Copyright document.write(new Date().getFullYear()) As they were redoing it, the boy was replaced by Tracey Gold, who was going to play a tomboy named Samantha. Everyone called Carl "Chief" or "Daddy" except for his parents and brother who called him by his first name. The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons Ever! She was a mother figure on the set. (See the Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show, What's Happening, The Partridge Family, etc.). The network fired the three daughters, Jonathan Silverman, and Howard Morton, the location was changed from Glenlawn, California to more upscale Manhattan, New York, Nell became an assistant at a publishing house, and Joey Lawrence's younger brother Matthew Lawrence was added to the cast. Later additions to the cast included Stanley Kanisky (Carls father), Adelaide Addy Wilson (Nells best friend, played by Telma Hopkins), Rue McClanahan is listed in the opening credits along with the other regulars even though, She was 54. [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. It revolves around the manager of a Greek restaurant and his assistant investigate the disappearance of Nell's purse while dealing with the manager's father, who owns the restaurant. 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. Logo TV may used to air this show reruns from 2015 until the end of 2017. He died 4 years after the show went off the air. / A Fan Inquiry to Us on Facebook Leads to Some VERY Interesting New Information! He never did, however, and eventually, Carl's worst fears losing his wife and partner in raising their daughters to lung cancer came true. Before I wrap this up, I'd like to say that I'll always remember this show in my memory forever, even though I don't think I've seen every episode. "Julie's Birthday" aired three days after Sweet passed on from the disease at age 64. 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. [2][3][4][5] More recently as of January 2018, it is now shown on Antenna TV. After the death of Dolph Sweet (Carl) after season 4, the series continued for a season with Nell as the sole head of the Kanisky household. Joey Lawrence portrayed Joey Donovan, a 7 year old orphan who would end up living with the Kaninsky family and becoming Nell's foster son. Wonderful show with many risqu , over the top episodes. Rosie O' Donnell and Nell didn't get along during the final season and O' Donnell said Nell treated her terribly. (a Titles & Air Dates Guide) . A foster son, Joey (Joey Lawrence) was added in Season 3. I loved grandpa too. Gimme a Break! I was 9 years old in 1981 when this show debuted. When Carl demands an explanation, Katie makes a snide remark "She can't say anything, she's dead!" And didn't tell Carl because they both feared the exact angry reaction he ended up having. , and the experimentation became regular use. As with many star vehicles in Hollywood, the main character was named after the star. on DVD in Canada between 200607. 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. And there was also occasional humorous interplay with the Chief's children and their grandfather, as well as with some of the early guest. I forgot about this show and I've been watching the reruns . Nell Carter portraying Nell Harper was awesome. This sitcom centers on a housekeeper played by Nell Carter. We heart TV shows. At this point, the only original cast member left was Nell Carter, the show's original premise and chemistry were gone and ratings continued to decline. It was basic fare for a sitcom, featuring the cute kids, family values, and little lessons learned at the end of each episode. Early in her career, singer Whitney Houston made her acting debut in a non-singing role the Season 3 episode Katie's College. Lauri Hendler, who played Julie on the show, admits in interviews that although everyone involved in the production was aware that Dolph was fatally ill for several months, and they all knew his time was coming, when the producers made the announcement on the set that Dolph had passed she burst into uncontrollable tears. In fact it, along with Fame, Hill Street Blues, Cheers and Taxi became the original Thursday night anchors of "Must See TV" programming on NBC. Now, maybe it's just because I watched the three or four episodes that were the exception to the rule, but didn't that oldest daughter ever have any lines? 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). Gimme a Break! Like Laura Jill Miller previously, Joey Lawrence was getting older. Visual Entertainment released the first two seasons of Gimme a Break!' United Paramount Network (UPN) Wiki is a FANDOM TV Community. Gimme a Break! 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. Kaser was named as the heir to Carters property and guardian of Carters children. "Gimme a Break! 