''The Dumplings'' 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 ...

starring

James Coco James Emil Coco (March 21, 1930 – February 25, 1987) was an American stage and screen actor. He was the recipient of a Primetime Emmy Award, a Drama Desk Award and three Obie Awards, as well as nominations for a Tony Award, an Academy Award a ...

and Geraldine Brooks that aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

during the 1975–1976 television season.McNeil, Alex, ''Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming From 1948 to the Present'', New York: Penguin Books, 1996, p. 242.Brooks, Tim, and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime-Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present, Sixth Edition'', New York: Ballantine Books, 1995, , pp. 296-297. The series was based on a syndicated comic strip of the same name by Fred Lucky that ran in newspapers from 1975 to 1977.

Cast

as Joe Dumpling * Geraldine Brooks as Angela Dumpling * George S. Irving as Charles Sweetzer *

George Furth George Furth (born George Schweinfurth; December 14, 1932 – August 11, 2008) was an American librettist, playwright, and actor. Life and career Furth was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of George and Evelyn (née Tuerk) Schweinfurth. He was ...

as Frederic Steele *

Marcia Rodd Marcia Rodd is an American actress. She made her film debut playing a leading role in the 1971 film '' Little Murders'', and later had supporting roles in films and television series. In 1973, she acted on Broadway in ''Shelter''. Early years Th ...

as Stephanie * Mort Marshall as Cully *

Jane Connell Jane Sperry Connell (pronounced con-NELL, née Bennett; October 27, 1925 – September 22, 2013) was an American actress and singer. Early years Connell was born in Berkeley, California, to Louis Wesley and Mary (née Sperry) Bennett. She majo ...

as Bridget (Norah) McKenna * Wil Albert as The prude

Synopsis

Joe and Angela Dumpling are a very happily married and overweight couple who are very much in love with each other and with life, never have a bad thing to say about one another, and exude good cheer and enthusiasm. They operate Dudley's Take-Out, a

luncheonette A lunch counter (also known as a luncheonette) is, in the US, a small restaurant, similar to a diner, where the patron sits on a stool on one side of the counter and the server or person preparing the food serves from the opposite side of the c ...

on the ground floor of a

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

skyscraper owned by the Bristol Oil Company. Charles Sweetzer, who works upstairs as executive vice president of Bristol Oil, is a regular customer, as are

New York city councilman The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five Borough (New York City), boroughs. The council serves as a check against the Mayor of New York City, mayor in a may ...

Frederic Steele, Mr. Sweetzers secretary Bridget McKenna (or Norah McKenna, according to some sources), and Angelas sister Stephanie. Cully is the Dumplings employee at the luncheonette and works as the cashier. The Dumplings obesity is a source of much humor as they interact with customers, friends, and family.The TV Historian: 70s Sitcom #158 The Dumplings - 1976
/ref>

Production

The show originated as a syndicated comic strip created by Fred Lucky. Norman Lear developed the series for television and

Don Nicholl Donald Nicholl (August 9, 1925 – July 5, 1980) was an English-American screenwriter and producer. His production company Nicholl Ross West (with Mickey Ross and Bernie West) wrote for the situation comedies ''All in the Family'', ''The Jeffe ...

, Michael Ross, and

Bernie West Bernie West (May 30, 1918 – July 29, 2010) was an American television writer and actor best known for his work in situation comedies such as ''All in the Family'', its spinoff ''The Jeffersons'', and ''Three's Company''. Biography Born on ...

created and produced it, with George Sunga also serving as a producer.IMDb Full Cast and Crew
/ref> Episode directors were Paul Bogart, Hal Cooper, and Dennis Steinmetz. Nicholl, Ross, and West all wrote for the show, as did Joseph Bonaduce, Bill Davenport, Fred S. Fox,

Gary David Goldberg Gary David Goldberg (June 25, 1944 – June 22, 2013) was an American writer and producer for television and film. Goldberg was best known for his work on ''Family Ties'' (1982–89), ''Spin City'' (1996–2002), and his semi-autobiographical seri ...

Seaman Jacobs Seaman Block Jacobs (February 25, 1912 – April 8, 2008) was an American screenwriter. He wrote episodes for several TV shows, such as ''The Addams Family'', ''The Lucy Show'', ''I Dream of Jeannie'', '' F-Troop'', ''The Andy Griffith Show' ...

, Fred Lucky, Barry Sand, and Alan Uger. Angela Dumpling was the final role of Geraldine Brooks career; she died in 1977.

Steve Lawrence Steve Lawrence (born Sidney Liebowitz; July 8, 1935) is an American singer, comedian and actor, best known as a member of a duo with his wife Eydie Gormé, billed as " Steve and Eydie", and for his performance as Maury Sline, the manager and f ...

sang the shows theme song, "Two By Two, Side By Side."Terrace, Vincent, ''Television Introductions: Narrated TV Program Openings since 1949'', Scarecrow Press, 2013, p. 314.
/ref>

Broadcast history

NBC broadcast the pilot episode of ''The Dumplings'' on October 4, 1975. ''The Dumplings'' joined NBC's regular lineup on January 28, 1976, with a rebroadcast of the pilot in the show's regular time slot at 9:30 p.m. on Wednesdays. Its tenth and final episode aired on March 31, 1976. An eleventh episode was never broadcast.

Episodes

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dumplings NBC original programming 1976 American television series debuts 1976 American television series endings 1970s American sitcoms English-language television shows Television shows based on comic strips Television shows set in New York City