''Barney Miller'' is an American
sitcom
A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...
television series set in a
New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
police station
A police station (sometimes called a "station house" or just "house") is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, al ...
on East 6th St in
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
. The series was broadcast on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
Network from January 23, 1975, to May 20, 1982. It was created by
Danny Arnold
Danny Arnold (born Arnold Rothmann; January 23, 1925 – August 19, 1995) was an American producer, writer, comedian, actor and director known for producing ''Barney Miller'', ''That Girl'', and ''Bewitched''.
Early life
Born in New York City, ...
and
Theodore J. Flicker.
Noam Pitlik
Noam Pitlik (November 4, 1932February 18, 1999) was an American television director and actor. In 1979, Pitlik won an Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for his work on the ABC sitcom ''Barney Miller''.
Early life
The son of D ...
directed the majority of the episodes. It spawned a
spin-off series, ''
Fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
'', that ran from February 5, 1977, to May 18, 1978, focusing on the character
Philip K. Fish.
Premise
''Barney Miller'' takes place almost entirely within the confines of the detectives' squad room and Captain Barney Miller's adjoining office of New York City's fictional 12th Precinct, located in Greenwich Village.
A typical episode featured the detectives of the 12th bringing in several complainants and/or suspects to the squad room. Usually, there are two or three separate subplots in a given episode, with different officers dealing with different crimes. Rarely, about once a year, an episode would feature one or more of the detectives outside of the walls of the precinct, either on a stakeout or at their homes.
Cast
Regulars
Recurring characters
Other officers and staff
‡
There were a number of character actors who made frequent appearances in different roles, among them
Don Calfa
Donald George Calfa (December 3, 1939 – December 1, 2016) was an American film and television character actor whose credits spanned over 40 years, playing both comedic and dramatic roles. Although Calfa appeared in many high-profile films and ...
(7 episodes),
Rod Colbin
Rod Colbin (born Irving Herbert Lichtenstein: December 23, 1923 – February 4, 2007) was an American character actor whose career spanned four decades. He was also a fencing instructor who, at one time, served as Katharine Hepburn's personal ...
(7),
Phil Leeds
Phil Leeds (April 6, 1916 – August 16, 1998) was an American character actor. He is best known for appearing in many movies and television series, including guest appearances in ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'', '' Maude'', ''Friends'', ''Barney ...
(7),
Ralph Manza
Ralph Manza (December 1, 1921 – January 31, 2000) was an American character actor who made over 160 appearances in American film and television shows.
Career
A pre-med student at UC-Berkeley in the early 1940s, Manza was drafted into the Unit ...
(7),
Oliver Clark
Oliver may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and literature
Books
* ''Oliver the Western Engine'', List of books in The Railway Series#Oliver the Western Engine, volume 24 in ''The Railway Series'' by Rev. W. Awdry
* ''Oliver Twist'', a nove ...
(6),
Arny Freeman
Arny Freeman (August 28, 1908 —February 13, 1986) was a Chicago-born American character actor. He appeared in commercials, television series episodes, Broadway plays, and motion pictures; he was also credited as Arnie Freeman and as Arnold Fre ...
(6),
Peggy Pope
Florence Margaret "Peggy" Pope (May 15, 1929 – May 27, 2020) was an American actress of stage, television and film.
Early life
Pope was born in Montclair, New Jersey. Her father was a notable doctor in the area. She graduated from Smith Col ...
(6),
Fred Sadoff
Frederick Edward Sadoff (October 21, 1926 – May 6, 1994) was an American film, stage and television actor.
Early years
Sadoff was born in Brooklyn, New York to Henry and Bertha Sadoff; his older brothers Sidney and Robert were born years ea ...
(6),
Philip Sterling
Philip Sterling (October 9, 1922 – November 30, 1998) was an American film and television actor. He played Dr. Winston Croft on 28 episodes of the American daytime soap opera '' The Doctors''. He also played Judge Truman Ventnor on 21 episode ...
(6),
Kenneth Tigar
Kenneth Tigar (born September 24, 1942) is an American actor, primarily on American television, and translator.
Life
Kenneth Leslie Tigar was born into a Jewish family in Chelsea, Massachusetts, and raised in the Greater Boston Area.
He recei ...
(6),
Martin Garner (5), Walter Janowitz (5),
Howard Platt
Howard Thomas Platt (born June 5, 1938) is an American stage and television actor, singer and director, best known for his role as "Officer Hopkins" on the TV series ''Sanford and Son'' (1972–76). Howard wrote and performed “Riverwinds” for ...
(5),
Leonard Stone
Leonard Stone (born Leonard Steinbock; November 3, 1923 – November 2, 2011) was an American character actor who played supporting roles in over 120 television shows and 35 films.
Early years
Stone was born in Salem, Oregon. The son of Mr. and ...
(5),
Ivor Francis
Ivor Francis (October 26, 1918 – October 22, 1986) was a Canadian-American character actor and acting teacher. He is the father of television soap opera actress Genie Francis.
Life and career
Francis was born in Toronto and began his acting c ...
