why was gimme a break cancelled

While it can be assumed he started a new life after marrying, some lines act as if the Chief were an only child. to check out the antics of the Kanisky family. Carter's character works in the home of a widowed chief of police who needs help taking care of his three daughters. DMCA. / Perhaps television brings Whitney's acting skills out more cause she was really good in her scenes in "Silver Spoons." dckc1966. Also, I don't think I've seen every episode. [2][3][4][5] More recently as of January 2018, it is now shown on Antenna TV. Early in her career, singer Whitney Houston made her acting debut in a non-singing role the Season 3 episode Katie's College. The overhaul and changes made for the sixth season didn't work out, so the producers quickly scrambled to retool yet again with the ratings continuing to decline. I think that the cast in Gimme a Break was excellent. FremantleMedia owns the international rights, as they own Thames Television, which acquired Alan Landsburg Productions and Reeves Entertainment Group product in 1990. With Nell Carter's personal issues behind the scenes with her drug use, weight struggle, intense mood swings plaguing production and yet another proposed retooling NBC finally had enough and canceled Gimme a Break! 32. I like the theme song from the third season. Writing for the Washington Post, Tom Shales wrote an especially scathing review of the pilot episode. LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Dolph Sweet, the lovable police chief on the NBC's ''Gimme a Break'' who died of cancer at age 64, began his acting career in a one-act play with fellow prisoners of war during World War II. (See the Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show, What's Happening, The Partridge Family, etc.). Reruns of the series are a mainstay of many of Sinclair Broadcast Group's The CW, MeTV and MyNetworkTV stations, especially in low-traffic time periods, due to the low-cost barter setup of The Program Exchange. John Hoyt died in 1991, six years after his on-screen son died. I don't want to go to my grave being known as the girl from 'Gimme a Break, she told The New York Times in 1988. Nell Carter won an Emmy and a Tony Award. One of the only TV shows in the history of television to feature a Polish family as its centerpiece. I watched reruns of this show when it aired on USA in 1998. The second spin-off attempt from Gimme a Break occurred at the end of season three in 1984 during the episode "The Center". This prompts her to move out of the house temporarily, and when Carl stands his ground and justifies his actions, Nell, Katie and Samantha ostracize him forcing his hand and, in talking to Julie, getting him to reveal why he was so furious with her. #80s Began in 1981, ran 6 seasons & 137 episodes. He said Blossom, because Gimme a Break "was done so long ago, it's not really relevant at this point". She appeared in a Season 1 episode as one of Katie's friends. Although not noted on several Gimme A Break! Gimme a Break! KARI MICHAELSEN Advertisement The '80s was a great decade for young Kari Michaelsen. When the show started, it was stated that the girls mother had recently passed six months prior. The "Flashback" episode shows her alive when the girls were relatively young, but still old enough to remember her. 's original producers Coleman Mitchell and Geoffrey Neigher, which involved personality conflicts and creative differences. She tries to steal food from Max's fridge and may leave on the run, yet Max catches her. She finally sees eye to eye with him, and thanks God for everyone around her, letting him know she also thanks God for him. / TVTropes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. A Fan Inquiry to Us on Facebook Leads to Some VERY Interesting New Information! 1,041. Nell, first for the girls' mother, and then later after the death of their father. Learn how and when to remove these template messages, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, Best Actress Television Series Musical or Comedy, "List of Season's Top-Rated TV Shows With PM-Nielsens, Bjt", "Please! All these years later I watched a couple episodes just to "check in", and it was pretty much as I'd remembered it. On May 12, 1987, "Gimme a Break" was cancelled after 6 seasons and 137 episodes. To open the next season, the crew wrote out the character of Carl Kanisky and built the season premiere ("Joey's Train") around the family's coming to terms with the loss and their indecision over facing the one place that evoked the most memories of Carl his empty bedroom. Carters publicist Roger Lane said Carter, Nell Carter, the robustly sassy singer and actress