
Hoping to get some other guys interested in her, Dobie spreads a rumor that Zelda is newly rich. Then life for Zelda starts reflecting rumor, as she gets a swimming pool and the attention of the boys.
When Thalia teaches Dobie how to think logically, she finds it backfiring on her, as Dobie now sees her as she truly is.
Zelda wants Dobie to become a farmer, which leads to enrolling in biology class, which leads to keeping chickens in the Gillis' basement, which leads to a totally unbelievable ending!
After starting off on the wrong foot with the father of his latest gal, Dobie wins his favor when Mr. Lomax believes he is joining the Navy. Dobie gets so into the lie that he very nearly sets sail!
Thalia and Dobie get into the dry cleaning business, but when the thieving owners of the shop take off with Central High's best clothes, Dobie has to pay for them and Thalia actually feels bad about her greediness.
The focus is not on Dobie in this tale, but Herbert T. Gillis. Can he save the show with a little soft shoe?
Dobie and his Dad are in an awful dilemma when a banker's manipulative daughter takes interest in Dobie. Guest starring Rose Marie.
At seventeen and a half years old, Dobie insists on moving out. Will he come crawling back on his hands and knees to his father?
Dobie is left to mind the store when Herbert and Winnie go to a family reunion. What could go wrong? Enter Thalia, with a mixed up scheme to make some money by selling four hundred sandwiches.
Dobie and Maynard come underdressed to a swinging, upper class party at the Armitage estate, but wrangle out a deal with Chatsworth Osborne, Jr., to share his tuxedo, a half hour at a time. Of course, this causes more problems than it solves.
Signing his will causes Herbert to have a nightmare about what Winnie, Dobie, and Davey will do without him.
Daphne, the latest girl that Dobie and Chatsworth are rivals for, admires hard working men, so both Dobie and Chatsworth resolve to quit being lazy and get jobs at her father's shoe store.
Herbert is worried when a new grocery store comes to town. It doesn't help that Dobie crushes on the new grocer's daughter.
Maynard's got a gal, and she speaks only French. That's okay--they understand each other. Then Chatsworth, who knows French, breezes in.
Dobie falls for a grown woman. She happens to be a nurse, so Dobie pretends to be ill to get her attention. That backfires when he is diagnosed with a contagious disease, and the police want to quarantine him!
Dobie's latest crush's father is a manipulative police officer who insists on getting his way, even if that means threatening Dobie's father until Dobie and his daughter stop seeing each other. Meanwhile, Maynard has the lonely blues, so Dobie allows him to accompany him on dates.
Dobie wants to just turn his back on courtship and get married, so he asks the only girl he can rely on to wed him, Zelda. She says yes, but even she would rather enjoy her youth than get married right away. But both sets of parents have given their approval, so it looks like the wedding is on!
Dobie's latest girl hates money and goes for simple pleasures, until her little sister starts getting first class treatment from a thirteen-year old tycoon.
When Dobie and his latest girl start a babysitting service, Dobie's parents suspect he has secretly married her and that they even have a baby. Guest starring Don Knotts.
Dobie tries to grow for a tall girl, but when that won't work, he tries to impress her with a song that Zelda wrote.
When Dobie's essay on "My Dog" gets changed to "My Dad", Dobie finds his father more interested in being close to him than ever before. But when Herbert discovers a rough draft of the essay, will the truth destroy all the newfound father/son harmony?
When Maynard finds an abandoned baby girl in the park, he'd rather keep her than turn her over to the police.
Herbert yearns for a promotion within his Bison lodge, but Dobie has gotten off on the wrong foot with the man who can make Herbert's dream come true. So Herbert begs Dobie and Maynard to switch places until his fellow Bison leaves town.
Maynard's psychic powers amaze everyone--but Dobie has reasons to ask Maynard not to use them, even on television during a worldwide broadcast.
Maynard gets work ("Work?!") selling ugly clocks of Confucius, and Dobie tries to build up his confidence by having his friends buy the clocks, making everyone think Maynard is a great salesman.