(4), Jay Gerber (4),
Larry Gelman
Lawrence Sheldon Gelman (November 3, 1930 – June 7, 2021) was an American film and television character actor. He was known for playing Dr. Bernie Tupperman on the TV series ''The Bob Newhart Show'' and Vinnie, the poker playing friend of ...
(4),
Michael Lombard
Michael Lombard born Michael LaBombarda (August 8, 1934 - August 13, 2020) was an American actor. His parents, both from Giovinazzo, Bari, Italy, emigrated to America and settled in Gravesend, Brooklyn. In 1977, he was nominated for a Drama Desk ...
(4),
Edwin Malave (4),
Rosanna DeSoto
Rosanna DeSoto (born September 2, 1950) is an American actress who has performed in films and television. She is best known for her roles in ''Stand and Deliver'', for which she won an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female, and in '' ...
(4),
Todd Susman
Todd Susman (born January 17, 1947) is an American actor.
Early life
A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Susman graduated from Ladue Horton Watkins High School in 1965.
Career
Susman has appeared in over one hundred different television series and ...
(4),
Michael Tucci (4),
Sal Viscuso
Sal Viscuso (born October 5, 1948 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American actor. He is best known for the role of Father Timothy Flotsky in '' Soap'' (1977-1981).
Acting career
He is known for playing the character Father Timothy Flotsky on the ...
(4),
Candice Azzara (3), Eugene Elman (3),
Bruce Kirby (3),
Jack Kruschen
Jacob "Jack" Kruschen (March 20, 1922 – April 2, 2002) was a Canadian character actor who worked primarily in American film, television and radio. Kruschen was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Dr. ...
(3),
Richard Libertini
Richard Joseph Libertini (May 21, 1933 – January 7, 2016) was an American stage, film and television actor.
He was known for playing character roles and his ability to speak in numerous accents. His films include ''Catch-22'' (1970), '' The I ...
(3),
Kay Medford
Margaret Kathleen Regan (September 14, 1919 – April 10, 1980), better known as Kay Medford, was an American actress. For her performance as Rose Brice in the musical '' Funny Girl'' and the film adaptation of the same name, she was nominated ...
(3),
Nehemiah Persoff
Nehemiah Persoff (August 2, 1919 – April 5, 2022) was an American character actor and painter. He appeared in more than 200 television series, films, and theatre productions and also performed as a voice artist in a career spanning 55 years, be ...
(3),
Titos Vandis
Titos Vandis ( el, Τίτος Βανδής; 7 November 1917 – 23 February 2003) was a Greek actor.
Biography
Vandis began his career on the Greek stage in the late 1930s. In 1962, he won the Best Actor award for the film ''Poliorkia'' at ...
(3),
Michael Durrell
Michael Durrell (born Sylvester Salvatore Ciraulo; October 6, 1943 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American actor.
He began his career in the role of attorney Peter Wexler on the CBS soap opera ''The Guiding Light''. In 1969, he appeared on Broad ...
(2), Alix Elias (2),
Peter Jurasik
Peter Jurasik ( ; born April 25, 1950) is an American actor known for his television roles as Londo Mollari in the 1990s science fiction series ''Babylon 5'' and Sid the Snitch on the 1980s series ''Hill Street Blues'' and its short-lived spin ...
(2),
Jenny O'Hara
Patricia Joanne "Jenny" O'Hara (born February 24, 1942) is an American film, television, and stage actress. She is best known for Dixie in ''My Sister Sam'' (1986–1988), Janet Heffernan in ''The King of Queens'' (2001–2007), and Nita in ''B ...
(2),
Walter Olkewicz (2) and
Lyman Ward (2).
12th Precinct regulars
The 12th Precinct had a number of regular complainants, habitués of the holding cell, or other people who often dropped by. Characters seen on three or more episodes included:
‡
Guest stars
*
Luis Avalos
Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archai ...
*
Bonnie Bartlett
Bonnie Bartlett (born June 20, 1929) is an American actress. Her career spans seven decades, with her first major role being on a 1950s daytime drama, ''Love of Life''. Bartlett is known for her role as Grace Snider Edwards on the Michael Land ...
*
Billy Barty
*
Todd Bridges
Todd Anthony Bridges (born May 27, 1965) is an American actor. He portrayed Willis Jackson on the sitcom ''Diff'rent Strokes'' and had a recurring role as Monk on the sitcom ''Everybody Hates Chris.'' Bridges worked as a commentator on the telev ...
*
Roscoe Lee Browne
Roscoe Lee Browne (May 2, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American actor and director. He resisted playing stereotypically black roles, instead performing in several productions with New York City's Shakespeare Festival Theater, Leland Hayward' ...
*
Miriam Byrd-Nethery
Miriam Byrd-Nethery (May 17, 1929 – January 6, 2003) was an American actress. Her film roles included '' Bound for Glory'' (1976) and '' Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III'' and ''Across Five Aprils'' (both 1990).
Personal life
By ...
*
Don Calfa
Donald George Calfa (December 3, 1939 – December 1, 2016) was an American film and television character actor whose credits spanned over 40 years, playing both comedic and dramatic roles. Although Calfa appeared in many high-profile films and ...
