Hal Cooper Movies

Rob Reiner coproduced, cowrote and costarred in this TV-movie about suburban "angst" in the 1980s. Reiner is one of four wealthy Long Islanders who play for an amateur softball team. All four men (Reiner, Bruno Kirby, Robert Costanzo and Christopher Guest) suffer from profound personal and professional problems, thus the weekly ball game becomes a method of working out their frustrations. So adept do they become at this cathartic activity that their team makes it to the state-wide championship--which leads to yet another crisis. Million Dollar Infield was the first of several "behind the scenes" projects for onetime TV sitcom star Rob Reiner; more recently, Reiner has been responsible for such moneymaking theatrical films as This is Spinal Tap, Misery and A Few Good Men. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season four of Sanford and Son was ushered in on Friday, September 13, 1974, with wonderful news for longtime fans of the series: after a well-publicized volley of recriminations between star Redd Foxx and the series' producers over Foxx's numerous (and somewhat bizarre) contractual demands, the actor was back to stay in the role of irascible Los Angeles junk dealer Fred Sanford. Before long, it was "business as usual," with Fred ruling the roost over his backyard junk business and his long-suffering son Lamont seeking out better means of making a living. Likewise, Fred resumed his ongoing war of words with his Bible-quoting, purse-swinging sister-in-law Esther (LaWanda Page), and his hot-and-cold engagement to nurse Donna Harris (Lynn Hamilton). Having more or less replaced Fred as head of the Sanford household during the waning months of season three, Whitman Mayo was back as Fred's oldest friend Grady Wilson, though by the end of season four Mayo would himself temporarily exit the series to star in his own spin-off sitcom, the short-lived Grady. Other regulars returning to the Sanford fold during the 1974-1975 season were Hal Williams and Howard Platt as police officers Smitty and Hoppy, Don Bexley as Fred's shifty pal Bubba, Nathaniel Taylor as Lamont's crony Rollo, and Gregory Sierra as rival junk dealer Julio Fuentes. Only one character of significance joined the series during this season: Pat Morita as Japanese-American restauranteur Ah Chew. The return of Redd Foxx performed wonders for Sanford and Son's ratings. Ranked third among America's most popular series during season three, the program was restored to the coveted "Number Two" spot during season four. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Could Edith Bunker be a kleptomaniac? That's what Edith thinks when she is arrested for shoplifting after accidentally leaving a store with an unpaid-for item. Mike and Gloria advise that Edith visit a psychiatrist, but Archie insist that he handle the matter himself -- and guess what happens next! The supporting cast includes James Gregory as Kirkwood and Barnard Hughes in the recurring role of Father Majeski. Written by Sam Locke, Olga Vallance, and Don Nicholl, "Edith Flips Her Wig" first aired on October 21, 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Edith is in a panic when she loses a valuable locket. Archie, however, is less concerned about the locket than in its long-range value. Hoping to purchase a new color TV set, Archie tries to persuade Edith to claim that the locket was stolen so he can collect a huge insurance settlement. Written by Robert Fisher and Arthur Marx (son of Groucho Marx), "The Locket" was originally scheduled to air on December 23, 1972, but was instead moved up to November 25. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

