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The Bill Cosby Show
''The Bill Cosby Show'' is an American sitcom television series that aired for two seasons on NBC's Sunday night schedule from 1969 until 1971 under the sponsorship of Procter & Gamble. There were 52 episodes made in the series. It marked Bill Cosby's first solo foray in television after his co-starring role with Robert Culp in '' I Spy''. The series also marked the first time an African American starred in their own eponymous comedy series. Synopsis Cosby played the role of Chet Kincaid, a physical education teacher at a Los Angeles high school, a bachelor, and an "average cool guy" trying to earn a living and help people out along the way. The show ran for two seasons, 52 episodes in all. While only a modest critical success, the series was nominated for two Primetime Emmys. ''The Bill Cosby Show'' was a ratings hit, finishing eleventh in its first season. With the high school as the setting of most episodes, storylines involve life lessons, students and fellow teachers, f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sitcom
A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent setting, such as a home, workplace, or community. Unlike sketch comedy, which features different characters and settings in each Sketch comedy, skit, sitcoms typically maintain plot continuity across episodes. This continuity allows for the development of storylines and characters over time, fostering audience engagement and investment in the characters' lives and relationships. History The structure and concept of a sitcom have roots in earlier forms of comedic theater, such as farces and comedy of manners. These forms relied on running gags to generate humor, but the term ''sitcom'' emerged as radio and TV adapted these principles into a new medium. The word was not commonly used until the 1950s. Early television sitcoms were often filme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor whose career spanned five decades on Broadway theatre, Broadway and in Hollywood. On screen and stage, he often portrayed characters who embodied an everyman image. Born and raised in Nebraska, Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor and made his Hollywood film debut in 1935. He rose to film stardom with performances in films like ''Jezebel (1938 film), Jezebel'' (1938), ''Jesse James (1939 film), Jesse James'' (1939) and ''Young Mr. Lincoln'' (1939). He received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Tom Joad in ''The Grapes of Wrath (film), The Grapes of Wrath'' (1940). In 1941, Fonda starred opposite Barbara Stanwyck in the screwball comedy classic ''The Lady Eve''. After his service in World War II, he starred in two highly regarded Westerns: ''The Ox-Bow Incident'' (1943) and ''My Darling Clementine'' (1946), the latter directed by John Ford. He also starred in Ford ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coby Ruskin
Coby Ruskin (October 15, 1911 – March 3, 1987) was an American television director and stage actor/director whose 1950s career was severely impacted by the Hollywood blacklist.Hemlich, Jane (2009). Out of Step'. Wilmington, Ohio : Orange Frazer Press. pp. 128, 131. . "In normal times, Ruskin, a brilliant director and actor, might not have considered taking a job on The Arthur Murray Party. My father ..had a reputation for being difficult, and his wife was a rank amateur with stage aspirations. But these were not normal times. This was the shameful era .when a Wisconsin senator, Joseph McCarthy, launched a campaign to rid the entertainment industry of those he considered Communists. ..My father, who was rabid on the subject .and believed Coby was one of 'them,' nonetheless had no qualms about he hire Coby recognized my mother's gift for comedy and under his coaching she held her own with such pros as Bert Lahr, Groucho Marx and Robert Cummings." He later worked extensiv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mike Farrell
Michael Joseph Farrell Jr. (born February 6, 1939) is an American actor, best known for his role as Captain B.J. Hunnicutt on the television series '' M*A*S*H'' (1975–83). In addition, Farrell was a producer of '' Patch Adams'' (1998) starring Robin Williams, and he starred in the television series '' Providence'' (1999–2002). Farrell is also an activist and public speaker for various political causes. He has been the President of Death Penalty Focus since 1994. He is a long-time opponent of the death penalty. In 2001, Farrell said of the work: “I’ve wept many times. But I keep finding people who inspire me—some of them on death row, and more of them in the trenches, in the courts, in religious circles, fighting against the death penalty.” Farrell has helped raise defense funds for inmates he believes are innocent. Early life Farrell, one of four children, was born in South St. Paul, Minnesota, the son of Agnes Sarah Cosgrove and Michael Joseph Farrell. When he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herb Wallerstein
Herbert Wallerstein (November 28, 1925 – September 27, 1985) was an American director and producer. He was known for involvement in shows such as ''The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin'', ''Father Knows Best'', ''I Dream of Jeannie'', and ''Mannix''. He was also the older brother of Rowe Wallerstein. Career Wallerstein's career began as assistant director for TV's ''The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin'' in 1954. After two years, Wallerstein left ''Tin Tin'' and had several assistant directing stints in several movies before being hired to the directing staff of the television series ''Circus Boy''. He also served as a director on the television series ''Star Trek'' in the 1960s. He also had producing credits for ''I Dream of Jeannie'' and several television movies in the 1970s. In 1978, Wallerstein began working for 20th Century Fox. He served as the senior vice president of feature film production. He oversaw the production of films such as '' Alien'', ''9 to 5'' and ''The Verdict''. He r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Wayne