*
Diana Canova
Diana Canova (born June 1, 1953) is an American actress, director, and professor. She is best known for her role as Corinne Tate on ''Soap'' (1977-1980).
Early life
Canova was born Diane Canova Rivero in West Palm Beach, Florida, to actress an ...
*
Oliver Clark
Oliver may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and literature
Books
* ''Oliver the Western Engine'', List of books in The Railway Series#Oliver the Western Engine, volume 24 in ''The Railway Series'' by Rev. W. Awdry
* ''Oliver Twist'', a nove ...
*
David Clennon
David Clennon (born May 10, 1943) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Miles Drentell in the ABC series ''thirtysomething'' and '' Once and Again'', as well as his role as Palmer in the John Carpenter film '' The Thing''. He ...
*
Jeff Corey
*
James Cromwell
*
Danny Dayton
Danny Dayton (born Daniel David Segall, November 20, 1923 – February 6, 1999) was an American actor and television director. Beginning in the 1950s, he played many roles in film and on TV. He had a recurring role as Hank Pivnik on ''All i ...
*
Jack Dodson
John Smeaton "Jack" Dodson (May 16, 1931 – September 16, 1994) was an American television actor best remembered for the milquetoast character Howard Sprague on ''The Andy Griffith Show'' and its spin-off ''Mayberry R.F.D.'' From 1959 until h ...
*
David Dukes
David Coleman Dukes (June 6, 1945 – October 9, 2000) was an American character actor. He had a long career in films, appearing in 35. Dukes starred in the miniseries ''The Winds of War'' and ''War and Remembrance'', and he was a frequent telev ...
*
Nancy Dussault
Nancy Dussault (born June 30, 1936) is an American actress and singer.
She is best known for playing Muriel Rush in the sitcom ''Too Close for Comfort'' (1980–1987). In a career spanning over half a century, Dussault received two Tony Award n ...
*
Herbert Edelman
Herbert Edelman (November 5, 1933 – July 21, 1996) was an American actor of stage, film and television. He was twice nominated for an Emmy Award for his television work. One of his best-known roles was as Stanley Zbornak, the ex-husband of ...
*
Marla Gibbs
Marla Gibbs (born Margaret Theresa Bradley; June 14, 1931) is an American actress, singer, comedian, writer and television producer, whose career spans six decades. Gibbs is known for her role as George Jefferson's maid, Florence Johnston, in th ...
*
Florence Halop
Florence Halop (January 23, 1923 – July 15, 1986) was an American actress. Best known for her roles as surly patient Mrs. Hufnagel on the drama ''St. Elsewhere'' and the raspy-voiced bailiff Florence Kleiner on the sitcom '' Night Court''. H ...
*
David Lander
David L. Lander (born David Leonard Landau, June 22, 1947 – December 4, 2020) was an American actor, comedian, musician, and baseball scout. He was best known for his portrayal of Andrew "Squiggy" Squiggman in the ABC sitcom ''Laverne & Shirl ...
*
Richard Libertini
Richard Joseph Libertini (May 21, 1933 – January 7, 2016) was an American stage, film and television actor.
He was known for playing character roles and his ability to speak in numerous accents. His films include ''Catch-22'' (1970), '' The I ...
*
Christopher Lloyd
Christopher Allen Lloyd (born October 22, 1938) is an American actor. He has appeared in many theater productions, films, and on television since the 1960s. He is known for portraying Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown in the ''Back to the Future'' tril ...
*
Dave Madden
David Joseph Madden (December 17, 1931 – January 16, 2014) was a Canadian-born American actor. His most famous role came on the 1970s sitcom ''The Partridge Family'', in which he played the group's manager, Reuben Kincaid, opposite Shirley Jo ...
*
Barney Martin
*
A Martinez
Adolfo Larrue Martínez III (born September 27, 1948) is an American actor and singer with roles in the daytime soap operas '' Santa Barbara'', ''General Hospital'', ''One Life to Live'', ''The Bold and the Beautiful'', and ''Days of Our Lives' ...
*
Caroline McWilliams
*
Kay Medford
Margaret Kathleen Regan (September 14, 1919 – April 10, 1980), better known as Kay Medford, was an American actress. For her performance as Rose Brice in the musical '' Funny Girl'' and the film adaptation of the same name, she was nominated ...
*
Dick O'Neill
Richard Francis O'Neill (August 29, 1928 – November 17, 1998) was an American stage, film and television character actor best known for playing Irish cops, fathers, judges and army generals. He began his acting career as an original company ...
*
Ben Piazza
Ben Piazza (July 30, 1933 – September 7, 1991) was an American actor.
Life and career
Piazza made his film debut in Sidney J. Furie's Canadian film ''A Dangerous Age'' (1959) followed by his Hollywood debut in '' The Hanging Tree'' (1959). T ...
*
Charlotte Rae
Charlotte Rae Lubotsky (April 22, 1926 – August 5, 2018) was an American character actress and singer whose career spanned six decades.
Rae was known for her portrayal of Edna Garrett in the sitcoms ''Diff'rent Strokes'' and its spin-off, '' ...
