Editing Bill Bixby (section)

===Beginning acting===
In 1961, Bixby was in the musical ''[[The Boy Friend (musical)|The Boy Friend]]'' at the Detroit Civic Theater, returning to Hollywood to make his television debut on an episode of ''[[The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis]]''. He became a highly regarded [[character actor]] and guest-starred in many television series, including ''[[Ben Casey]]'', ''[[The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|The Twilight Zone]]'', ''[[The Andy Griffith Show]]'', ''[[Dr. Kildare (TV series)|Dr. Kildare]]'', ''[[Straightaway (TV series)|Straightaway]]'', and ''[[Hennesey]]''. He joined the cast of ''[[The Joey Bishop Show (TV series)|The Joey Bishop Show]]'' in 1962, which he later described as his first big break."<ref name=TrialBio/> In 1963, he played a sailor with a Napoleon tattoo in the movie ''[[Irma La Douce]]'', a romantic comedy starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine, directed by Billy Wilder based on the 1956 French musical. During the 1970s, he made guest appearances on television series such as ''[[Ironside (TV series)|Ironside]]'', ''[[Insight (American TV series)|Insight]]'', ''[[Barbary Coast (TV series)|Barbary Coast]]'', ''[[The Love Boat]]'', ''[[Medical Center (TV series)|Medical Center]]'', four episodes of ''[[Love, American Style]]'', ''[[Fantasy Island]]'', and two episodes each of ''[[The Streets of San Francisco]]'' and [[Rod Serling]]'s ''[[Night Gallery]]''.

While working on other [[Danny Thomas]] productions, Bixby would watch rehearsals for ''[[The Dick Van Dyke Show]]'', which inspired him to want to be a director as well.<ref name=TrialBio/>