Maynard finds five hundred dollars and turns it into the police, but it looks like no one is going to claim it, so Maynard throws a big party the night before the money becomes his. What could go wrong?
In a "very special" episode (bet you didn't know they had very special episodes back then!), Mr. Pomfritt enlists Dobie's help in trying to convince a brilliant but poor student to stay in school.
To impress a girl, Dobie joins a legit hot rod club, and enlists Zelda's help in building a car from the ground up. But when Zelda finds out about the other girl, will she ruin Dobie's chances at winning?
Both Maynard and Chatsworth are throwing parties on Christmas Eve, and Dobie feels like a Scrooge for choosing Chatsworth's party over his best friend's.
Mrs. Gillis tries to get Dobie more cultured by dating a French artist's daughter; however, Yvette is more interested in Dobie's rough-edged father.
When the underpaid teachers of Central High become ill, the students' parents, including Dobie's mother and father, have to substitute.
Maynard is hailed as a hero for finding a lion that escaped from the zoo, but when he takes pity on the lion being stuck in a small cage and frees him, he becomes a wanted man.
A "slice of life" episode where Dobie and Maynard try to figure out the answer to their teacher's question, "Whither are we drifting?"
Dobie is reading an advice book on marriage, and shares it with his father. At first, Herbert doesn't want anything to do with it, but then he comes around and starts treating Winnie like he did during their courtship. This doesn't sit well with his fellow Bison down at the lodge!
When Maynard realizes that he may be holding Dobie back from great things, he pretends to hate his old buddy so that Dobie will give him up and succeed.
When Chatsworth steals Zelda away, Dobie finds himself missing her. Will Zelda come back to Dobie now that she's had a taste of the rich life?
Dobie, a reporter for the high school yearbook, does a "where are they now?" story on "Show No Mercy" Applebee, a football star from Central High's past. Unfortunately, he got the idea that Applebee was homeless, when he's really a millionaire...a millionaire about to sue Dobie for libel.
Winnie wins a contest that gets Dobie set up for a date with a Hollywood starlet. Her winning means Herbert has lost his bet and will have to tolerate her mother and sister coming to visit.
Herbert goes to night school to finally get his high school diploma, but he tries to hide this from Dobie. But with the same teacher presiding over both of them, will he be able to keep that secret for long?
Dobie and Maynard have now graduated high school and don't know what to do. They get special testing to find out where their skills lie, but Dobie balks at the idea of a computer deciding his fate.
As Dobie prepares to start his army life, his parents reminisce about when he was born.
When Maynard runs away before he can board the Army bus, Chatsworth unwillingly takes his place. While Herbert drives Maynard to the Army base, Chatsworth passes all Army tests with flying colors. The Army may not be so glad to get the real Maynard G. Krebs back!
Dobie and Maynard plan to cheat on some army tests so they can go on a double date Saturday night. But when Dobie hears an inspiring talk by a superior officer, he wavers in carrying through with his schemes. "Remember Valley Forge, Gettysburg, San Juan Hill!"
Chatsworth joins the army--for real, this time. All he wants is to fit in with the guys, and Dobie and Maynard try to help him, but that won't happen if his mother has her way about it!
Maynard's right to have a beard is questioned by his commanding officer. Dobie, hoping to impress a female officer, takes the issue to military court.
Dobie, Maynard, and a chimp called Corporal Kilroy are the test subjects in an experiment to see how astronauts fare in isolation.
Winnie is jealous when Herbert's old gal pal waltzes back into town--and her daughter is dating Dobie!
Dobie wants to help Maynard get over his fear of girls, so he asks a couple of them to play up to Maynard, but does Maynard even want Dobie's help in the first place?
Dobie is cast as a military officer in a play. While wearing his costume off stage, Dobie is mistaken for a real officer by a young lady. The young lady is attractive, so Dobie plays along...
Maynard is nearly insane from homesickness, so when he disappears, Dobie assumes the worst. Meanwhile, Herbert needs to get a physical before acquiring an insurance policy. Dobie's plan to rescue Maynard may cost Herbert his insurance!