*
Jack Riley
*
Larry B. Scott
Larry B. Scott (born August 17, 1961) is an American actor whose film debut was in the 1978 movie '' A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich''. He played Gerald LeFlore in the 1978 movie '' One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story''. He is best known ...
*
Ray Sharkey
Raymond Sharkey Jr. (November 14, 1952 – June 11, 1993) was an American stage, film and television actor. His most notable film role was Vincent Vacarri in the 1980 film ''The Idolmaker'', for which he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Ac ...
*
Trinidad Silva
Trinidad Silva, Jr. (January 30, 1950 – July 31, 1988) was an American comedian and character actor who played small supporting roles in a number of films of the 1980s.
He is best known for the roles of Jesus Martinez, a gang leader in the TV s ...
*
Queenie Smith
Queenie Smith (September 8, 1898 – August 5, 1978) was an American stage, television, and film actress.
Life and career
Smith was born in Texas. Her family moved from Texas to New York shortly before Smith began studying at the Metropol ...
*
Brett Somers
Brett Somers (born Audrey Dawn Johnston; July 11, 1924 – September 15, 2007) was a Canadian-American game-show personality, actress, and singer. Brett was best known as a panelist on the 1970s game show ''Match Game'' and for her recurring ro ...
*
Jeffrey Tambor
Jeffrey Michael Tambor (born July 8, 1944) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles such as Jeffrey Brookes, the uptight neighbor of Stanley and Helen Roper in the television sitcom ''The Ropers'' (1979–1980), as Hank Kings ...
*
Michael Tucci
*
David Wayne
David Wayne (born Wayne James McMeekan, January 30, 1914 – February 9, 1995) was an American stage and screen actor with a career spanning over 50 years.
Early life and career
Wayne was born in Traverse City, Michigan, the son of Helen M ...
*
William Windom
William Windom (May 10, 1827January 29, 1891) was an American politician from Minnesota. He served as U.S. Representative from 1859 to 1869, and as U.S. Senator from 1870 to January 1871, from March 1871 to March 1881, and from November 1881 ...
Fish's family
Fish's wife Bernice made an appearance from time to time in Seasons 1 to 4. In Seasons 1, 3 and 4 she was played by
Florence Stanley
Florence Stanley (born Florence Schwartz; July 1, 1924 – October 3, 2003) was an American actress of stage, film, and television. She is best known for her roles in ''Barney Miller'' (1975–1977) and its spinoff ''Fish'' (1977-1978), ''My T ...
(in a total of seven appearances); in Bernice's only Season 2 appearance she was portrayed by
Doris Belack
Doris Belack (February 26, 1926 – October 4, 2011) was an American character actress of stage, film and television.
Life and career
Belack was born in 1926 in New York City, the younger daughter of Isaac and Bertha Belack, Jewish immigrants ...
. In that episode, Fish also had a grown daughter named Beverly, played by Emily Levine. Also seen as recurring characters in Season 3 were group home children Jilly (
Denise Miller
Denise Miller (born July 17, 1963) is an American actress. She is noted for her appearances in the television sitcoms '' Archie Bunker's Place'' and ''Fish,'' as well as the made-for-television movie '' Sooner or Later''.
Miller started her a ...
) and Victor (
John Cassisi), who would eventually become Fish's foster children. In 1977, the Fishes were
spun off into their own show, ''
Fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
'' which also starred
Barry Gordon
Barry Gordon (born December 21, 1948) is an American actor and political talk show host. He was the longest-serving president of the Screen Actors Guild, having served from 1988 to 1995. He is perhaps best known as the original voice of Donatello ...
, who memorably played an embezzler who gets a pay raise and promotion in Season 5 and a lawyer representing Wojo in Season 8.
Barney's family
In addition to Barney's wife Liz, Barney's son David (Michael Tessier) and daughter Rachel (
Anne Wyndham) appeared in the pilot. Barney's son was written out of the show after the first episode (though was still occasionally mentioned), while his wife made appearances through the second season, and very sporadically thereafter. Wyndham also reprised her role in two later episodes, Season 1, episode 5 "The Courtesans", and Season 7, episode 140 "Rachel".
"Wojo's Girl"
Darlene Parks played Wojo's ex-prostitute girlfriend Nancy in a 2-episode arc in Season 5. The episodes focus on the 'period of adjustment' following Nancy's move into Stan's apartment.
Pilot
The series was born out of an unsold
television pilot
A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distri ...
, ''The Life and Times of Captain Barney Miller'', that aired on August 22, 1974, as part of an
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
summer
anthology series
An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a differ ...
, ''Just for Laughs''. Linden and Vigoda were cast in their series roles; no other eventual cast members were present.
Abby Dalton
Gladys Marlene Wasden (August 15, 1932 – November 23, 2020), known professionally as Abby Dalton, was an American actress, known for her television roles on the sitcoms ''Hennesey'' (1959–1962) and '' The Joey Bishop Show'' (1962– ...
played Barney Miller's wife, Liz, while
Val Bisoglio
Italo Valentino Bisoglio (May 7, 1926 – October 18, 2021) was an American character actor primarily known for his work on television.
Biography
Bisoglio was born in New York City, New York, on May 7, 1926.
