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''Who's Watching the Kids?'' 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 ...
produced by
Garry Marshall Garry Kent Marshall (November 13, 1934 – July 19, 2016) was an American filmmaker and actor. He started his career in the 1960s writing for ''The Lucy Show'' and ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' before he developed Neil Simon's 1965 play '' The Odd C ...
which 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 ...
from September 22, 1978 to December 15, 1978. The series focused on two young
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
showgirls, working and rooming together, who each had a younger sibling living with them. The series originated as the pilot special ''Legs'', which NBC aired on May 19, 1978. Following the pilot, the series was a ratings flop and was cancelled after only 9 aired episodes.


Synopsis

Two sexy Las Vegas showgirls are friends, co-workers and flatmates, and each cares for a younger sibling. Raving blonde beauty Stacy Turner ( Caren Kaye) and voluptuous brunette Angie Vitola (
Lynda Goodfriend Lynda Goodfriend is an American actress who is best known for playing Lori Beth Cunningham (née Allen), Richie's girlfriend then wife on the TV sitcom ''Happy Days''. Early years Goodfriend graduated from Coral Gables High School and from So ...
) perform at Club Sand Pile. The club may have been third rate, but it was the perfect launching pad for the girls' career aspirations. Living with the showgirls were Angie's 15-year-old brother Frankie (
Scott Baio Scott Vincent James Baio (; born September 22, 1960) is an American actor. He is known for playing Chachi Arcola on the sitcom ''Happy Days'' (1977–1984) and its spin-off '' Joanie Loves Chachi'' (1982–1983), the title character on ...
) and Stacy's 9-year-old kid sister Melissa (
Tammy Lauren Tammy Lauren Vásquez (born November 16, 1968), known professionally as Tammy Lauren, is an American film and television actress. She starred in the 1997 horror film '' Wishmaster'', portraying Alexandra Amberson, a young woman who accidentally ...
). Frankie and Melissa were rambunctious and worldly, and they were forever getting into trouble. Their schemes would get them access to everything Sin City had to offer, including, for Frankie (who styled himself as "the Fox") closer opportunities to make time with the other beautiful women who performed at Club Sand Pile. Stacy and Angie divided their time between their careers and keeping the kids behaving properly, but it was always a challenge. They received help from their next door neighbor, aspiring journalist Larry Parnell (Larry Breeding), to watch the kids while they were at work. Larry's role alternated between family friend and foe, as he often had to chase Frankie and Melissa around in the midst of their scrapes. The two liked Larry, but they always tried to avoid supervision. Larry hoped someday to become a successful writer/reporter, but in the meantime had only made it to covering garden and weather reports at local TV station KVGS (no relation to the real radio station KVGS). Larry's friend and main cameraman at KVGS, the klutzy Bert Gunkel (
James Belushi James Adam Belushi (; born June 15, 1954) is an American actor. He is best known for the role of Jim on the sitcom ''According to Jim'' (2001–2009). His other television roles include ''Saturday Night Live'' (1983–1985), '' Total Security'' ...
), also lived in the building and often helped Larry keep an eye on Frankie and Melissa. Mitzi Logan (
Marcia Lewis Marcia Lewis (August 18, 1938 – December 21, 2010) was an American character actor, character actress and singer. She was nominated twice for the Tony Award as Best Featured Actress in a Musical (''Chicago (musical), Chicago'' and ''Grease (mu ...
), the heavyset host and owner of Club Sand Pile, was also their landlady. Memphis O'Hara ( Lorrie Mahaffey) was a singer at the club, and was the most prominent object of Frankie's affection, although Frankie also made attempts to become friendly with Venus ( Shirley Kirkes) and Bridget ( Elaine Bolton), two other dancers at the club and close cohorts to Stacy and Angie.


Cast

* Caren Kaye as Stacy Turner *
Marcia Lewis Marcia Lewis (August 18, 1938 – December 21, 2010) was an American character actor, character actress and singer. She was nominated twice for the Tony Award as Best Featured Actress in a Musical (''Chicago (musical), Chicago'' and ''Grease (mu ...
as Mitzi Logan *
Scott Baio Scott Vincent James Baio (; born September 22, 1960) is an American actor. He is known for playing Chachi Arcola on the sitcom ''Happy Days'' (1977–1984) and its spin-off '' Joanie Loves Chachi'' (1982–1983), the title character on ...
as Frankie Vitola *
Lynda Goodfriend Lynda Goodfriend is an American actress who is best known for playing Lori Beth Cunningham (née Allen), Richie's girlfriend then wife on the TV sitcom ''Happy Days''. Early years Goodfriend graduated from Coral Gables High School and from So ...
as Angie Vitola *
James Belushi James Adam Belushi (; born June 15, 1954) is an American actor. He is best known for the role of Jim on the sitcom ''According to Jim'' (2001–2009). His other television roles include ''Saturday Night Live'' (1983–1985), '' Total Security'' ...
as Bert Gunkel *
Tammy Lauren Tammy Lauren Vásquez (born November 16, 1968), known professionally as Tammy Lauren, is an American film and television actress. She starred in the 1997 horror film '' Wishmaster'', portraying Alexandra Amberson, a young woman who accidentally ...
as Melissa Turner *Larry Breeding as Larry Parnell


