The Fitzpatricks Brandon Kramer McNichol 1977

''The Fitzpatricks'' is an American drama series which ran 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 1977–78 season. Tim Brooks; Earle Marsh.
The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946–Present
'. 8th ed. Random House Digital; October 14, 2003 ited September 27, 2011 . pp. 414–415. The series premiered on September 5, 1977; it lasted thirteen episodes, and was cancelled on January 10, 1978, failing in the faces of established ABC competitors ''

Happy Days ''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marshall, it was one of the most succ ...

'' (in its first 30 minutes) and ''

Laverne & Shirley ''Laverne & Shirley'' (originally ''Laverne DeFazio & Shirley Feeney'') is an American sitcom television series that played for eight seasons on ABC from January 27, 1976, to May 10, 1983. A spin-off of ''Happy Days'', ''Laverne & Shirley'' star ...

'' (in its last 30 minutes), which both aired in the show's time-slot of 8:00-9:00 PM Eastern/Pacific on Tuesday nights.

Plot

The focus was on the Fitzpatricks, an

Irish Catholic Irish Catholics are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland whose members are both Catholic and Irish. They have a large diaspora, which includes over 36 million American citizens and over 14 million British citizens (a quarter of the British ...

family of six who lived in

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of 8 ...

. The father, blue collar Mike Fitzpatrick, (

Bert Kramer Bert Kramer (October 10, 1934 – June 20, 2001) was an American actor, who was born in San Diego. He appeared in many different television shows including ''Kojak'', ''The Bionic Woman'', ''The Rockford Files'', ''Dallas'', ''Dynasty'', ''Fu ...

) worked overtime as a steelworker to provide a life for the family; while his pregnant wife, Maggie (

Mariclare Costello Mariclare Costello (born February 3, 1936) is a retired American television, stage, and movie actress. She is a lifetime member of The Actors Studio. Costello's most notable role was that of Rosemary Hunter Fordwick on the television series ''The ...

) also worked part-time at a diner as a waitress to help support the family's income. They had four children, eldest son Sean (

Clark Brandon Clark Brandon (born December 13, 1958) is an American actor. His most notable roles were as Max Merlin's apprentice Zachary Rogers in the CBS series ''Mr. Merlin'', as Chris Richards on ABC's "Out of the Blue," and as Sean Fitzpatrick, the olde ...

); introspective second son, Jack (

Jimmy McNichol James Vincent McNichol III (born July 2, 1961), known professionally as Jimmy McNichol, is an American former child actor and singer who first gained fame as a teen idol in the late 1970s. At the beginning of his career his popularity quickly gr ...

); only daughter Maureen (nicknamed Mo) (Michele Tobin) and youngest son, Max ( Sean Marshall). At various times, all of the Fitzpatrick children had held down part-time jobs to help the often cash-strapped family. They also owned a dog, aptly named Detroit. Also involved in the family was R.J. (

Derek Wells Derek M. Wells, KC, (born 28 November 1946) is a Canadian former politician who served a Liberal Member of Parliament for the riding of South Shore from 1993 to 1997. Early life and education Born in Corner Brook, Newfoundland, he graduated ...

), who was Max Fitzpatrick's African-American best friend. A young

Helen Hunt Helen Elizabeth Hunt (born June 15, 1963) is an American actress and director. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, four Primetime Emmy Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. Hunt rose to fame portraying Jam ...

played neighbor Kerry Gerardi, supposedly a friend of Mo's, who was interested in the older Fitzpatrick brothers, Sean and Jack, which sparked a bit of a rivalry between the two. Much of the stories deal with moral lessons and also with growing up.

Cast

as Michael Fitzpatrick, a steelworker, and the patriarch of the family. *

as Margaret "Maggie" Fitzpatrick, the matriarch, works part-time at a diner to supplement the family income. *

as Sean Fitzpatrick, the oldest son (16) *

as Jack Fitzpatrick, the second oldest (15) * Michele Tobin as Maureen "Mo" Fitzpatrick, the only daughter (14) * Sean Marshall as Max Fitzpatrick, the youngest at 10, delivers newspapers. *

as Kerry Gerardi, the girl next door, who intensified the rivalry between Jack and Sean. *

as R.J., Max Fitzpatrick's best friend.

Episodes

References

External links

* CBS original programming 1977 American television series debuts 1978 American television series endings Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios 1970s American drama television series English-language television shows Irish-American mass media Television series about families Television shows set in Michigan {{US-drama-tv-prog-stub