He may be best known for his recurri ...
, Rod Perry, and a pre-''
Hill Street Blues
''Hill Street Blues'' is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981, to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes. The show chronicles the lives of the staff of a single police station loca ...
''
Charles Haid
Charles Maurice Haid III (born June 2, 1943) is an American actor and television director, with notable work in both movies and television. He is best known for his portrayal of Officer Andy Renko in ''Hill Street Blues''.
Haid was born in San ...
rounded out the cast of the pilot. Guest stars included Mike Moore, Chu Chu Mulave, Henry Beckman, Buddy Lester, Michael Tessier and Anne Wyndham.
The pilot script was later largely reused in the debut episode ''Ramon''. For this reworked episode, Bisoglio's lines were more or less evenly split between the new characters of Yemana and Chano, while Haid's character of Kazinski became Max Gail's Wojciehowicz. Rod Perry's character, Sgt. Wilson, was replaced by Harris in the reworked episode, although Wilson would reappear one more time in the first-season episode ''Experience'' before disappearing from the series entirely. Abby Dalton was replaced by Barbara Barrie as Liz, and Henry Beckman's character of Uncle Charlie was dropped entirely. The rest of the guest cast (Moore, Malave, Lester, Tessier and Wyndham) reprised their roles in the debut episode.
Unlike the remainder of the series, the pilot was shot on film at
CBS Studio Center, where the sets of the 12th Precinct and the Miller apartment were originally built.
When the show went into regular production in late 1974, it was recorded on videotape. The sets were moved to the
ABC Television Center
The Prospect Studios (also known as ABC Television Center est'') is a lot containing several television studios located at 4151 Prospect Avenue in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, at the corner of Prospect and Talmadge Street (named ...
in Hollywood, where they remained until production ended in 1982.
The pilot was never broadcast in syndication. It was released in 2011 as part of Shout Factory's complete series set on DVD.
Episodes
Opening theme
The show's
instrumental
An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...
jazz fusion
Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...
theme music, written by
Jack Elliott and
Allyn Ferguson
Allyn Malcolm Ferguson Jr. (October 18, 1924 – June 23, 2010) was an American composer, whose works include the themes for 1970s television programs ''Barney Miller'' and '' Charlie's Angels'' (1976-1981), which he co-wrote with Jack Elliott ...
, opens with a distinctive
bass line
Bassline (also known as a bass line or bass part) is the term used in many styles of music, such as blues, jazz, funk, dub and electronic, traditional, or classical music for the low-pitched instrumental part or line played (in jazz and some ...
performed by
studio musician
Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...
Chuck Berghofer
Charles Curtis Berghofer (born June 14, 1937), professionally known as Chuck Berghofer, is an American jazz double bassist and electric bassist, who has worked as a studio musician and in the film industry for more than 60 years, including workin ...
. The bass line was improvised by Berghofer at the request of producer Dominik Hauser: "Can you do something on the bass? This guy is a cop in New York. Can we just start it out with the bass?" The theme song was ranked No. 23 and No. 27, respectively, by ''
Complex
Complex commonly refers to:
* Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe
** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
'' and ''
Paste'' magazines, in their lists of "best TV theme songs".
The theme plays over the Manhattan
skyline
A skyline is the outline or shape viewed near the horizon. It can be created by a city’s overall structure, or by human intervention in a rural setting, or in nature that is formed where the sky meets buildings or the land.
City skyline ...
, followed by shots of the characters and opening credits. Season 1 opened and closed with a shot of
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildin ...
as seen from
Weehawken, New Jersey
Weehawken is a Township (New Jersey), township in the North Hudson, New Jersey, northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located largely on the Hudson Palisades overlooking the North River ...
. Season 2 onward opened with a shot of
Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...
as seen from
Brooklyn Heights
Brooklyn Heights is a residential neighborhood within the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Old Fulton Street near the Brooklyn Bridge on the north, Cadman Plaza West on the east, Atlantic Avenue on the south, ...
, with a barge being towed in the foreground, and closed with a shot of the
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildin ...
skyline as seen from
Long Island City
Long Island City (LIC) is a residential and commercial neighborhood on the extreme western tip of Queens, a borough in New York City. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; New Calvary Cemetery in Sunnyside to the ...
. Several versions of the theme were used during different seasons, sometimes more than one within the same season, with minor variations in composition and performance. The one version used for Season 3, however, is said to be the most well-known.
Production
Staging
Production of ''Barney Miller'' deliberately resembled a theatrical stage play; scenes rarely strayed from the precinct station's squad room, with its prominent open-barred
holding cell, and Miller's adjoining office. The room was said to be on the second or third floor, depending on the episode. Clutter was plentiful and much of it seemed immobile over the years, including a coat hanging on a clothes rack near Harris' desk. A handful of episodes (fewer than a dozen of 170) were partially or fully set in other locations, including a stakeout location ("Stakeout"), a hospital room ("Hair"), an undercover operation ("Grand Hotel"), a jail (three separate rooms in "Contempt"), a hotel room ("Chinatown"), and the apartments of Barney ("Ramon" and "Graft"), Chano ("The Hero"), Fish ("Fish") and Wojo ("Wojo's Girl"). In "The DNA Story," we finally see the inside of the men's room. ''Barney Miller'' tended to obey two of the three
classical unities
The classical unities, Aristotelian unities, or three unities represent a prescriptive theory of dramatic tragedy that was introduced in Italy in the 16th century and was influential for three centuries. The three unities are:
#''unity of action' ...
of drama: unity of place and unity of time. The third unity, unity of action, was not followed, since each episode had multiple subplots.