who exploded onto the New York musical stage in the Fats Waller revue Aint Misbehavin and went on to become a popular television star in the series Gimme a Break!, died yesterday at her home in Beverly Hills, Calif. She was, At some point during the mid-1990s, Carter had begun a relationship with a woman named Ann Kaser, but this was not known to the public until after her death. She says "I'm so glad we're all past that image of the black woman as an Aunt Jemima." Enough said. The creators of the show were Mort Lachman and Sy Rosen. "Gimme a Break! Gimme a Break was almost canceled after it's first season due too poor ratings. BREAK TIME SERVICE Cancelled. The first occurred at the end of season two in 1983 with the episode "Nell and the Kid" in which Nell goes to Max's Deli. However, another good one that I think deserves mentioning is Hazel Shermet. Joey's supposed backstory of living with an uncle was originally treated as a lie. They either recast them, lose cast members or cancel their show. The series stars Nell Carter as the housekeeper for a widowed police chief ( Dolph Sweet) and his three daughters. She and Max Green (Don Rickles) catch an orphaned girl named Danny stealing money and food. [6], VEI released Gimme a Break! Altered Carbon. Although the show never cracked the top 30, it was still considered a solid enough hit to keep on the air for six years. on February 14, 2006, available in the United States only. I loved grandpa too. It turns out that he was a jazz musician that knew her mother When Grandpa comes to get the boys pajamas, since they are sleeping in his apartment because Addy is sick in bed, he tells Nell that her mother has a date. It's about Nell visiting Samantha at the latter's college and becoming the house mother to her and her dorm-mates. I just hope some network brings this series back one day so that I'll be able to see every episode. He is survived by his wife of eleven years and son from his first marriage. Age, 83years (April 22, 1939) I was 9 years old in 1981 when this show debuted. The creators of the show were Mort Lachman and Sy Rosen. Telma Hopkins The cast addition of Joey Lawrence's younger brother Matthew Lawrence in the final season, was forced on the producers and ordered from NBC to preserve the cuteness factor. Grandma Kanisky was dropped from the show with the explanation that she had passed away. This sitcom centers on a housekeeper played by Nell Carter. The US syndication rights are held by NBCUniversal Television Distribution, the successor company to original syndicator MCA TV. What chapter does Gatsby meet Daisy at Nicks house. To this day I have written letters to the Hallmark Channel, KSMO WB 62, KCMI 38, USA, and KCWE 29 networks requesting that they bring this show back on the air. Nell Carter was the only cast member to appear in every episode. Carter would binge eat. The Season 2 episode "Julie Smokes" has Carl slap his daughter across the face when, after she lied to him that she was not smoking, she accidentally blew smoke in his face, having unsuccessfully concealed that she had currently been smoking a cigarette. Even Jonathan Silverman was a semi-regular at one point playing Julie's husband. Lauri Hendler was the only Jewish member of the original cast. Another issue was the Lawrence brothers Joey and Matthew, Nell's two young foster kids she was raising had no place in this proposed retooling. This does bring up the question of what happened to said uncle this whole time? O'Donnell later revealed how, at first, she was thrilled and excited at being cast on a major prime time television show, yet very quickly became disappointed and disheartened at feeling snubbed by most of the cast, who, for the most part, treated her more as an interloper than as a fellow actor. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); A foster son, Joey (Joey Lawrence), was added to the Kanisky household in season three. "Baby of the Family" had a resentful and jealous Samantha dressing up Joey in black face for a performance at Nell's black church, to get even with Nell for ignoring her. This was and to this day is still one of my all time favorite sitcoms of the eighties. Over the six-year run, a number of celebrities appeared on the show, including singer Whitney Houston, Andy Gibb, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Ray Parker, Jr.. Rosie O' Donnell revealed in a podcast interview with actress Busy Phillips, that on her first day on set was a toxic experience. Alter Ego. She's in the "White Boys/Black Boys" number with Night Court (1984)'s Ellen Foley. [7][8][9][10] Distribution rights are jointly owned by The Program Exchange and NBCUniversal