''Marblehead Manor'' 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 ...

that originally aired in

first-run syndication Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and radio programs to multiple television stations and radio stations, without going through a broadcast network. It is common in the United States where ...

from September 19, 1987 to May 28, 1988. It starred

Paxton Whitehead Francis Edward Paxton Whitehead (born 17 October 1937) is an English actor, theatre director and playwright. He was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical, Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Acto ...

, Phil Morris,

Linda Thorson Linda Thorson (born Linda Robinson; June 18, 1947) is a Canadian actress, known for playing Tara King in '' The Avengers'' (1968–69). Personal life Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, she attended Bishop Strachan School, and then moved to the ...

, Bob Fraser and

Michael Richards Michael Anthony Richards (born July 24, 1949) is an American actor, writer, television producer, and comedian best known for playing Cosmo Kramer on the television sitcom '' Seinfeld''. He began his career as a stand-up comedian, first enterin ...

. The series was a Dames-Fraser Production in association with

Paramount Television The original incarnation of Paramount Television was the name of the television production division of the American film studio Paramount Pictures, that was responsible for the production of Viacom television programs, until it changed its name ...

Premise

The series concerned the goings on at the estate of the wealthy, eccentric Randolf Stonehill, heir to a corn oil fortune, and involved long-suffering butler and head of the household staff Albert, who'd known Randolf when they were children; groundskeeper Rick who had eyes for maid Lupe; chauffeur Jerry; handyman Dwayne; and Randolf's materialistic, yet good-hearted wife Hillary. Rounding out the cast was Lupe's mischievous son Elvis.

Cast

as Albert Dudley *

as Hillary Stonehill * Phil Morris as Jerry Stockton * Rodney Scott Hudson as Dwayne Stockton * Bob Fraser as Randolf Stonehill * Dyana Ortelli as Lupe * Humberto Ortiz as Elvis *

as Rick

Episodes

Broadcast

This show was part of

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

's " Prime Time Begins at 7:30" campaign, in which the network's

owned-and-operated stations In the broadcasting industry, an owned-and-operated station (frequently abbreviated as an O&O) usually refers to a television or radio station owned by the network with which it is associated. This distinguishes such a station from an affiliate ...

would run first-run sitcoms in the 7:30–8:00 pm time slot to counter program competing stations'

game shows A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, sh ...

, sitcom reruns and other offerings. The experiment turned out to be a largely unsuccessful one, as only one of the series was a hit while three of the remaining four were canceled after their only season. ''Marblehead Manor'' was one of the three that failed to make it to a second season.

Stations

In popular culture

*The show is referenced in

season 3 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pola ...

, episode 4 of ''

The Golden Girls ''The Golden Girls'' is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Bea Arthur, Betty White ...

'', "Blanche's Little Girl". In one scene,

Rose Nylund Rose Nylund is a character from the sitcom television series ''The Golden Girls'' and its spin-off, '' The Golden Palace''. She was portrayed by Betty White for 8 years, totalling 204 episodes. Rose was supposed to be played by Rue McClanahan, ...

asks if

Blanche Devereaux Blanche Devereaux is a character from the sitcom television series '' The Golden Girls'', and its spin-off ''The Golden Palace''. Blanche was portrayed by Rue McClanahan for 8 years and 204 episodes across the two series. The charact ...

is upset because of a fight she had with her daughter.

Dorothy Zbornak Dorothy Zbornak is a character from the sitcom television series '' The Golden Girls'', portrayed by Bea Arthur. Sarcastic, introspective, compassionate, and fiercely protective of those she considers family, she is introduced as a substitute tea ...

sarcastically responds, "No, Rose, she's upset because ''Marblehead Manor'' is only on once a week." *In the season 8 ''

Newhart ''Newhart'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on CBS from October 25, 1982, to May 21, 1990, with a total of 184 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons. The series stars Bob Newhart and Mary Frann as an author and his wife, ...

'' episode “Cupcake in a Cage”, Larry notes that “Timing is everything in a farce, hence the failure of ''Marblehead Manor''.”

References

External links

* {{NBC's "Prime Time Begins at 7:30" 1987 American television series debuts 1988 American television series endings 1980s American sitcoms Television series by CBS Studios English-language television shows First-run syndicated television programs in the United States