''The Life and Times of Eddie Roberts'' (a.k.a. ''L.A.T.E.R.'') is an American syndicated television

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 ...

about a college professor and his family. It was intended to be a spoof of

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

s in the same style as ''

Soap Soap is a salt of a fatty acid used in a variety of cleansing and lubricating products. In a domestic setting, soaps are surfactants usually used for washing, bathing, and other types of housekeeping. In industrial settings, soaps are use ...

'' and ''

Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman ''Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman'' is an American satirical soap opera that aired in daily weeknight syndication from January 1976 to July 1977. The series follows the titular Mary Hartman, an Ohio housewife attempting to cope with various bizarre ...

'', but it failed to get the ratings that the other two shows had; it was canceled after 65 episodes, which had been broadcast five days a week over three months in 1980.Series creator and writer Ann Marcus provides oral history account of the creative process behind ''The Life and Times of Eddie Roberts'' ("The Interviews 25 Years" at Television Academy Foundation)
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Cast and characters

*Renny Temple as Eddie Roberts, a professor at Cranepool University *Udana Power as Dolores Roberts, Eddie's wife, who's an aspiring major league baseball player * Allison Balson as Chrissy Roberts, Eddie's daughter *Stephen Parr as Tony Cranepool, a faculty colleague *

Joan Hotchkis Joan Hotchkis (September 21, 1927 – September 27, 2022) was an American stage, screen and television actress, writer and performance artist. A lifetime member of the Actors Studio and the Dramatists Guild, Hotchkis was best known for playing ...

as Lydia *

Allen Case Allen Case (born Alan Case Lavelle Jones, October 8, 1934 – August 25, 1986) was an American television actor most noted for the lead role of Deputy Clay McCord in NBC-TV's '' The Deputy'' (1959–1961) opposite series regular Henry Fonda, wh ...

as Dean Knitzer

Episode list

References

External links

*
''The Life and Times of Eddie Roberts'' at CVTA
1980 American television series debuts 1980 American television series endings 1980s American sitcoms English-language television shows First-run syndicated television programs in the United States Television series by Sony Pictures Television {{US-comedy-tv-prog-stub