Television Distribution, successor in interest to previous syndicator MCA Television. [14], This article is about the television series. The new theme has similarities to the first but with a more positive attitude. I had a crush on Joey Lawrence and Matt was cute too. But,they should of been in the show not wiped out all together. May 12, 1987 I forgot about this show and I've been watching the reruns . GIMME-A-SIGN INC. Cancelled. Nell also served as a parent to the Chief's three daughters, Katie (Kari Michaelsen), Julie (Lauri Hendler), and Samantha (Lara Jill Miller). In one episode the chief takes off his belt and chases around Katie threatening to hit her. I love the actress Laurie Hendler,but think this show is soo boring! Dolph Sweet was in classic movies ,and in Little House on the Prairie. Carter also said that she called other cast members by their character names for the same reason. after Carl dies, much in the same way Florida Evans shouts the same thing after her husband James died on Good Times, ten years earlier. Nell Carter was interred in Hillside Memorial Park in Culver City, California. Nell Carter When I tried to tape it when I finally got my cable back and I was shocked to learn that it had been taken off the air. However, because of Dolph Sweet's death, the ratings dropped during the fifth season. "There ain't no Julio here!" Gimme a Break! Theme song is catchy though,but that's it. While never a powerhouse in the ratings, Gimme a Break! was a Syndication sitcom that was created by Mort Lachman & Sy Rosen, starring Nell Carter in the lead role. Netflix has announced that Daybreak will not be renewed for a second season. In 2009, VEI announced that they plan on releasing the entire series in a complete series box set in 2010. In a meta-sense, Carter received bushels of mail from children who watched the show, who saw her as one for them. Please help this article by looking for better, more reliable sources. on DVD in Canada between 200607. ", "Gimme a Break! The producers took notice Miller's jealousy on set towards Lawrence and that's what inspired them to write the infamously controversial black face episode Baby of the Family. Future seasons adding 'child' Joey Lawrence,Jonathon Silverman and Telma Hopkins as a fine tandem to Nell, especially proving more so important after Dolph Sweets sudden death with 2 seasons left. "The Purse Snatcher" also seems to be one of these. As they were redoing it, the boy was replaced by Tracey Gold, who was going to play a tomboy named Samantha. In addition, she said Nell was also unhappy with the script for that week. But in the pilot, he slapped Katie, so that was not true. Throughout the course of Gimme a Break, there had been several un-successful spin-off attempts. Plot The show was about a woman named Nell Harper (Nell Carter), who agrees to be a housekeeper for the Kanisky household as a special favor to her late friend, Margaret Huffman Kanisky (played in flashback by Sharon Spelman) who was the wife of police chief Carl Kanisky (Dolph Sweet). Although there was mutual animosity and hostility between Nell Carter and Rosie O'Donnell on the set, they reconciled when Nell appeared on Rosie's talk show several years later. I used to watch this show when I was a little girl. 73years (October 28, 1948) Nonetheless, I thought it was funny, and it managed to stand out due to its good cast and themes in its episodes and type of humor. Rosetta LeNoire took over the role during the show's fourth season. is an American sitcom that ran on NBC for six seasons (1981-87), starring Nell Carter as Nell Harper, a once-aspiring singer who became a housekeeper for the Kaniskys: patriarch Carl, the chief of police of the fictional Glenlawn, California, and his daughters Katie, Julie and Samantha (the last of the kids played by a young Lara Jill Miller). Nell started singing more, Nell's frumpy and unflattering wardrobe, hair and makeup was upgraded to more glamorous and stylish. She had been in rehearsals for ''Raisin,'' a musical adaptation of the play ''A Raisin in the Sun . There was a Matthew Kanisky in the unaired pilot, and a Matthew Donovan, Joey's brother, who was brought in during the last season. websites online as a spin-off attempt, this episode most likely was a tester for a new series, as it aired at the end of the season (which is when tester episodes usually aired for new fall series). In "Julie Smokes", after slapping Julie, Carl says he had never laid a hand on his kids before. And there was also occasional humorous interplay with the Chief's children and their grandfather, as well as with some of the early guest. The episode "Cat Story" was aired live over