''Barney Miller'' was one of the few sitcoms of the period that occasionally mentioned the then-current year or allowed the audience to infer the then-current year.
Taping
''Barney Miller'' was notorious for its marathon taping sessions. Early seasons were recorded before a live studio audience and used a
laugh track
A laugh track (or laughter track) is a separate soundtrack for a recorded comedy show containing the sound of audience laughter. In some productions, the laughter is a live audience response instead; in the United States, where it is most common ...
for sweetening reactions during post-production. Creator and executive producer
Danny Arnold
Danny Arnold (born Arnold Rothmann; January 23, 1925 – August 19, 1995) was an American producer, writer, comedian, actor and director known for producing ''Barney Miller'', ''That Girl'', and ''Bewitched''.
Early life
Born in New York City, ...
would then rewrite and restage entire scenes after the audience departed, actively looking for quieter, subtler moments that would not play well before a crowd; a taping session that began in the afternoon or early evening would then continue into the early morning hours. Max Gail referred to this in the Jack Soo retrospective episode aired on May 17, 1979, remarking that one of the clips shown was a scene that "we finished around 2:30 in the morning." In a 1977
blooper, a crew member mentions it being 3:15 a.m.
Writer Tom Reeder described working on the show:
Employing a live audience became impractical as lengthy reshoots became commonplace. By Season 4, only a quiet laugh track was used when necessary.
Barney Miller's wife
When ''Barney Miller'' premiered in January, 1975, actress
Barbara Barrie
Barbara Barrie (born Barbara Ann Berman; May 23, 1931) is an American actress and author.
Her film breakthrough came in 1964 with her performance as Julie in the landmark film ''One Potato, Two Potato'', for which she won the Best Actress Awar ...
was hired as a regular cast member to play Liz Miller, Barney's wise, faithful, and loving wife. She received second billing in the opening credits after Hal Linden. During that half-season, Barrie appeared in seven episodes out of thirteen. At that time, the premise of the show was to focus on Barney's career as a police captain at the 12th precinct as well as his home life with his wife and children.
At the start of the 1975–76 season, when it became evident that storylines at the 12th precinct were taking precedence, Barrie went to producer Danny Arnold and asked to be released from the show. Arnold reluctantly agreed and Barrie appeared in only two episodes that year: “The Social Worker", which was the second episode of the second season, and the holiday installment “Happy New Year”. But she continued to receive second billing in the opening credits throughout the second year.
In the third season, Barrie's character as well as Barney's children were occasionally mentioned but never seen. In the spring of 1978, Barrie returned to the series as a guest star reprising her role of Liz Miller in the episode “Quo Vadis”. In that episode, Barney gets shot on duty, but survives his attack virtually unharmed. Liz, upset by the incident and unable to stand the pressures of being a policeman's wife, gives Barney an ultimatum to either give up his police job so they can move to a safer neighborhood or end their marriage. At the end of the episode, Barney and Liz separate.
During the 1978–79 season, Barrie made her final appearance on ''Barney Miller'' in the Christmas show “Toys”. In that episode, Liz meets Barney at the 12th precinct on Christmas Eve to discuss celebrating the holidays with their children, leading up to the possibility of a reconciliation. After this episode, Liz is never seen again, but toward the end of the fifth season, Barney happily announces to his staff that he and Liz have ended their separation and that he is moving back to their apartment. Despite Barrie's absence, her character continues to be mentioned throughout the rest of the show's run.
Fish
In the first season of ''Barney Miller'', the character of Fish (played by
Abe Vigoda
Abraham Charles Vigoda (February 24, 1921 – January 26, 2016) was an American actor known for his portrayals of Salvatore Tessio in ''The Godfather'' (1972) and Phil Fish in both ''Barney Miller'' (1975–1977, 1982) and ''Fish'' (1977–1978 ...
) proved so popular that ABC was considering a spin-off as early as October, 1975. The series, ''Fish'', premiered on February 5, 1977. It focused on the domestic side of Fish's life as he and his wife Bernice (played by Florence Stanley) became foster parents to five racially mixed children known as “Persons In Need Of Supervision” (PINS). Fish continued to appear sporadically in the second half of Season 3 of ''Barney Miller'' while also starring in ''Fish''. During the 1977–78 season, Fish officially retired from the NYPD in Season 4, Episode 2 episode of ''Barney Miller''. ''Fish'' had reasonably good ratings, but did not match ''Barney Millers. ABC was going to renew the show for a third season, but, according to cast member
Todd Bridges
Todd Anthony Bridges (born May 27, 1965) is an American actor. He portrayed Willis Jackson on the sitcom ''Diff'rent Strokes'' and had a recurring role as Monk on the sitcom ''Everybody Hates Chris.'' Bridges worked as a commentator on the telev ...
