Sy Rosen Movies

The major cast and format changes in Gimme a Break's sixth and final season commence with the two-part season opener, in which Nell Harper (Nell Carter), housekeeper for the Kanisky family in suburban California, finds herself experiencing a bad case of "empty nest syndrome." Eldest Kanisky daughter Katie (Kari Michaelsen) has moved to San Francisco to start a fantastic new job; middle daughter Julie (Lauri Hendler), her husband Jonathan (Jonathan Silverman), and their baby daughter have relocated to San Jose; and youngest daughter Sam (Lara Jill Miller) is off to New Jersey, there to begin her freshman year at Littlefield College. Staying behind with Nell are the girls' feisty Grandpa Kanisky (John Hoyt), the family's foster son Joey (Joey Lawrence), and Nell's best friend Dr. Addy Wilson (Telma Hopkins). Before long, however, this little group has moved bag and baggage to New York City, where Addy has landed a new job and Joey comes face-to-face with Matthew, the little brother he never knew he had (Matthew is played by Matthew Lawrence, the real-life younger brother of series regular Joey Lawrence). Finding a job with a publishing house, Nell moves into a Greenwich Village apartment over a Mexican restaurant called El Gatspacio, run by a zany character named Marty (Paul Sand), who for business purposes assumes the identity (and wretched accent) of a Latino named Esteban. Also joining the cast on a regular basis is Rosetta Le Noire as Nell's cantankerous mother Maybelle and a very young Rosie O'Donnell as wisecracking neighbor kid Maggie O'Brien. The series' final episode "Mama's Date" is highlighted by a surprising revelation concerning Nell's mother. It does not, however, play like a traditional "finale" -- mainly because the cast and production crew were unaware that NBC had decided to pull the plug on Gimme a Break after six years on the air. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Casting a pall over the proceedings in season four of Gimme a Break is the serious illness of co-star Dolph Sweet, whose appearances as Glen Falls, CA police chief Carl Kanisky are for the most part limited to walk-ons, with very little dialogue. In the earliest episodes of the season, The Chief is conspicuous by his absence, resulting from Sweet's stomach surgery. When he finally returns to the cast, he seems wan and distracted, literally phoning in his performance on several occasions. Reportedly, the series' producers, aware of Sweet's condition, offered the actor the opportunity to retire from the series, but Sweet valiantly insisted upon sticking it out until season's end -- a few weeks after production closed down, the 65-year-old actor was dead of stomach cancer. On a brighter note, Telma Hopkins is now a full regular in the role of Dr. Addy Wilson, lifelong friend of The Chief's outspoken housekeeper Nell Harper (Nell Carter), thereby permitting both characters ample opportunity to show off their musical skills. Nell in particular in is in splendid voice this season, joining in duets with such guest stars as Sammy Davis Jr. and Ray Parker Jr. Meanwhile, The Chief's three daughters are growing apace. After briefly attending junior college, oldest daughter Katie (Kari Michaelsen) drops out to open a boutique; youngest daughter Sam (Lara Jill Miller) has long since passed the tomboy stage and is dating regularly; and middle daughter Julie (Lauri Hendler) has fallen in love with Jonathan (Jonathan Silverman), a young archeologist introduced in the episode "Jonathan's Lie." By the end of season four, Julie and Jonathan have run off to Las Vegas to get married -- on Julie's 18th birthday! Flashing back to the season opener, the two-part "New Orleans" finds Nell and the Kaniskys' foster son Joey (Joey Lawrence) visiting the titular metropolis during the 1984 World's Fair, where Joey is reunited with his father and Nell nearly marries a man whom she's only known for 24 hours. Later on, Addy is likewise reunited with her long-lost dad, but only after the aging roué has tried to make time with Nell! Still later, another two-parter, "Alabamy Bound," introduces Rosetta Le Noire as Nell's hyper-judgmental mother Maybelle. And on February 23, 1985, the episode "Cat Story" was telecast live in the Eastern and Central Time Zones -- a rare occurrence for prime time television of the period. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season three of Gimme a Break finds the Kanisky household of Glen Lawn, CA increased by two. In addition to curmudgeonly police chief Carl Kanisky (Dolph Sweet), his daughters Katie (Kari Michaelsen), Julie (Lauri Hendler), and Sam (Lara Jill Miller), and their sassy housekeeper Nell (Nell Carter), the house's residents now include Carl's recently widowed dad Grandpa Kanisky (John Hoyt) and 6-year-old orphan Joey Donovan (Joey Lawrence). As introduced in a two-part episode, Joey is a budding con artist who has been abandoned by his uncle in Glen Lawn, and unofficially adopted by Nell so that the boy won't have to be institutionalized. Also joining the cast this season is Telma Hopkins, who makes her first appearance as Nell's childhood chum Dr. Addy Wilson in the episode "Nell's Friend" (The fact that Hopkins was formerly a member of Tony Orlando's backing band, Dawn, is underlined by the title of the subsequent episode "Knock Three Times)." The addition of Hopkins affords star Nell Carter even more opportunities to show off her singing skills than in previous seasons, beginning with the season opener guest-starring Andy Gibb. Later on, Nell and The Chief perform a duet of "Me and My Shadow," and the entire cast lifts its collective voice in "A Kanisky Christmas." Highlights this season include an appearance by impressionist George Kirby as the mayor of Glen Lawn, who falls hard for Nell; a flashback episode showing Nell's first meeting with Chief Kanisky's late wife Margaret (played by Sharon Spelman); and the two-part "The Big Apple," featuring cameo appearances by Wheel of Fortune's Pat Sajak and Vanna White, former New York mayor Edward I. Koch, and actor Tony Randall. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The second season of Gimme a Break finds versatile character actor John Hoyt becoming a full-fledged regular in the role of Grandpa Kanisky, the peppery father of grouchy suburban California police chief Carl Kanisky (Dolph Sweet). Jane Dulo is also seen on a recurring basis as Grandpa's wife, a role previously essayed in season one by Elvia Allman and Elizabeth Kerr. The season opens with Chief Kanisky's sassy housekeeper Nell (Nell Carter) being sent to jail for nonpayment of her phone bill -- a false charge, true, but one that causes no end of embarrassment for all concerned, especially The Chief. Kanisky will also experience troubles with his mortician brother Ed, who has fallen in love with an ex-hooker named Maxine (Arlene Golonka), and who later is in dire need of a kidney transplant (both Ed and Maxine disappear at the end of season two, never to be seen or heard from again) Elsewhere in the Kanisky household, youngest daughter Sam (Lara Jill Miller) causes a ruckus with the first of her several "imaginary friends"; middle daughter Julie (Lauri Hendler) experiments with cigarettes, oblivious to the fact that her mother died of lung cancer; and eldest daughter Katie (Kari Michaelsen) comes to the aid of her unwed-mother friend Valerie, in an episode famous for the fact that it was largely ad-libbed due to the unpredictable behavior of a baby "actor." Also, The Chief learns to tolerate homosexuals when a gay police officer saves his life; racist Aunt Blanche (Gretchen Wyler) sues The Chief for custody of his daughters; Nell and her bird-brained friend Angie (Alvernette Jimenez) try to get rich quick by peddling the "amazo-vac" door-to-door; and, of course, Nell once again gets to show off her musical skills, in an episode featuring the Pointer Sisters as a harmony group called the Doo-Wops. In other episodes worth noting, the two-part "The Centerfold" finds The Chief wrestling with a sexual-discrimination charge and a mad bomber simultaneously; and "Nell and the Kid" features Don Rickles in what was supposed to have been the pilot for a proposed Rickles series titled "Max." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season one of Gimme a Break begins as sassy ex-singer Nell Harper (Nell Carter), honoring a favor owed to her late friend Margaret, takes over as housekeeper in the suburban California home of Margaret's husband, short-tempered police chief Carl Kanisky (Dolph Sweet). Nell quickly forms a bond with The Chief's three daughters Katie (Kari Michaelsen), Julie (Lauri Hendler), and Samantha (Lara Jill Miller), frequently taking the girls' side against their bombastic father. Even so, Nell and The Chief soon grow quite fond of one another, though it is hard to tell amidst the barrage of insults and "fat" jokes that the two hurl at one another. Also introduced this season is The Chief's curmudgeonly-but-lovable father Grandpa Kanisky (John Hoyt), whose wife, aka Grandma, is played by Elvia Allman in the episode "Katie the Cheat" and by Elizabeth Kerr in "Grandma Fools Around." Other supporting characters popping in and out of season one are Nell's scatterbrained friend Angie (Alvernette Jimenez); The Chief's thick-witted subordinate Officer Ralph Waldo Simpson (Howard Morton) and his mortician brother Ed Kanisky (Pete Schrum), Nell's ex-husband Tony (Ben Powers); and antagonistic reporter Hamilton Storm (played by Harrison Page, who also appeared in other roles), the main thorn in Chief Kanisky's side. Naturally, Nell Carter is afforded several opportunities to show off her singing talents during season one, most notably in the episode "Hot Muffins." These musical moments would increase significantly in later seasons when former Dawn singer Telma Hopkins joined the cast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After several seasons in the ratings doldrums, The Jeffersons had enjoyed an incredible upsurge in viewership during its sixth season, due in no small part to the decision by CBS to move the series to Sunday night, traditionally the "best" TV evening of the week. Thus, it was no surprise that the series would retain its Sunday slot when it entered its seventh season in the fall of 1980; indeed, Sunday would remain "Jeffersons" night until December 1984. Perhaps because the series had finally found its bearings, there were no cast changes or additions during season eight. Clearly, audiences were happy that Mike Evans, the original Lionel Jefferson, had returned to the fold during the previous season after a four-year absence. Jessica Jefferson, newborn daughter of Lionel and Jenny Jefferson (Berlinda Tolbert), was more talked about than seen. A few uncredited infant "actors" appeared as Jessica during season eight, but otherwise the character was conveyed via prerecorded crying sounds. Early in 