NBC-TV on March 2, 1985. The show has numerous character recast throughout the duration of the series. episodes. Instead of the Chief taking her in to custody, Max decides to adopt her, and has her work to pay back the money and food she stole. During the first season, Nell Carter and Dolph didn't get along in the beginning coming from different backgrounds in real life and in showbiz. Nell's airhead and squeaky voice friend Angie portrayed by Alvernette Jimenez was dropped from the show. "Gimme A Break" was one of those shows that always had something going for itself and for one this was out of a pick of standard 80's family shows that hit a home run and so much more with the prime essential element of actress Nell Carter,who was also a accomplish Broadway singer/dancer who won a Tony award for her work in "Ain't Misbehavin" in 1978. Telma Hopkins felt the show lost its ground quickly when they made all the changes in the sixth season. When they brought the character back in season 2 she was replaced with actress Bonnie Urseth. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available from thestaff@tvtropes.org. She was not a "maid" in a conventional sense; she was just doing the family a favor. [5], By contrast, the New York Times found the show promising, praising the performances of Carter and Sweet and the way the show balanced wisecracks with bits of seriousness. The seniors and the youths work together to have their dance. Carter performed both themes. So three different actors were cast in the role of the youngest Kanisky child; a boy and two girls. Before she starred on Gimme a Break, Telma Hopkins' claim to fame was starring in the hit group from the 70s Tony Orlando and Dawn, of "Tie a Yellow Ribbon" fame. on DVD in Canada between 2006-07. NBC granted Nell's wishes and replaced Lachman and Rosen with new show runners Rod Parker and Hal Cooper who previously worked on (All in the Family, Maude and Love, Sidney) beginning in Season 3. Cooper and Parker thought the original producers didn't utilize Nell's talents and one of the first things they changed to the show was having Nell sing more on the show. With Nell Carter, Dolph Sweet, Kari Michaelsen, Lauri Hendler. Dolph Sweet, the lovingly sarcastic police chief on television's "Gimme A Break" and an actor who began his career in a World War II prison camp, died May 8th, 1985 (shortly after filming the final episode of the 1984-1985 season) of cancer at Tarzana Hospital in Tarzana, California.He was 64. The world of online streaming is a callous one. Sadly, Nell Carter, who played Nell, and Dolph Sweet, who played Carl, have since passed away. Nell wonders why her mother would have a date, and when her mother shows up, she meets her date, Ernie, a man from her past. After the death of actor Dolph Sweet after Season 4, the series continued for a season with Nell as the sole head of the Kanisky household, which was sad, so they decided to completely revamp the show, and for the final season, most of the cast (minus the older Kanisky daughters) moved to New York Cityand enter pre-famous Rosie O' Donnel as wacky friend Maggie, and Paul Sand as Marty the loveable landlord. We heart movies. Michaelson would binge, purge, and fast. The producers wanted a foil for Nell to interact with instead of just solving the girls problems. Bring this hit sitcom back on the air, immediately. The sitcom aired on . She played one of the wicked stepsisters. Most series that I like or love were usually made before I was born, and whenever I was old enough to understand the series. It was released as the third and final single from the album on March 3, 2008, by Jive Records.The song was written by Nate "Danja" Hills, Jim Beanz, Keri Hilson and Marcella Araica, while production was handled by Danja and vocal production was handled by Beanz. Gimme a Break! - The Complete Series - TVShowsOnDVD.com", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gimme_a_Break!&oldid=1105749188, Television series by Alan Landsburg Productions, Television series by Universal Television, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles lacking reliable references from March 2011, Articles that may contain original research from July 2011, All articles that may contain original research, Articles with multiple maintenance issues, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Bob Christianson (first two seasons only), Best Young Actress in a Television Comedy Series, Best Young Supporting Actor in a Television Comedy Series, Best Young Supporting Actress in a Television Comedy Series, Best Young Actor Starring in a Television Series, Mort Lachman and Associates (Entire Series), Lauri Hendler