''Carlton Your Doorman'' is a 1980 American

television pilot A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distri ...

for an

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...

spin-off of the live-action sitcom ''

Rhoda ''Rhoda'' is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns starring Valerie Harper that originally aired on CBS for five seasons from September 9, 1974, to December 9, 1978. It was the first spin-off of ''The Mary Tyle ...

'' (1974–78) that was never picked up as a series. It originally aired as a "

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 ...

Special Presentation" on May 21, 1980 and has never been rebroadcast.

Synopsis

Carlton is a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

doorman and a misfit who seeks to better himself and his position in society. In the pilot episode, Carlton seeks a replacement for his boss's wife's dog, Punkin, who died while in his care. He tries everything to replace the dog so his boss does not find out. It was revealed in this episode that Carlton was a relatively young man, with shoulder-length blond hair and mustache. He also has a gray cat named Gringo.

Production

The episode relates the adventures of Carlton, the Doorman (voiced by

Lorenzo Music Gerald David "Lorenzo" Music (May 2, 1937 – August 4, 2001) was an American actor, producer and writer. Music began his career in the late 1960s as a writer and a regular performer on the controversial CBS variety show ''The Smothers Brothers ...

), the previously off-screen character from ''Rhoda'' who was heard via the intercom but almost never seen (except only his arm would occasionally appear from doors and he was once shown dancing while wearing a gorilla mask). It was produced by

MTM Enterprises MTM Enterprises (also known as MTM Productions) was an American independent production company established in 1969 by Mary Tyler Moore and her then-husband Grant Tinker to produce ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' for CBS. The name for the productio ...

and was the only animated production from MTM, although '' The Duck Factory'' – a sitcom set in an animation production company – included cartoon segments, and the closing credits of many MTM series included animated clothing and accessories superimposed on Mimsie the Cat. It is also one of the last animated pilots to use a

laugh track A laugh track (or laughter track) is a separate soundtrack for a recorded comedy show containing the sound of audience laughter. In some productions, the laughter is a live audience response instead; in the United States, where it is most common ...

, which was a common practice in the 1960s and 1970s.

Voice cast

as Carlton, the Doorman *

Jack Somack Jack Somack (September 1, 1918 – August 24, 1983) was an American chemical engineer, and actor. He is best remembered for his appearance in the Alka-Seltzer "spicy meatball" television commercial. Life and career Somack was born in Chicago ...

as Charles Shaftman, Carlton's boss * Lucille Meredith as Mrs. Shaftman, Charles' wife *

Lurene Tuttle Lurene Tuttle (August 29, 1907 – May 28, 1986) was an American actress and acting coach, who made the transition from vaudeville to radio, and later films and television. Her most enduring impact was as one of network radio's more versatile a ...

as Carlton's mother * Kay Cole as Darlene, Carlton's girlfriend

Home media

Shout! Factory Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...

released this episode as a bonus feature on ''Rhoda – Season Five: The Final Season'' DVD set on October 17, 2017.

Accolades

Primetime Emmy Awards 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 ...

* 1980:

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program is a Creative Arts Emmy Award which is given annually to an animated series. In the following list, the first titles listed in gold are the winners; those not in gold are nominees, which ...

– ''Carlton Your Doorman''BCDB.com
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References

External links

* * {{EmmyAward AnimationLessThanHour 1979-2000 1980 American television episodes 1980 television specials 1980s American television specials American animated television spin-offs Television pilots not picked up as a series Television series by MTM Enterprises Emmy Award-winning programs