Dobie's latest lie for a lady is that his father is Missing In Action, even as the camp prepares for a father and son day.
Snooty socialite Rochelle doesn't believe Zelda's lies about Dobie being engaged to her, and plans to humiliate Zelda at a party.
Dobie is troubled when he hears Mr. Pomfritt say he is quitting teaching. He tries to put together a testimonial featuring Pomfritt's most successful students, but due to Maynard's bungling, none of them show up. How will the day be saved now?
"It was a dark and stormy night." Dobie and Maynard are overcome by paranoia and think everyone who comes in the store is an alien invader. Maynard heroically shoves all the "Martians" into the freezer, including Herbert and Winnie.
World War II veteran Herbert T. Gillis is unimpressed by the cushy qualities of Dobie's army base--until he is shoved out of an airplane!
Dobie and Maynard are discharged from the army--now what do they do? Dobie seeks his answers at S. Peter Pryor College--and it looks like he'll have Mr. Pomfritt as a teacher again, much to Pomfritt's dismay!
A new girl sets her sights on Dobie when she sees how a smart girl like Zelda wants him. But will this girl be able to live with herself when she sees how brokenhearted Zelda is?
A law teacher encourages Maynard to sue when he injures his hand at the Gillis grocery store. Can Maynard go through with it without alienating his "second Dad" Herbert?
Inspired by a lab experiment in heredity, Dobie convinces Zelda that their kids could turn out dumb, like him. Then he sets her up with Chatsworth. Zelda and Chatsworth seem happy together, and Dobie's finally got Zelda off his back, so why is he so miserable?
Maynard strikes it rich by providing companionship to girls missing their boyfriends--and the boyfriends trust their gals won't fall for Maynard! But Maynard has changed, and Dobie will do anything to get the old Maynard back.
When Dobie innocently becomes enamored of Ancient Egypt, Herbert assumes he can blame a girl. Upon finding no girl in class, Herbert assumes Dobie has something going on with his thirty-five year old history teacher, Imogene Burkhart.
Maynard has read headlines of the day, and fears the world will end. While Dobie tries to reassure Maynard that life will go on, Chatsworth takes advantage of Maynard's terror. Meanwhile, the class prepares a time capsule.
Dobie believes Maynard has stolen a substantial amount of cash from Mr. Pomfritt, and Mr. Pomfritt and Maynard believe that Dobie has stolen it. Can the real thief be found before Dobie and Maynard's friendship is destroyed?
Dobie falls (literally) for a kind-hearted girl whose parents have come up with unusual rules for guys who want to date her. Dobie must share his date with Chatsworth, and then Maynard, or call it quits completely.
Mr. Pomfritt encourages Dobie with Robert Browning's line, "A man's reach should exceed his grasp." Dobie tries applying that in his quest for another new girl, even though Zelda warns him that, should he fail, he won't be able to crawl back to her anymore.
Maynard keeps losing the money for the class' Christmas dance, but what he won't tell them is he is giving the money to a poor Mexican boy and his family.
Between football, studying, and kids, star player Bronkowski is a mess. But Dobie, Maynard, and Herbert will rally behind him--to the point of all three taking turns taking Bronkowski's place on the field.
Dobie runs against Chatsworth for student council. Chatsworth seems more likely to win, as he has a group of folk singers backing him up, so Dobie also resorts to folk songs to promote himself. Meanwhile, Mr. Pomfritt watches on with a disapproving eye...
It's more politics, but this time it's Herbert T. Gillis running for office--with or without his son's support.
Chatsworth wants Herbert to teach him how to be a real man, but his mother has other ideas, namely spoiling Herbert--and Winnie--with the rich life.
Herbert thinks selling his store will make him rich, so he showers Winnie and Dobie with gifts he can't afford.
To get away from Zelda, Dobie (and Maynard) stow away on a ship heading for South America. Little do they realize that Zelda has also stayed on board.
Maynard finds a soul mate in Edwina "Eddie" Kegel, a tomboy who shares all of his interests. Then, she suddenly starts to like being a girl...
