''The Famous Teddy Z'' 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 was broadcast on
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 Entertainmen ...
during the fall of 1989. The series was created by
Hugh Wilson and inspired by the true story of Jay Kantor, who was a mailroom clerk at MCA and later became
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he received numerous accolades throughout his career, which spanned six decades, including two Academ ...
's agent.
Synopsis
The series starred
Jon Cryer
Jonathan Niven Cryer (born April 16, 1965) is an American actor, writer, director and producer. Born into a show business family, he made his motion picture debut as a teenage photographer in the 1984 romantic comedy ''No Small Affair''; his bre ...
as Theodore "Teddy" Zakalokis, a young man working in a Hollywood talent agency in order to avoid being stuck in his
Greek-American
Greek Americans ( el, Ελληνοαμερικανοί ''Ellinoamerikanoí'' ''Ellinoamerikánoi'' ) are Americans of full or partial Greek ancestry. The lowest estimate is that 1.2 million Americans are of Greek descent while the highest es ...
family's bakery. When
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
star Harland Keyvo (a caricature of
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he received numerous accolades throughout his career, which spanned six decades, including two Academ ...
) meets Teddy Z, he is so impressed by his honesty that he makes him his new agent. The humor is derived from Teddy's innocent approach to the business, contrasted with the snake-like behavior of his fellow agents. The cast also included
Jane Sibbett
Jane Moore Sibbett is an American actress. Her most notable roles include Heddy Newman on the Fox television series ''Herman's Head'' and Carol Willick on the television series ''Friends''.
Early life
Sibbett was born in Berkeley, California, th ...
,
Alex Rocco
Alex Rocco (born Alessandro Federico Petricone Jr.; February 29, 1936 – July 18, 2015) was an American actor. Known for his distinctive, gravelly voice, he was often cast as villains, including Moe Greene in ''The Godfather'' (1972) and his Pr ...
,
Milton Selzer
Milton Selzer (October 25, 1918 – October 21, 2006) was an American stage, film, and television actor.
Early life
Born in Lowell, Massachusetts, Selzer and his family moved to Portsmouth, New Hampshire where he was raised. After graduating fro ...
,
Josh Blake
Josh Blake (born 18 September 1998) is an English cricketer who plays for Surrey County Cricket Club. He is a left handed batsman and wicket-keeper.
Career
Blake signed his first professional contract with Surrey in 2022 until the end of the 202 ...
, and Erica Yohn.
Cast
*
Jon Cryer
Jonathan Niven Cryer (born April 16, 1965) is an American actor, writer, director and producer. Born into a show business family, he made his motion picture debut as a teenage photographer in the 1984 romantic comedy ''No Small Affair''; his bre ...
as Theodore "Teddy" Zakalokis
*
Alex Rocco
Alex Rocco (born Alessandro Federico Petricone Jr.; February 29, 1936 – July 18, 2015) was an American actor. Known for his distinctive, gravelly voice, he was often cast as villains, including Moe Greene in ''The Godfather'' (1972) and his Pr ...
as Albert "Al" T. Floss
*
Josh Blake
Josh Blake (born 18 September 1998) is an English cricketer who plays for Surrey County Cricket Club. He is a left handed batsman and wicket-keeper.
Career
Blake signed his first professional contract with Surrey in 2022 until the end of the 202 ...
as Aristotle "Ari" Zakalokis
* Tom LaGrua as Richard "Richie" Herby
*
Milton Selzer
Milton Selzer (October 25, 1918 – October 21, 2006) was an American stage, film, and television actor.
Early life
Born in Lowell, Massachusetts, Selzer and his family moved to Portsmouth, New Hampshire where he was raised. After graduating fro ...
as Abe Werkfinder
*
Jane Sibbett
Jane Moore Sibbett is an American actress. Her most notable roles include Heddy Newman on the Fox television series ''Herman's Head'' and Carol Willick on the television series ''Friends''.
