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Scriptwriter Rod Serling had intended the June 3, 1960, Twilight Zone episode as the pilot for a TV series starring Burgess Meredith, but when Meredith balked, the title role was recast with Orson Bean. A natural-born eccentric and misfit, James B.W. Bevis somehow or other warrants the special attention of guardian angel J. Hardy Hempstead (Henry Jones). After briefly tasting success for the first time in his life, however, Bevis decides that he was happier when he was a loser. TV-series perennials Charles Lane, William Schallert, Horace McMahon, and Vito Scotti make brief appearances. Though "Mr. Bevis" did not graduate to a weekly series, Serling recycled the premise for his 1962 Twilight Zone episode "Cavender Is Coming" -- and, to a lesser extent, for the second-season installment "Mr. Dingle the Strong."