as Julie Kanisky Maxwell (seasons 1-5), This page was last edited on 21 August 2022, at 16:16. Although I don't remember much about it, I must say that it was a pretty good show. Lara Jill Miller revealed in interview that she was initially fired along with Kari Michaelson and Lauri Hendler but ended up being kept around for six guest appearances due to her close relationship with Nell Carter who pulled strings with the network. Lara Jill Miller said the jealousy her character feels when Joey was adopted by the Kanisky clan, and she was no longer the baby of the family, was quite real; She was in fact jealous of the attention Joey Lawrence was now getting on the set. To each their own though. premiered on NBC from October 29, 1981, and aired its final episode on May 12, 1987. Two of them were during the first season and one was during the second. And if you tap below you can get the first 3 months for free! Other cast members consisted of Dolph Sweet, Kari Michaelsen, Lauri Hendler, Lara Jill Miller, John Hoyt, Joey Lawrence & his brother Matthew Lawrence, Telma Hopkins, Jonathan Silverman, Rosetta LeNoire, Rosie O'Donnell and Paul Sand. Nell Carter and Dolph Sweet were very close and she was at his side when he died in 1985. In the episode he slaps Julie, Carl reveals his regret he never slapped Margaret (his now late wife and daughters' late mother) when he couldn't get her to stop smoking, in what would have been a misguided (to say the least) attempt to wake her up to the fact that she was killing herself with her chronic smoking. Joey accidentally shoots Nell in the leg while playing with Carl's gun, not realizing that it was loaded. Nell Carter, 54, the Tony and Emmy Award-winning actress and singer best remembered for her role as the motherly, no-nonsense housekeeper on NBCs hit 1980s series Gimme a Break!, died Thursday at her home in Beverly Hills, the Associated Press reports. A guide listing the titles AND air dates for episodes of the TV series Gimme a Break!. Nell Carter, 54, the Tony and Emmy Award-winning actress and singer best remembered for her role as the motherly, no-nonsense housekeeper on NBC's hit 1980s series "Gimme a Break!," died Thursday at her home in Beverly Hills, the Associated Press reports. The show aired in ten different time slots during its six season run. The plan was for Nell to become a housemother at Samantha's college dorm, reminiscent of the early seasons of the hit NBC sitcom the The Facts of Life. Another episode that aired earlier in the 198485 season, "Baby of the Family", ranked No. I have, in fact, written a review of this episode and it has been posted. Contents 1 Premise 2 Cast 2.1 Main characters 2.2 Recurring characters 3 Episodes 4 Production information 5 Broadcast history Sadly Dolph Sweet passed away during the 3rd season but the show was able to continue thanks to a stellar cast including the 3 daughters Katie, Samantha, and Julie (Kari Michaelsen, Lara Jill Miller and Lauri Hendler) also Silver screen legend John Hoyt as Grandpa Stanley, Howard Morton as the lovable but bumbling Officer Simpson as well as Thelma Hopkins as Addie and Joey Lawrence round out the cast. All of these things would be deemed as child abuse today and would never be in the show. On May 8, 1985, actor Dolph Sweet (who portrayed the character of Carl "The Chief" Kanisky) passed away from cancer at the age of 64 and his final appearance on the show aired three days later on the day of his funeral. This re-write was due in part of the backlash the show receiving at the time for the depiction of Nell's character as the "black maid" to a white family. The series stars Nell Carter as the housekeeper for a widowed police chief (Dolph Sweet) and his three daughters. It was a sitcom that ran for a total of 6 seasons and consisted of 137 episodes. Date of death. Nell even predicted it, teasing her co-star that she would soon be dating Andy Gibb even before he came to the set; she was right. Gimme a Break! Dolph Sweet was absent in the first six episodes of the fourth season due to stomach surgery. Logo TV may used to air this show reruns from 2015 until the end of 2017. Nell Carter was absolutely magnificent. Nell tries to interfere in her mother's love life.Director:Phil RamunoWriters:Mort Lachman (creator), Sy Rosen (creator), 2 more credits Stars:Nell Carter, . Nell wonders why her mother would have a date, and when her mother shows up, she meets her date, Ernie, a man from her past. Nell's mother was originally portrayed by Hilda Haynes. Nell Carter, who plays the housekeeper for police Chief Carl Kanisky on ''Gimme a Break,'' will eulogize Sweet . Unreliable citations may be challenged or deleted. Status: cancelled/ended Network(s): NBC Run time: 30 min Episodes: 137 eps Genre(s): Comedy, Crime/Mystery . Laurie Hendler on the other hand, was upset and caught by surprise because she had recently purchased a new house. Damn! When he returned in the seventh episode, the cast was shocked by his thin appearance. aired 137 episodes over six seasons, with its finale airing on May 12, 1987. after the phone rings. That wasn't me; it was just a job.