, Vigoda demanded more money than the producers were willing to pay. As a result, ABC canceled ''Fish'' in May 1978 without a series finale. Vigoda did not return to ''Barney Miller'' as a regular cast member, but in the spring of 1981, he did make a final appearance as Fish as a guest in the seventh-season episode "Lady and the Bomb", thus giving his character some closure.
Wojo Pilot
After ''Fish'' was canceled, a special one-hour episode of ''Barney Miller'' aired on January 25, 1979. It was created as a pilot episode for another possible ''Barney Miller'' spin-off to star series regular Max Gail. Titled “Wojo's Girl”, the first half of the episode was set at the 12th precinct in which Wojo (played by Gail) decides to have his girlfriend Nancy, a former prostitute (played by Darlene Parks), live with him. The second half of the installment takes place entirely in Wojo's apartment as he and Nancy try and struggle to adjust to living together. The pilot did not sell, Park's character of Nancy was never seen again and Gail remained with ''Barney Miller'' until the series ended in the spring of 1982.
Linda Lavin
Shortly after the premiere of ''Barney Miller'' in early 1975, actress
Linda Lavin
Linda Lavin (born October 15, 1937) is an American actress and singer. She is known for playing the title character in the sitcom '' Alice'' and for her stage performances, both on and off-Broadway.
After acting as a child, Lavin joined the Co ...
guest starred as Detective Janice Wentworth on the eighth episode "Ms. Cop". Her character in that installment went over very well with audiences and Lavin was brought back as a semi-regular for ''Barney Millers second year. During that season, a romance began at the 12th precinct between Detective Wentworth and Detective (Wojo) Wojciehowicz (played by Max Gail). However, at the same time, Lavin had just completed a television pilot for
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
called
Alice, which was based on the
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
-winning film ''
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore''. The pilot quickly sold to CBS and they included it on their schedule for the 1976–1977 season. As a result, Lavin left ''Barney Miller'' at the end of the show's second season. ''Alice'' ran for nine years on CBS and immediately established Lavin as a television star. Lavin never returned to ''Barney Miller'' although her character of Detective Janice Wentworth was briefly seen in a flashback in the last episode of the series "Landmark: Part 3".
Death of Jack Soo
Towards the end of the fourth year,
Jack Soo
Jack Soo (born Goro Suzuki, October 28, 1917 – January 11, 1979) was an American singer and actor. He was best known for his role as Detective Nick Yemana on the television sitcom ''Barney Miller''.
Early life
Soo was born Goro Suzuki on a s ...
was diagnosed with esophageal cancer and was absent for the last five episodes of the 1977–78 season. To help fill the void during his medical leave, actress Mari Gorman was brought in for three installments as Officer Rosslyn Licori. Cast member Ron Carey's role of Officer Carl Levitt was also expanded at this time to compensate for Soo's absence. Soo returned to ''Barney Miller'' at the start of the 1978–79 season but his cancer had already metastasized and spread very quickly. As a result, he was only able to complete nine episodes that year. By the time he taped his last appearance which was the installment "The Vandal" that aired on November 9, 1978, Soo's illness was quite evident in his rapid weight loss. Two months later, he died on January 11, 1979, at the age of 61. The fifth-season finale "Jack Soo: A Retrospective" aired on May 17, 1979, and was a tribute to him. For this installment, the cast of ''Barney Miller'' led by Hal Linden appeared as themselves on the 12th Precinct office set as they fondly shared stories and reminiscences about Soo as an actor and as a friend. At the end of the episode, the cast raised their coffee cups in loving memory of Jack Soo.
Paul Lieber
During the seventh season, in an attempt to fill the void left by Jack Soo, a new character was added to ''Barney Miller''. In November, 1980, actor Paul Lieber was cast as Detective Sergeant Eric Dorsey. Dorsey had a jaded, cynical attitude who initially alienated his colleagues at the 12th precinct by assuming they were all corrupt. Even though he eventually realized that his convictions were not true, the character was not popular with viewers. As a result, Lieber's tenure on the show lasted only a few weeks with his character of Dorsey reassigned to another precinct. (Incidentally, Lieber had made a previous appearance on ''Barney Miller'' during the previous season in a small role as a gunman in the episode "The Architect").
LGBT
Marty and Darryl were among the earliest recurring gay characters on American television. Danny Arnold worked closely with the Gay Media Task Force, an activist group that worked on
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
representation in media, in developing the characters. Initially both characters were presented in a stereotypically effeminate manner but in later appearances Darryl began dressing and speaking in a more mainstream fashion. Officer Zitelli's coming out was not the first gay storyline on American television, but was a memorable one.
Slow ratings growth
The series took a while to become a hit, but ABC supported it anyway.
In the 1975 "The Courtesans" episode (S1 E5) with
Nancy Dussault
Nancy Dussault (born June 30, 1936) is an American actress and singer.
She is best known for playing Muriel Rush in the sitcom ''Too Close for Comfort'' (1980–1987). In a career spanning over half a century, Dussault received two Tony Award n ...