Episodes


Development and connection to other Garry Marshall series

''Who's Watching the Kids?'' employed several actors who were already familiar faces from shows produced by Garry Marshall and his associates Thomas L. Miller and Edward K. Milkis. Those who had already worked with the producers were Caren Kaye, Lynda Goodfriend, Scott Baio, Shirley Kirkes and Elaine Bolton. These five originally appeared together as co-stars on Marshall's short-lived 1977 ''
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 su ...
'' spin-off ''
Blansky's Beauties ''Blansky's Beauties'' is an American sitcom television series and ostensible spin-off of ''Happy Days'' that aired on ABC from February 12 to June 27, 1977. The main character of the series was introduced on an episode of ''Happy Days'', then ...
'', which starred
Nancy Walker Nancy Walker (born Anna Myrtle Swoyer; May 10, 1922 – March 25, 1992) was an American actress and comedian of stage, screen, and television. She was also a film and television director (lending her talents to ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'', on wh ...
. ''Blansky's Beauties'' had a very similar plot to what became ''Who's Watching the Kids?'': a bevy of Las Vegas showgirls seeking fame and fortune under the watchful eye of den mother and choreographer Nancy Blansky (Walker). Kaye, Goodfriend, Kirkes and Bolton were four of Blansky's showgirls, and Baio, in his first TV series role, played Anthony DeLuca, a 12-year-old
romeo Romeo Montague () is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. The son of Lord Montague and his wife, Lady Montague, he secretly loves and marries Juliet, a member of the rival House of Capulet, through a priest ...
who was always trying to score with the older beauties. ''Blansky's Beauties'' was cancelled after half a season, but Marshall refused to give up on the idea of a sitcom with a Las Vegas showgirls theme. Marshall took the basis of ''Blansky's Beauties'' and retooled it for a new series concept, that mainly focused on a group of sexy young ladies trying to make it in the Vegas entertainment world, without the aid of an older confidant or the presence of children. The concept proved to be even more sexually-driven than ''Blansky's Beauties'', and was given the title ''Legs''. NBC was interested in the new project, and agreed to a pilot which would be aired in the spring of 1978 as a one-time special. If the special fared well in the ratings, they would commit to a weekly series. Four of the original Blansky beauties—Kaye, Goodfriend, Kirkes and Bolton—were hired back by Marshall to star in ''Legs''. For Lynda Goodfriend, this was the second transition from one Marshall series to another. After the cancellation of ''Blansky's'', Goodfriend took up Marshall's offer to join the cast of ''
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 su ...
'' as the 1977-78 season began, playing Lori Beth Allen, the new love interest of
Richie Cunningham Richard J. Cunningham is a fictional character played by Ron Howard in the 1970s TV sitcom ''Happy Days''. He is the second son of Howard and Marion Cunningham, brother of Joanie Cunningham and Chuck Cunningham, and a friend of Fonzie, Ralph Ma ...
(
Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of ''The Twilight Zone''. He ...
). If ''Legs'' went on to be a successful series, it is presumed that Marshall would have written off the character of Lori Beth on ''Happy Days'' in order for Goodfriend to commit to her co-starring role on the new show. ''Legs'' was successful as a one time special when it aired in May 1978; therefore, NBC provided a berth for the series on its 1978 fall schedule. However, the network talked with Marshall about adding more of a family appeal to the sex-farce sitcom, which he eventually agreed to. Marshall added two young kids to the cast, and hired another one of his ''Happy Days'' actors away, Scott Baio, who had also joined the cast of that series in the fall of 1977, along with Lynda Goodfriend. Baio had become familiar to ''Happy Days'' viewers as Charles "Chachi" Arcola, cousin of
Fonzie Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli, better known as "Fonzie" or "The Fonz", is a fictional character played by Henry Winkler in the American sitcom '' Happy Days'' (1974–1984). He was originally a secondary character, but was soon positioned as a lea ...
( Henry Winkler). He and young actress Tammy Lauren were entered into the fray of ''Legs'' as two kids who lived with their showgirl sisters. Only now, two showgirls instead of four would be the main focus; Kaye and Goodfriend were chosen to be the top-billing stars, while Kirkes and Bolton were relegated to smaller supporting roles. Marshall re-wrote the format so the kids could be well-integrated; the ultimate catch in the re-write was the dilemma Kaye and Goodfriend's characters faced as they were always busy in their performing career: "just who will be watching the kids?" This prompted the ultimate title change. While the show is nominally about the showgirls, and their children, the intro tends focuses on the men (Belushi and Breeding) and the children, taking the focus away from the showgirl element and making it to appear more like a family show.


External links

* {{IMDb title, 0077102 1978 American television series debuts 1978 American television series endings 1970s American sitcoms NBC original programming Television series by CBS Studios English-language television shows Television shows set in the Las Vegas Valley