In Mr. Pomfritt's class, Dobie learns that married people are better off, so he decides to marry Zelda. Herbert and Maynard, each for their own reasons, are not too happy about this, and even Zelda is having second thoughts.
Trying to impress a girl in his economics class, Dobie invests in eggs. But when he doesn't sell when he should have, he winds up with egg on his face and more eggs than the Gillis grocery store can possibly sell.
Thalia's back in town, and she wants Dobie to quit college and become a salesman.
Miss Burkhart volunteers Dobie and Maynard to assist her at her program for troubled youth; however, it's Maynard the delinquent boys really relate to, and not her.
Dobie wants to go to Harvard to be near his latest gal, Giselle Hurlbut, even if it means cheating on Mr. Pomfritt's test.
Winnie named Dobie after a Nobel Prize winner, but Giselle wants him to change his name. Dobie is about to cooperate with Giselle, but then he gets an opportunity to meet with the man who so inspired his mother.
Dobie plans to work his way up from janitor to executive in the lumber business, and good girl Gloria is ready to stand by him--until the owner's daughter catches his eye.
Others compliment Maynard on how honest he is. He takes it to heart, and decides to tell the brutal truth to all of them.
Professor Imogene Burkhart is putting on a show in class, the dances of an exotic island. When Maynard writes an article on it, he uses a provocative choice of words, causing parents to fear the bewitching Imogene Burkhart and her scandalous dance.
When it's discovered that Maynard has a better sense of smell than Charlie, the Basset Hound, he and Dobie go into business as private detectives. Then a greedy gal steals Maynard away from Dobie.
Dobie's latest girl, Caprice, convinces him to give up Maynard, supposedly for Maynard's own good, but that proves impossible when Maynard comes to live with the Gillises.
It's the obligatory drag episode! Dobie lies to Samantha about being rich, but when he and Maynard get work serving at a sorority party, Dobie will do anything to avoid Samantha seeing him there, including, well, dressing as a girl.
When Maynard meets a modern day caveman, he is torn between being believed by his archaeology teacher and the dean or letting Ugh-Ug live in peace.
Maynard reunites with Edwina "Eddie" Kegel, except this time she's part of the Osborne family, and Chatsworth and Mrs. Osborne want Maynard to stay away from her.
Trying to impress an honest girl named Eloise, Dobie convinces his Dad to pay a parking ticket he already had fixed. But Herbert's attempts to pay arouse the suspicion of the police. And Dobie hasn't decided between truth-loving Eloise and devious Mona...
When Winnie goes away for two weeks, Herbert and Dobie happily let the dishes pile up and generally keep an untidy house, but must pay the consequences when Dobie hasn't a clean shirt to wear to his date.
Like the hero in the western High Noon, Dobie must face a bully by himself.
Peasant Dobie Gillis would love to be a member of the Silver Spoon club, whose president is Chatsworth Osborne, Jr. Herbert tries to secretly help out by providing the club with free groceries. When Dobie finds out, he tries to take advantage of the club members as much as they are taking advantage of Dobie's Dad.
When Maynard gets institutionalized due to his misunderstood mental health, Dobie pretends to be Ben Casey to break him out.
Paranoid Dobie believes his friends and his family are all out to murder him.
Cousin Virgil T. Gillis has plenty of Southern charm, and loves to flatter. In fact, he charms everyone out of their time and money, except for Maynard, who knows he's a sneak.
Dr. Burkhart takes her anthropology class, including Dobie, Maynard, and Dobie's latest love interest, on a trip to the Amazon. But things take a dark turn when Dobie is accused of jealously murdering Maynard and shrinking his head.
Just when Herbert thought he'd get some peace and quiet around his home, what with Dobie having grown up, his teenage nephew Duncan moves in. He's as girl crazy as Dobie, and what's worse, Dobie is teaching his cousin his ways--namely, getting girls through lying.
Dobie joins the football team to impress a cheerleader, but her boyfriend, "Roadblock" Jahurski, threatens to send Dobie to the hospital.
