''Platypus Man'' 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 ...

that aired on UPN from January 23 to May 15, 1995, during the network's first season.Carter, Bill (October 6, 1994). A New Network Hopes To Lure Fox Viewers. ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' Starring

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolish (as in slapstick), or employing prop comedy. A comedian who addresses an audienc ...

Richard Jeni Richard John Colangelo (April 14, 1957DOB according to Jeni's Website
and Social Security Death Ind ...

, the television series was based on an hour-long HBO special of Jeni's filmed in 1992. The series lasted one season, with a total of thirteen episodes. ''Platypus Man'' premiered January 23, 1995. The concept of a "Platypus Man" (a solitary male, like the male platypus), the concept of a "cooking show for guys" and the scenes involving the main character's social life were drawn from Jeni's stand-up routines.O'Connor, John J. (January 30, 1995)
Television Review; 2 New Sitcoms, 1 New Network.
''

'' The show, paired with ''

Pig Sty A sty or pigsty is a small-scale outdoor enclosure for raising domestic pigs as livestock. It is sometimes referred to as a hog pen, hog parlor, pigpen, pig parlor, or pig-cote, although pig pen may refer to pens confining pigs that are kep ...

'', followed '' Star Trek: Voyager'' on UPN's Monday schedule. Both ''Pig Sty'' and ''Platypus Man'' were canceled in July 1995.

Origin

In the early 1990s, Jeni developed a comedy routine where he watched a ''

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widel ...

'' special on the

platypus The platypus (''Ornithorhynchus anatinus''), sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. The platypus is the sole living representative or mono ...

. In the routine, Jeni went on to describe how he found himself relating to the TV show, and the concept of a "platypus man" was expanded to become the theme behind Jeni's 1992 HBO comedy special. The HBO special was taped in 1992 at the Park West Theater in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

and covered topics such as news ("the bad news"), sports (including Jeni's " NFL Football Referee" routine), politics, music and sex. Executive producers on the project were Richard Jeni and Michael Rotenberg, it was produced by Tom Bull and Sandy Chandley, and

post-production Post-production is part of the process of filmmaking, video production, audio production, and photography. Post-production includes all stages of production occurring after principal photography or recording individual program segments. Th ...

was handled by Steve Sharp and Juniper Recording Studios. The set design for the special was created by Norm Dodge and included a checkered tile floor, a backdrop with painted-on palm trees, a

refrigerator A refrigerator, colloquially fridge, is a commercial and home appliance consisting of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump (mechanical, electronic or chemical) that transfers heat from its inside to its external environment so th ...

and

microwave Microwave is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths ranging from about one meter to one millimeter corresponding to frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz respectively. Different sources define different frequency ra ...

at one end of the stage (provided by Aronson Furniture, for a comedic bit entitled "Bill the Belching Gourmet"), and a black sofa at the other end of the stage. This design was reproduced in clay for the opening sequence of ''Platypus Man'', in which art director Rick Toone of D&K Group/Claymagic used the process of

claymation Clay animation or claymation, sometimes plasticine animation, is one of many forms of stop-motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually plasticine clay. Tra ...

to introduce the show with the help of a duck-billed clay version of Richard Jeni and footage from the platypus exhibit at

Taronga Zoo Taronga Zoo is a zoo located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, in the suburb of Mosman, on the shores of Sydney Harbour. The opening hours are between 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Taronga is an Aboriginal word meaning 'beautiful water view'. It ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

. The live-action portions of the opening sequence were shot inside and outside of Jeni's house in the

Hollywood Hills The Hollywood Hills are a residential neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Geography The Hollywood Hills straddle the Cahuenga Pass within the Santa Monica Mountains. The neighborhood touches Studio City, Un ...

(in the bedroom, bathroom, hallway, driveway, balcony and pool area) and on the streets of

West Hollywood West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most prominent gay villages ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. The song "Platypus Man" that opened and closed the special was created with the combined efforts of

Scott May Scott Glenn May (born March 19, 1954) is an American former professional basketball player. As a college player at Indiana University, May led the Hoosiers to an undefeated record and national championship in the 1975–76 season. He was a two-t ...

, Richard Jeni, and fellow

Rondell Sheridan Rondell Jerome Sheridan (born August 15, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, and television director, best known for his four-year portrayal of Victor Baxter, the goofy-yet-lovable father of a psychic teenager, in the Disney Channel sitcom '' ...

, and sung in a

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...

-like voice by Jeni.

Synopsis

In the series, Jeni played himself and was host of a cooking show called ''Cooking with the Platypus Man''.

Ron Orbach Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in ''Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe A ...

played Lou, executive producer of his cooking show and his best friend since childhood.

Denise Miller Denise Miller (born July 17, 1963) is an American actress. She is noted for her appearances in the television sitcoms ''Archie Bunker's Place'' and '' Fish,'' as well as the made-for-television movie '' Sooner or Later''. Miller started her ...

played Paige, his sportswriter neighbor. David Dundara played Tommy, his bartending younger brother.

Cast

Richard Jeni Richard John Colangelo (April 14, 1957DOB according to Jeni's Website
and Social Security Death Ind ...

as himself * David Dundara as Tommy Jeni *

as Paige McAllister *

as Lou Golembiewski

Episodes

References

External links

* *
About ''Platypus Man''
{{UPN 1990s American sitcoms 1995 American television series debuts 1995 American television series endings English-language television shows UPN original programming Fictional monotremes Television series about mammals Television series by CBS Studios Television shows set in New York City Latino sitcoms