, creator/producer/showrunner
Danny Arnold
Danny Arnold (born Arnold Rothmann; January 23, 1925 – August 19, 1995) was an American producer, writer, comedian, actor and director known for producing ''Barney Miller'', ''That Girl'', and ''Bewitched''.
Early life
Born in New York City, ...
threatened to quit his own show, if network
censors
Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...
removed a risque line. The network relented and the resulting
publicity
In marketing, publicity is the public visibility or awareness for any product, service, person or organization (company, charity, etc.). It may also refer to the movement of information from its source to the general public, often (but not always) ...
over the
x-rated
An X rating is a rating used in various countries to classify films that have content deemed suitable only for adults. It is used when the violent or sexual content of a film is considered to be potentially disturbing to general audiences.
Aust ...
episode that was banned in two markets ensured the series' ratings survival, according to
Hal Linden
Hal Linden (born Harold Lipshitz, March 20, 1931) is an American stage and screen actor, television director and musician.
Linden began his career as a big band musician and singer in the 1950s. After a stint in the United States Army, he began ...
.
Danny Arnold ended production of ''Barney Miller'' in 1982 after eight seasons for fear of repeating storylines; the show was not canceled by the network.
Reception by police
''Barney Miller'' retains a devoted following among real-life police officers, who appreciate the show's emphasis on dialog and believably quirky characters, and its low-key portrayal of cops going about their jobs. In a 2005 op-ed for the ''New York Times'', New York police detective Lucas Miller wrote:
Similarly, during his appearance on
Jon Favreau
Jonathan Kolia Favreau (; born October 19, 1966) is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Favreau has appeared in films such as ''Rudy (film), Rudy'' (1993), ''PCU (film), PCU'' (1994), ''Swingers (1996 film), Swingers'' (1996), ''Very ...
's
Independent Film Channel
IFC (formerly known as the Independent Film Channel) is an American basic cable channel owned by AMC Networks, originally launching in 1994 as a TV channel devoted to independent films. The Independent Film Channel originally operated as a com ...
talk show ''
Dinner for Five'',
Dennis Farina
Donaldo Gugliermo "Dennis" Farina (February 29, 1944 – July 22, 2013) was an American actor. Often typecast as a mobster or police officer, he is known for roles such as FBI Agent Jack Crawford in '' Manhunter'', mobster Jimmy Serrano in th ...
, who worked as a
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
police officer before turning to acting, called ''Barney Miller'' the most realistic cop show ever seen on television.
Awards and honors
''Barney Miller'' won a
DGA Award
The Directors Guild of America Awards are issued annually by the Directors Guild of America. The first DGA Award was an "Honorary Life Member" award issued in 1938 to D. W. Griffith. The statues are made by New York firm, Society Awards.
Categ ...
from the
Directors Guild of America
The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Directors Guild in 1936, the group merge ...
in 1981. The series won a
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
for
Outstanding Comedy Series in 1982, after it ended. It received six other nominations in that category, from 1976 to 1981. The series won Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series in 1980 (in addition to nominations in 1976, 1977 and 1982), Outstanding Directing in a Comedy or Comedy-Variety or Music Series in 1979, and was nominated for a number of others. It won
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
s for
Best Television Comedy or Musical Series in 1976 and 1977 (from a total of seven nominations), and won a
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...
in 1978. In 2013, ''
TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...
'' ranked ''Barney Miller'' at No. 46 on its list of the 60 best series of all time.
Home media
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has released the first three seasons of ''Barney Miller'' on DVD in Region 1. Season 1 was released on January 20, 2004, to slow sales, and Sony decided not to release any more seasons. However, the decision was later reversed and Season 2 was released in 2008 (four years after the release of Season 1), followed by Season 3 in 2009.
Shout! Factory acquired the rights to the series in 2011 and subsequently released a complete series set on October 25, 2011. The 25-disc set features all 168 episodes of the series as well as bonus features and the first season of the Abe Vigoda spin-off, ''
Fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
''.
In 2014, Shout! began releasing individual season sets, season 4 was released on January 7, 2014, season 5 on May 13, 2014. Season 6 on December 9, 2014. and Season 7 on April 7, 2015, followed by the eighth and final season on July 7, 2015.
Season 1 was released on DVD in Region 4 on December 20, 2006.
Notes
References
External links
*
*
The ''Barney Miller'' homepage
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{{EmmyAward ComedySeries 1976-2000
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1975 American television series debuts
1980s American sitcoms
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1980s American workplace comedy television series
1982 American television series endings
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Best Musical or Comedy Series Golden Globe winners
English-language television shows
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Mill
Mill may refer to:
Science and technology
*
* Mill (grinding)
* Milling (machining)
* Millwork
* Textile mill
* Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel
* List of types of mill
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Mill
Mill may refer to:
Science and technology
*
* Mill (grinding)
* Milling (machining)
* Millwork
* Textile mill
* Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel
* List of types of mill
* Mill, the arithmetic unit of the Analytical Engine early ...
Peabody Award-winning television programs
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series winners
Television characters introduced in 1974
Television series by Sony Pictures Television
Television shows set in Manhattan