[4], The show received mixed reviews from critics when it premiered. NBC president Brandon Tartikoff had a lot of faith in Nell Carter and thought she had potential to become a breakout star. Ironically though Dolph Sweet died in 1985, the actor who played his father (John Hoyt) made appearances til the end of the show. Copyright TV Series Finale. Nell Carter didn't get along with the original producers, Mort Lachman and Sy Rosen. She had suffered from diabetes and had recovered from a near-deadly bout with a brain aneurysm in the 1990s. Two new characters were added to the cast: Addy Wilson, Nell's longtime friend, and Joey Donovan, an abandoned seven-year-old orphan. Nell's middle name is Ruth, which was also Nell Carter's middle name in real life. Tracey Gold was originally tapped to play Samantha, but at the last moment was replaced by Lara Jill Miller. During the summer 1984 hiatus, Dolph Sweet underwent stomach surgery, which was revealed shortly after to be the first extensive treatment for cancer. Inter-Uterine Device, an implanted birth control device that, at the time, had a reputation for piercing the uterus and causing dangerous bleeding and possible infection. NBC already had a college oriented show in development starring Lisa Bonet, The Cosby Show spin-off A Different World for the 1987-1988 season. Cozi TV started airing the show as of January 3, 2022. There, they discovered Joey's irresponsible father, Tim (guest star Patrick Collins), who showed him his brother, Matthew (played by Matthew Lawrence, Joey's real-life brother), and left them with Nell and Grandpa. She attempted suicide and struggled with her faith. Ms. Carter collapsed and was found by one of her sons, said her spokesman, Roger Lane. The writers wrote a two part backdoor pilot towards the end of the sixth season titled Parent's Weeks. The next networks I'm going to write to are TBS, PAX TV, and possibly ABC Family and request that they bring this incredibly show back on the air so I can tape it. A running gag involved the Kanisky's goldfish, Gertrude. He was born Adolphus J. By this point the girls were all grown up and Dolph Sweet had passed away so there was no father figure in the house. so it is a very stressful job on top of raising his daughters without their mother, But the chemistry Nell and Dolph had was terrific. Nell intervenes (by standing in the way) and stops him, and he eventually cools off and backs away. The first two seasons use a different theme than the later seasons. Nell Carter, Jonathan Silverman, Joey Lawrence, and Matthew Lawrence all play characters named after themselves. Kari Michaelsen and Lauri Hendler returned for the Season Six episode Sam Goes to College at the beginning of Season Six despite leaving the show the previous season. I always thought the show lost it when they kept changing the words to the openingbut it did have all us kids saying "GIMME A BREAK!" He never did, however, and eventually, Carl's worst fears losing his wife and partner in raising their daughters to lung cancer came true. I thought she was great! Houston played Rita, a friend of Katie Kanisky (Kari Michaelsen). The show has been in syndication since 1985. It was basic fare for a sitcom, featuring the cute kids, family values, and little lessons learned at the end of each episode. However, if you ask me, it was still a good show. Nell becomes sort of a mother figure for the girls, and everyone tries to learn from each other. Before Lawrence arrived on set Nell would take Lara to eat at restaurants, but when Lawrence arrive on set Nell shifted her focus to the much younger and cuter Joey. The husband (played by Dolph Sweet) is the chief of police of Glenlawn CA. As ABC was developing Growing Pains, and putting the final touches on it before it went to series; they decided to replace the young actress who played Carol in the pilot, Elizabeth Ward, because she was not testing well with audiences, so Tracey Gold was tapped to take over for the role. The Complete Series is now available in the US. Hopkins revealed she convinced LeNoire who was hesitant to read the script and take on a role on the series predicting it would be a big hit.
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