Paul Wayne (born Paul Weinberg; 17 January 1932) is a Canadian writer. He wrote sketches of television variety shows, like ''The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'' that he won an Emmy Award for, and episodes of other television shows, like ''Three's Company''. He also served as producer of only two short-lived sitcoms, ''Doc'' and ''Excuse My French''. Career All together with his writing partner George Burditt and other writing crew, they earned Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Writing for a Variety or Music Series: ''The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour'' in 1972 and 1974, and ''Van Dyke and Company'' in 1977, a variety show starring Dick Van Dyke. Wayne and Burditt co-wrote mainly the first three seasons (1977–79) of the television series ''Three's Company'', Both together co-wrote one episode of ''All in the Family'', "Archie Eats and Runs" (1974), and another episode of '' Sanford and Son'' (alongside Aaron Ruben), "The Way to Lamont's Heart" (1974). Individually or with ot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Series Premiere
A series premiere is the first aired installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. In the United States, many series premieres are aired in the fall time or, for mid-season replacements, either in the spring or late winter. As distinguished from a pilot A television series' first episode often originates as a pilot, a standalone episode that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its creation, the pilot is meant to be the testing ground to gauge whether a series will be successful. As such, "Pilot" is overwhelmingly the most common title used for a series premiere. Sometimes a series' pilot may be aired as a later episode or never aired at all. For the Canadian supernatural drama '' Lost Girl'', the pilot that sold the series to Showcase, " Vexed", was used as the eighth episode of the first series. In the case of ''Firefly'', the original pilot ("Serenity") was intended to serve as the series premiere but was rejec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vic Tayback
Victor Tayback (January 6, 1930 – May 25, 1990) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as diner owner Mel Sharples on the television sitcom ''Alice'' (1976–1985), as well as his multiple guest appearances on ''The Love Boat'' (1977–1987). The former earned him two consecutive Golden Globe Awards (for Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series) and a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Continuing Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Early life Tayback was born on January 6, 1930 in Brooklyn, New York, to Syrian Catholic immigrant parents Helen (née Hanood; ) and Najeeb James Tayback () . Both of his parents had emigrated to the United States from Aleppo. He moved with his family to Burbank, California during his teenage years and attended Burbank High School, from which he graduated in 1948. He also attended Glendale Community College and the Frederick A. Speare School of Radio and TV Broadcasting. Career Tayback served in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Beulah Show
''Beulah'' is an American sitcom that ran on CBS Radio from 1945 to 1954, and on ABC Television from 1950 to 1953. The show is notable for being the first sitcom to star an African-American actress, for being ABC TV's first hit situation comedy, and the first hit TV sitcom without a laugh track. The show was controversial for its caricatures of African Americans. Radio Originally portrayed by a white male actor, Marlin Hurt, Beulah Brown first appeared in 1939 when Hurt introduced and played the character on the ''Hometown Incorporated'' radio series and in 1940 on NBC radio's ''Show Boat'' series. In 1943, Beulah moved over to ''That's Life'' and then became a supporting character on the popular ''Fibber McGee and Molly'' radio series in March 1944. On July 2, 1945, Beulah was spun off into her own radio show on CBS, ''The Marlin Hurt and Beulah Show'', sponsored by Tums. Hurt was still in the role of Beulah, and also played the voice of Beulah's boyfriend, Bill Jackson. Be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Trouble With Father
''The Stu Erwin Show'' (also known as ''Trouble with Father'') is an American sitcom which aired on ABC from 1950 to 1955. Only four of the series’ five seasons on the network included new episodes; the 1953–54 season consisted entirely of reruns. Synopsis The series' star, Stuart Erwin, played a bumbling high school principal named Stu Erwin. His wife, film ingenue from the late silent and early sound period, June Collyer, played the principal's wife, June Erwin. Although Erwin and Collyer, who were married in 1931, had a son and a daughter, the series presented them as parents of two adolescent daughters played by Sheila James and Ann Todd who was replaced by Merry Anders in the series' final season. One notable aspect of the show was that it featured black actor Willie Best in a regular supporting role. Predating modern single-camera sitcoms, ''The Stu Erwin Show'' originally aired without a laugh track (one was added in its final season), and each episode was aroun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comedy Drama
Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, illness, betrayal, grief, etc.) are handled with realism and subtlety, while preserving a humorous tenor. The term "dramedy" began to be used in the television industry in the 1980s. Modern television comedy dramas tend to have more humour integrated into the story than the comic relief common in drama series, but usually contain a lower joke rate than sitcom, sitcoms. History In Theatre of ancient Greece, Greek theatre, plays were considered comedies or tragedies (i.e. drama): the former being light stories with a happy ending, and the latter serious stories with a sad ending. This concept even influenced Theatre of ancient Rome, Roman theatre and theatre of the Hellenistic period. Theatre of that era is thought to have long-lasting infl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Laugh Track
A laugh track (or laughter track) is an audio recording consisting of laughter (and other audience reactions) usually used as a separate soundtrack for comedy productions. The laugh track may contain live audience reactions or artificial laughter (canned laughter or fake laughter) made to be inserted into the show, or a combination of the two. The use of canned laughter to "sweeten" the laugh track was pioneered by American sound engineer Charles "Charley" Douglass. The Douglass laugh track became a standard in mainstream television in the U.S., dominating most prime-time sitcoms and sketch comedies from the late 1950s to the late 1970s. Use of the Douglass laughter decreased by the 1980s upon the development of stereophonic laughter. In addition, single-camera sitcoms eliminated audiences altogether. Canned laughter is used to encourage the viewer to laugh. History in the United States Radio Before radio and television, audiences experienced live comedy performances in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