"The program you are about to see is All in the Family. It seeks to throw a humorous spotlight on our frailties, prejudices, and concerns. By making them a source of laughter, we hope to show -- in a mature fashion -- just how absurd they are." With this carefully worded disclaimer, the CBS television network ushered in a new era of television comedy on January 12, 1971, with the premiere of All in the Family. Inspired by the British sitcom Till Death Do Us Part, the series was proposed by producers Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin in early 1968, and a pilot episode titled "Those Were the Days" was commissioned by ABC. From the beginning, Carroll O'Connor and Jean Stapleton were "set" as leading characters Archie and Edith Bunker (original last name: Justice), though two unknowns were cast as the couple's daughter, Gloria, and son-in-law, Mike Stivic. Also from the beginning, it had been decided to retain the controversial nature of the original British series, with bigoted hard-hat Archie forever at odds with his flaming liberal son-in-law. Alas, ABC had just been burned by the hostile reception afforded another hot-potato project, Turn-On, and had lost its taste for controversy, even when Lear and Yorkin toned down the venom in a second pilot. But in 1970, CBS, in desperate need of a hit for its sagging Tuesday-night lineup, decided to take a chance on "Those Were the Days," which by now had been christened All in the Family, and had added Sally Struthers and Rob Reiner to the cast as Gloria and Mike. Worried that audiences might be unkindly disposed to Archie Bunker's incessant harangues against "hebes," "spics," and "coloreds," CBS prefaced the first episode with the aforementioned disclaimer. Though the opener ended up an anemic 54th in the ratings (due primarily to the decision by several affiliates not to air the program, or to reschedule it to a "fringe" time slot), the first All in the Family was the topic of conversation in virtually every household and place of business in America before the week was out.

By the time the series began in its second season in the fall of 1971, All in the Family was CBS' top-rated program, a status it enjoyed for the next five years. Archie Burnker, a loading-dock supervisor who resided at 704 Houser Street in Queens, NY, was a firm and immovable believer in America, right or wrong (but mostly far, far right). Offsetting Archie's racial slurs, antediluvian political beliefs, and incessant malapropisms was his somewhat foolish but fundamentally good-hearted wife, Edith (or "Dingbat," as Archie designated her); his budding-feminist daughter, Gloria; and Gloria's long-haired, radical husband, Michael Stivic (aka "Meathead" and "Polack"), who while attending graduate school lived with Archie and Edith, and all but ate them out of house and home. In virtually every episode, an Issue (with a capital "I") was brought to the forefront -- gun control, the sexual revolution, homosexuality, religion, integration, rape -- with Archie taking the diehard conservative viewpoint, Mike assuming the liberal stance, Gloria siding with Mike, and Edith sitting on the sidelines making inane (but sometimes surprisingly sensible) comments. Usually, Archie would be hoisted by his own bigoted petard, but sometimes Mike would be trapped in the morass of his good intentions. Whatever the case, All in the Family tackled subject matter that only a few years earlier would have been rejected out of hand on network television, using language that likewise had seldom if ever been heard on the small screen. In this respect, All in the Family can be regarded as the single most influential situation comedy in television history.

Over the years, Archie's character mellowed a bit, but fundamentally he remained the same opinionated jerk he'd been in the first episode. Through it all, however, one never doubted that the members of the Bunker family all loved one another dearly and intensely. In addition to the "core" regulars, several other recurring characters paraded past Archie's beloved easy chair: Lionel Jefferson (Mike Evans), a black friend of Mike and Gloria's who, much to Archie's dismay, became their across-the-street neighbor (Lionel's upscale black family would later be spun-off into their own series, The Jeffersons); Irene and Frank Lorenzo (Betty Garrett and Vincent Gardenia), who were every bit as broad-minded as Archie was not; Bert Munson (Billy Halop), an employee at the cab company where Archie moonlighted; Archie's co-worker and lodge buddy Barney Hefner (Allan Melvin); and Tommy Kelsey (Brendan Dillon, and later Bob Hastings), owner of Kelsey's Bar, Archie's favorite hangout. At the beginning of the 1975-1976 season, Gloria and Mike moved next door to Archie and Edith, and in December of 1975, Gloria gave birth to her first child, a boy named Joey. During the 1976-1977 season, Archie met yet another sociological opponent in the form of Puerto Rican boarder Teresa Betancourt (Liz Torres). And as the 1977-1978 season began, Archie made the momentous decision to quit his job and purchase Kelsey's bar, which he renamed Archie Bunker's Place. This season ended with Mike, Gloria, and Joey bidding farewell to Archie and Edith when Mike landed a teaching job in California. The Stivics' former sleeping quarters were taken over in 1978 by Stephanie Mills (Danielle Brisebois), Edith's niece, who had been abandoned by her ne'er-do-well father.