Early life
Sibbett was born in Berkeley, California, th ...
as Laurie Parr
* Erica Yohn as Deena Zakalokis
Recurring
*
Dennis Lipscomb
Dennis Lipscomb (March 1, 1942 – July 30, 2014) was an American actor.
Lipscomb's first feature film was '' Union City'' (1980). From the early 1980s to the 1990s, Lipscomb appeared in key roles in various motion pictures including '' Love Ch ...
as Harland Keyvo
* Jack Armstrong as Marty Horn
*
Barry Corbin
Leonard Barrie Corbin (born October 16, 1940) is an American actor. He is best known for his starring role as Maurice Minnifield on the television series ''Northern Exposure'' (1990–1995), which earned him two consecutive Primetime Emmy Award ...
as Zed Westhymer
* Tony Di Benedetto as Uncle Nikos
*
Liz Torres
Elizabeth Larrieu Torres (born September 27, 1947) is an American actress, singer, and comedian. Torres is best known for her role as Mahalia Sanchez in the NBC comedy series ''The John Larroquette Show'' (1993–1996), for which she received two ...
as Aunt Angie
Production
Music
The theme song was written by
Guy Moon
Guy Vernon Moon is an American composer.
Biography
Moon was born and grew up in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, and attended the University of Arizona in 1980. He moved to California in 1986.
Inspired by the musical works of Chick Corea, Moon has ...
and
Stephanie
Stephanie is a female name that comes from the Greek name Στέφανος (Stephanos) meaning "crown". The male form is Stephen. Forms of Stephanie in other languages include the German "Stefanie", the Italian, Czech, Polish, and Russian "St ...
and
Steve Tyrell
''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen
Notable people with the name include:
steve jops
* Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people
* Steve Adams (disambiguation), several people
* Steve ...
and performed by
Bill Champlin
William Bradford Champlin (born May 21, 1947) is an American singer, musician, arranger, producer, and songwriter. He formed the band Sons of Champlin in 1965, which still performs today, and was a member of the band Chicago from 1981–2009. H ...
.
Casting
When the series first went into production,
Lainie Kazan
Lainie Kazan (born Lainie Levine; May 15, 1940) is an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for '' St. Elsewhere'' and the 1993 Tony Award for Best Featured Actr ...
was cast as Teddy's pushy mother, Deena Zakalokis. Kazan had appeared in the first six episodes and shot part of the seventh episode but was released from the series due to creative issues. Kazan reportedly sued the producers for $2 million over her dismissal. The role of Deena was promptly recast as Teddy's grandmother, with Erica Yohn being hired. Most of Kazan's scenes were reshot with Yohn before the show made its debut.
''Murphy Brown'' crossover
Rocco's character, Al Floss, made a
crossover
Crossover may refer to:
Entertainment
Albums and songs
* ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album)
* ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987
* ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album)
* ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album)
* ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...
appearance in the ''
Murphy Brown
''Murphy Brown'' is an American television sitcom created by Diane English that premiered on November 14, 1988, on CBS. The series stars Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news anchor for ''FYI'', a ...
'' season two episode "
And the Whiner Is...", which originally aired on November 13, 1989. In the appearance Floss serves as an agent for several ''Murphy Brown'' characters.
Episodes
Reception
The series
pilot
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
was seen to be far stronger than subsequent episodes, but the series received two
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 ...
nominations, including one for the pilot, and for Alex Rocco, who won an Emmy as
Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, but low ratings led CBS to drop it with five episodes unaired. It was later run in its entirety on
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programming ...
in 1993 with episodes introduced by Rocco, and by
Trio as part of its ''Brilliant But Cancelled'' series.
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Famous Teddy Z, The
CBS original programming
1989 American television series debuts
Television shows set in Los Angeles
1980s American sitcoms
1990s American sitcoms
1990 American television series endings
Primetime Emmy Award-winning television series
Television series by Sony Pictures Television
Television series created by Hugh Wilson
Television series about show business