All of Central City is in danger when Maynard and Duncan unknowingly drive off with a tank of nitro glycerin.
Dobie has never shied away from lying to win a girl's affections, but this time he has sunk to a new low: telling a med student that he has six months to live. If that isn't bad enough, the lie is also believed to be truth by Maynard and Dobie's parents.
Duncan almost puts Herbert out of business because of a pretty thing and her big sister (whom Dobie digs).
Dobie comes up with a new way of cheating on a test--getting a talkative mynah bird to memorize and repeat all the answers!
Maynard and Duncan mistakenly believe they've killed Herbert, and run away. Because Duncan is missing, Dobie and Herbert are accused of killing him.
When Maynard drinks some experimental chemicals, he turns into a monster.
When they find out Maynard, age 21, still believes in Santa Claus, the Gillises plot a way to disillusion him.
A grown-up opera singer wants to marry sixteen-year old Duncan, but her jealous, passionate lover stands in the way, and he has no qualms about killing Duncan.
Cousin Virgil rides back into town, using his Southern charm to steal Dobie's job and his girl.
Maynard wants to join the famous musical act, the Lettermen, but they want Dobie instead. Will Dobie betray his friend for fame and romance?
A wanted criminal takes the Gillis family hostage.
When Dobie becomes campus DJ, Zelda wants him to play her new song, and so does "folk" singer Prudence Virtue. Prudence's manager even offers money and gifts. Will Dobie be able to resist the temptation of payola?
Mistaking Dobie for Chatsworth, a failed millionaire hypnotizes him into marrying his daughter.
Dobie is unfaithful to Zelda yet again, this time with an eccentric, European girl who wants to dance with him in the moonlight. Soon, this Anastasia has everyone dancing!
When Maynard and Herbert get caught together in a novelty item called a "Gypsy Love Link", Maynard must pretend to be Herbert's wife when he attends a grocers' convention.
Dobie must choose between Zelda and the glamorous Claypoole, even though Zelda no longer seems to want him.
When the Osbornes lose all their money, Chatsworth tricks Maynard into collecting donations for them. Then Chatsworth and his mother decide to become butler and maid to the Gillis household.
A freak accident turns Maynard into a robot, but not just any robot. This machine can make hit records, something cousin Virgil intends to take full advantage of.
Maynard tries to save a chimpanzee from a medical research laboratory. The only way to do this is to teach him tricks, but the chimp seems to have no talent.
Chatsworth moves in with the Gillis family, and Herbert caters to his every whim, hoping Chatsworth will reward him with big money...someday.
In the Latin American country of Boca Dulce, Maynard is forced to stand in for his lookalike, General Ramon, also known as "El Tigre".
Sleepwalking Maynard is accused of stealing Mrs. Osborne's jewelry.
Dobie and Herbert plot against each other in their attempt to rescue a starlet's lost dog. Herbert wants the reward money. Dobie wants Valentine Van Loon's undying gratitude. Maynard just wants to pal around with the dog.
Can Dobie, er, will Dobie stop the wedding of Zelda and Maynard?
Maynard, fueled by special energy pills, becomes a boxer, with Herbert T. Gillis as his manager.
The Gillis family gets caught up in espionage when Russian spies mistake Maynard for a leading scientist.
Maynard helps his special friend, the talented Emily Klauber, find success as singer Kitty Fontaine.
So that Dobie can marry her little sister, the Gillises do a makeover on Professor Imogene Burkhart.
With help from some special musk hair oil, Maynard becomes the object of every woman's affections, and as usual, Herbert looks for a way to make money off of this latest development.
The last episode finds things mirroring the first episode, when Chatsworth tempts Dobie to join him in a scheme to win a raffle.
Complete episode guide for The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis with detailed information about every season and episode including air dates, summaries, ratings, and streaming availability in United States.
This episode guide is organized by seasons, making it easy to track your viewing progress or find specific episodes. Use the episode information to plan your binge-watching sessions or catch up on missed episodes.