All in the Family per se came to an end with the final episode of the 1979-1980 season; thereafter the multi-award-winning series was known as Archie Bunker's Place. In addition to its prime-time run, All in the Family was seen in rerun form as part of the CBS daytime lineup from December 1975 to December 1979; and in 1991, selected episodes of All in the Family were run in tandem with a newer but much (much) less successful Norman Lear production, Sunday Dinner, which debuted and wrapped within a month. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of a two-part story, Roger (Bill Daily) has tipped Jeannie (Barbara Eden) to the fact that man whom she thinks is Tony (Larry Hagman)--and who has proposed marriage to her--is actually a lookalike of the real Tony, who has been sequestered in a secret place by Dr. Bellows (Hayden Rorke). Thus it is that when the authentic Tony shows up, Jeannie refuses to believe his protestations of authenticity and subjects him to all manner of torture. The plot thickens when the Phony Tony turns out to be an enemy spy, much to Dr. Bellows' embarrassment! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of a two-part story, Tony (Larry Hagman) has banished Jeannie (Barbara Eden), only to find out that he can't live without her. Worse still, Tony has been bumped from the space program and transferred to Alaska, thanks to the previous week's brouhaha involving Jeannie's uncle Suleiman (Jackie Coogan) and the ambassador of Kasha. Putting his own career on the line, Roger (Bill Daily) sets out to reinstate Tony and to reunite him with Jeannie. Ultimately, Tony finally proposes to Jeannie--only to find that he must now pass a rather rigorous test imposed by Suleiman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Involved in a very minor traffic accident, Tony ends up in court, facing a lawsuit from the other driver (Kay E. Kuter), who is faking a variety of serious injuries in hopes of winning an enormous settlement. Despite a hostile judge (J. Pat O'Malley) and an incompetent defense attorney (a pre-Bewitched Dick Sargent), Tony insists that he does not need Jeannie's help in winning the case. This, of course, doesn't stop Jeannie (Barbara Eden) from pulling a spell or two from her voluminous bag of tricks. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

At the urging of Jeannie (Barbara Eden), Tony (Larry Hagman) is entered in the Florida gubernatorial election, with Roger (Bill Daily) as his campaign manager. Unfortunately, Tony is a military officer, and thus ineligible to hold political office unless he resigns his commission. But there's an even more pressing need to end Tony's political career before it begins when Jeannie discovers that someone else will become her master's wife if he wins the election! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While Tony (Larry Hagman) and Roger (Bill Daily) are on an experimental flight to Puerto Rico, Jeannie briefly blinks Tony back to Florida to solidify some wedding plans. Alas, when she returns Tony to the plane, her magic throws the flight pattern way off course. As a result, Tony lands in Havana, where he is immediately jailed as a spy! Future "Charlie's Angel" Farrah Fawcett) makes her first appearance as Roger's occasional girlfriend Tina. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Tony (Larry Hagman) insists that he doesn't want a bachelor party, but Roger (Bill Daily) and Dr. Bellows (Hayden Rorke) have other ideas. Convincing Tony that he is attending a NASA convention, Roger and Bellows gleefully plan to surprise Tony with the traditionally wild bachelor bash. But the surprise is on the two conspirators when Jeannie (Barbara Eden) figures out what's going on. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Gullible Jeannie (Barbara Eden) is delighted when her duplicitous lookalike sister Jeannie II (also Barbara Eden) offers to help Jeannie land Tony (Larry Hagman) as a husband. Of course, Jeannie II really wants Tony all to herself, and she'll stop at nothing to achieve this goal. And as usual, feckless Roger (Bill Daily) is trapped in the middle of all this intrigue. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Accidentally smashing up Tony's car, Jeannie (Barbara Eden) takes the vehicle to a repair shop. Only it isn't really a repair shop, but instead a used-car dealership run by the duplicitous Carl Tucker (Carl Ballantine). As Jeannie scrambles around to retrieve the car, she must also fend off the advances of Homer (Bob Hastings), the flirtatious cousin of Mrs. Bellows (Emmaline Henry). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide