''Muggsy'' was a Saturday morning live action television program that aired on

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 ...

in 1976–1977.

Synopsis

Filmed on location in

Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the List of cities by population in New England, fifth-most populous ...

, the show centered on Margaret “Muggsy” Malloy (Sarah MacDonnell), who lived with her older brother Nick (Ben Masters), a cab driver, in a furnished truck converted into an apartment, behind a gas station. The show followed Muggsy's life in the

inner city The term ''inner city'' has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Sociologists some ...

and the problems she faced growing up, including

drugs A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalat ...

and

gang A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectivel ...

s. ''Muggsy'' was one of few Saturday morning shows that dealt with the contemporary issues of the time.

David Clayton-Thomas David Clayton-Thomas (born David Henry Thomsett, 13 September 1941) is a Grammy Award-winning Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of the American band Blood, Sweat & Tears. Clayton-Thomas has been inducte ...

Blood, Sweat & Tears Blood, Sweat & Tears (also known as "BS&T") is a jazz rock music group founded in New York City in 1967, noted for a combination of brass with rock instrumentation. In addition to original music, the group has performed popular songs by Laura Ny ...

sang the

theme song Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...

Broadcast history

At the start of the 1976-77 television season, ''Muggsy'' was part of a three-hour block of six live action shows that aired Saturday mornings on NBC, alongside ''

Land of the Lost Land of the Lost may refer to: * Land of the Lost (1974 TV series), ''Land of the Lost'' (1974 TV series), the original 1974 children's television series * Land of the Lost (1991 TV series), ''Land of the Lost'' (1991 TV series), the 1991 remake of ...

'', which was entering its third season, and four other new shows: ''

Monster Squad ''Monster Squad'' is a television series produced by D'Angelo-Bullock-Allen Productions that aired Saturday mornings on NBC from September 11, 1976, to September 3, 1977. It is unrelated to the later film of the same name. Premise The series s ...

'', ''

McDuff, the Talking Dog McDuff, The Talking Dog was a Saturday morning live action television program that aired on NBC in 1976. The show centered on the ghost of a 100-year-old sheepdog who used to live in the home now owned by a veterinarian, Dr. Calvin Campbell (play ...

'', ''

Big John, Little John ''Big John, Little John'' is an American Saturday-morning situation comedy, produced by Sherwood Schwartz, which starred Herbert Edelman as "Big John" and Robert "Robbie" Rist as "Little John." The show first aired on September 11, 1976, on NB ...

'' and '' The Kids from C.A.P.E.R.'' ''Muggsy'' was cancelled in April 1977; ''The Kids from C.A.P.E.R.'' replaced it after being put on hiatus during a shakeup of the lineup in November, 1976, in which ''McDuff, the Talking Dog'' was cancelled. None of the other shows returned for the start of the 1977-78 television season. Though 13 episodes were made, only 12 of them aired.

Cast

*Sarah MacDonnell as Margaret "Muggsy" Malloy * Ben Masters as Nick Malloy *

Paul Michael Paul Michael (August 15, 1926 – July 8, 2011) was an American actor. He was a regular guest star on American television appearing in ''Kojak'', ''Hill Street Blues'', ''Alias'' and ''Frasier''. He also played King Johnny Romano on ''Dark Sha ...

as Gus * Star-Shemah as Clytemnestra *

Jimmy McCann James "Maxie" McCann (born 4 March 1934) is a former soccer player from Dublin, Ireland. McCann joined Shamrock Rovers in 1954 and made his debut on 10 April in a 2–0 win against Bohemians at Dalymount Park having signed the previous week. ...

as Lil' Man

Episodes

References

External links

Muggsy page

Muggsy
at the Internet Movie Database
Sarah MacDonnell
at the Internet Movie Database 1976 American television series debuts 1977 American television series endings 1970s American children's television series NBC original programming Television shows set in Connecticut {{US-child-tv-prog-stub