1981, Marla Gibbs, who had been playing The Jeffersons' sassy housekeeper Florence Johnston since 1975, was given the opportunity to essay the same character on a series of her own. The final two seventh-season Jeffersons episodes were designed as a one-hour pilot for the new Gibbs series, Checking In, in which Florence was promoted to executive housekeeper at the ritzy St. Frederick Hotel. Debuting April 9, 1981, Checking In ultimately checked out after a mere four episodes. Because of a lengthy Hollywood writers' strike in 1980, fewer Jeffersons episodes were produced that year than in previous seasons. Only 20 new half-hours were seen during season seven, though a "stockpile" of 1980-1981 episodes would spill over into season eight. The paucity of first-run episodes did not affect the series' popularity in the least: By April 1981, The Jeffersons was the sixth highest-rated network program. And as a bonus, Isabel Sanford (Louise Jefferson) had won an Emmy Award as outstanding lead actress in a comedy series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Father Mulcahy (William Christopher) generously offers to help a pretty nurse (Alexandra Stoddart) study for her medical-school entrance exams. Unfortunately, the girl responds in a manner far too affectionate for the celibate Mulcahy. Meanwhile, the rest of the camp tries to figure out how to take showers with an extremely limited water supply. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Louie (Danny DeVito) is nervous about attending his 20th high-school reunion -- especially since the last time he saw his classmates they had pulled a prank that made him look like a fool. Hoping to "get even" by showing that he turned out better than expected, Louie coerces good-looking, personable Bobby (Jeff Conaway) to attend the reunion in his place. Although aspiring actor Bobby welcomes the "challenge" of impersonating Louie, in the end, it is the real Mr. DePalma who settles accounts with his former high-school nemesis -- or at least that's what he tells himself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Having consulted his friends and patients to face up to their fears and phobias, Bob experiences an epiphany of sorts when he nearly falls down an elevator shaft. Convinced that his days are numbered, Bob can't be talked out of his conviction -- not even by those whose problems he has solved in the past. Series executive producer Tom Patchett makes a guest appearance as Mr. Death (or, to be more precise, Mr. Dave Death); others in the cast include Oliver Clark as Mr. Herd and Lieux Dressler as the Laughing Lady. Written by Sy Rosen, this classic Bob Newhart Show episode originally aired on February 12, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Even though its ratings had dropped precipitously since its January 1975 debut, The Jeffersons remained on the CBS prime time schedule during the 1977-1978 season, if for no other reason than the "clout" of series producer Norman Lear. Having been moved all over the map during its third season, from Saturday evenings to Wednesdays and finally Mondays, the series launched season four by returning to Saturdays, albeit in a later time slot than it had occupied in previous years. The cast of characters remained the same as before, with the notable and tragic exception of Zara Cully as the imperious Mother Jefferson. Having been too ill to appear in anything but "guest-star" assignments since the end of season two, Cully died in January 1978. Meanwhile, a new recurring character had been added to the fold in the form of Ernest Harden Jr. as Marcus Garvey Henderson, a street-smart young employee of dry-cleaning entrepreneur George Jefferson (Sherman Hemsley). Marcus was one of several characters introduced when George's wife Louise (Isabel Sanford), in concert with best friend Helen Willis (Roxie Roker) and the Jeffersons' housekeeper Florence (Marla Gibbs), began volunteering her services at the Help Center, an outreach organization designed to assist inner-city youngsters. The series' move back to Saturdays evidently helped not at all. The Jeffersons dropped even lower on the ratings scale, not even appearing on the Top 30 programs of the year. Clearly, another time slot change was in order; thus in June 1978, The Jeffersons hopped back to Mondays, where it would remain until returning to Wednesdays for its fifth-season debut. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Carol decides to go to night school in pursuit of a degree in psychology. Not only does this upset the routine in Bob's building, but it also drives the inhabitants to distraction as Carol insists upon analyzing everyone in her immediate vicinity. But, as usual, Bob has problems that go far beyond the obvious ones. Featured in the cast are Will McKenzie as Carol's husband, Larry, and Paul and Claudia Bryar as the Firmans. Written by Sy Rosen, "Guaranteed Not to Shrink" first aired on February 7, 1976. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Bob's legal hassles and headaches begin apace when he advises a shy patient named Mr. Herd (Oliver Clark) to be more assertive. The strategy works so well that Mr. Herd ends up suing Bob. In the meantime, Emily is fiercely determined to fight a traffic ticket -- and she expects Bob to support her every inch of the way. Written by Sy Rosen, "Birth of a Salesman" made its CBS network debut on February 14, 1976. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide