Have you ever heard of the 1980's TV sitcom, "Mr. Belvedere"? Better yet, have you ever heard of a Plymouth Belvedere? Above is a 1966 Plymouth Belvedere I found for sale on Facebook Marketplace somewhere down in North Carolina. It's funny, I can't think of the car and not think of the TV show; the inverse true as well.
"Mr. Belvedere" was an oh-so-safe, family-sitcom about a worldly, aristocratic-like butler who worked for a family in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania suburb of Bedford Falls. A middle-class family in Pittsburgh with a butler? Really? Perhaps I'm missing something here. Where and how did this sitcom get baked up anyway?
Ascribing to the school that nothing is ever really new, the title character in the show was loosely inspired by "Belvedere", a character in a 1947, World War II era-based novel by Gwen Lees Davenport of the same name. A fish-out-of-water tale, the book was so successful that three movies were made revolving around the shenanigans of "Mr. Belvedere". Several failed attempts at TV shows were done as well before the 1980's show aired between 1985 and 1990.
Why Ms. Davenport named her title character "Belvedere" is anyone guess. By definition, a "belvedere" is a structure, similar to a cupola, designed to command a view. The first Plymouth Belvedere was introduced in 1951...did the Chrysler Corporation name one of their models after a character in a book or an architectural detail?
More than likely, nether. Although, timing being everything you could draw your own conclusions. The first Plymouth called a "Belvedere" debuted in 1951 and denoted a two-door "hard top". A sub model of the Plymouth Cranbrook, seeing the (relative) airiness and commanding views afforded by hardtops, you could construe these cars were named after the architectural detail although, that's about as likely as this car being named after a character in a book.
Seeing Chrysler's use of New York City hotel names like Savoy and Plaza (after the long-gone Savoy-Plaza hotel) on their vehicles in the 1950's and into the 1960's, it's safe to surmise Plymouth used "belvedere" after the Belvedere Hotel off Time Square in Manhattan. I'd bet you some New York City dirty waterdogs "Mr. Belvedere was named after the hotel as well.
Additionally, from 1940-1996, Chrysler (the division) dubbed their range-topping model "New Yorker"; the "New Yorker" hotel is still in operation today on Manhattan's west side. Having grown up on Long Island thisclose to the city line, I always assumed their cars were named after the hotel and not us natives.
Perhaps Chrysler's use of New York hotel names stems from the Chrysler Building being in Manhattan. Walter P. Chrysler funded the building's construction which was the world's tallest structure for a cup of coffee before being usurped by the Empire State Building. Contrary to what some say. the Chrysler Building in Manhattan never served as the headquarters for the Corporation although a Chrysler annex operated briefly there in the early '50's.
Fast forwarding through the Plymouth Belvedere's ascent to the top of Plymouth's lineup, it's subsequent demotion (or quasi-debasement) and Plymouth (and Dodge's) abortive 1962 downsizing that spawned the legendary, (defacto) Chrysler intermediate known as the "B-body", we arrive in 1965 when "Belvedere" came to denote Plymouth's entry-level, mid-size model positioned below the newly christened, "Satellite" moniker (no doubt the name inspired by the space race). Our '66 Belvedere is part of that, through my foggy goggles, very staid line of cars that Plymouth would push out with minor updating through MY 1970.
These boxy cars are almost as boring to look at as the '80's TV show was to watch, (the book is a breezy page turning period piece) the name "Belvedere" accentuating just how snooze worthy they are. My opine, in lieu of the TV show, the name "Belvedere" seems old and out of step with the mid-to-late-'60's; like a dial up modem in an age when we have the internet on our phones. Worse than that, it's like going to the library to crack open an encyclopedia to do research. Your opinion may differ, see dealer for details. Personally, I'd buy this car and clone it into a Satellite GTX. Asking price for this was $9,250 and that's, believe it or don't, under market value. Even with a smoking engine, torn up seats, a cracked dash and needing a paint job.
When Plymouth (and Dodge) redesigned the B-bodies for 1971, they (wisely) dropped the "Belvedere" moniker making these (1965-1970) square bodies the last of the Belvedere's. Well, the hotel is still in operation,, and I swear I've seen "Mr. Belvedere" on over-the-air subchannels whenever my cable goes south.
Bob Ueker, bless his heart, 89-years-young, is still calling games for the Milwaukee Brewers. Christopher Hewitt, the actor who played the title character in "Mr. Belvedere", passed away in 2001 at the age of 80.
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