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. This show is in syndication on Antenna Tv and the episodes are on YouTube . Dolph Sweet was in classic movies ,and in Little House on the Prairie. Nell also served as a confidante to the chief's three daughters, 17-year-old Katie (Kari Michaelsen), 15-year-old Julie (Lauri Hendler), and 13-year-old Samantha (Lara Jill Miller). Nell started singing more, Nell's frumpy and unflattering wardrobe, hair and makeup was upgraded to more glamorous and stylish. The boss, Mr. Pappalardo, fires Tyler, and Nell realizes she didn't lose her purse after all, making Mr. Papallardo re-hire him. The other cast was great too. 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. One of Nell and Addy's New York neighbors was a young lady named Maggie O'Brien, played by Rosie O'Donnell. We heart movies. Carter died in 2003, at age 54. Date of death. Nell Harper is the no-nonsense housekeeper and surrogate mother for police chief Carl Kanisky's children: Samantha, Julie and Katie. Also, the network had nothing to replace the show with as they were struggling with their programming and ratings during this time period. Nellie Ruth "Nell" Harper (Nell Carter) agrees to be a housekeeper for the Kanisky household as a special favor to her late friend, Margaret Kanisky (ne Huffmann) (played in flashback by Sharon Spelman), who was the wife of police chief Carl Kanisky (Dolph Sweet). 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. Hopkins appeared on many Motown hits and worked with legendary acts like the Four Tops and Marvin Gaye. This is ironic since McClanahan was being groomed by the producers to be a regular character on the show - a love interest for the Chief (Dolph Sweet). Lara Jill Miller said she routinely saw cocaine on the set. Five episodes into the sixth and final season, the show changed locales from Glenlawn to New York City, when Nell, concerned for Joeys welfare after he moved there with his absentee father, traveled there to check on him. #IHeartHollywood. Before she landed her own sitcom, Nell Carter made an appearance in Hair (1979). 73years (October 28, 1948) Unreliable citations may be challenged or deleted. January 23, 2003 Gimme A Break was in the sitcom line-up, on NBC in the 80s. Although I don't remember much about it, I must say that it was a pretty good show. Carters publicist Roger Lane said Carter collapsed and died of natural causes in her Beverly Hills home. May 12, 1987 Typical family situation comedy, nothing special. Mr. Kaminsky was a widower with 3 daughters, in the initial seasons and Nell was the surrogate mom/housekeeper. "The day it was announced we had an MBA class and the topic was corporate culture. (TV Series) Julie Smokes (1983) Full Cast & Crew See agents for this cast & crew on IMDbPro Directed by Jim Drake Writing Credits Cast (in credits order) Produced by Film Editing by Larry Harris Casting By Randy Stone Art Direction by Peter Clemens Costume Design by Palmer Brown Makeup Department Production Management Enough said. Carl has to deal with the aftermath of shooting a man dead. We heart Celebrities. Whitney was very young on Gimme A Break, and only had a minute or two on screen. How long ago Margaret died. This was the first show in NBC's all-star Thursday night line-up. 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. Ms. Carter collapsed and was found by one of her sons, said her spokesman, Roger Lane. This line retcons the events of "Samantha Steals a Squad Car", when she, Season 3s The Way to a Mans Heart has her in Weight Winners, a. Nell's mother was originally portrayed by Hilda Haynes. Nell also served as a parent to the Chief's three daughters, Katie (Kari Michaelsen), Julie (Lauri Hendler), and Samantha (Lara Jill Miller). I saw episodes from Seasons One and Two and it seemed like the middle and younger daughters got all the speaking parts, and the youngest one all the zingers. in the spring of 1987. The producers had zero intentions on recasting Dolph Sweet's role of The Chief. cast members, and just focuses on the two boys and Mr. Pappalard. BREAK TIME SERVICE Cancelled. 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. 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. 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. Joey accidentally shoots Nell in the leg while playing with Carl's gun, not realizing that it was loaded. Nell, first for the girls' mother, and then later after the death of their father. is an American television sitcom created by Mort Lachman. Ditzy friend Angie, senile Grandpa and many credible guest stars , including Tom Poston,Helen Hunt, Don Rickles, Rue McClanahan and Danny Glover. It's about Nell visiting Samantha at the latter's college and becoming the house mother to her and her dorm-mates. Ironically though Dolph Sweet died in 1985, the actor who played his father (John Hoyt) made appearances til the end of the show. He created the role of Police Chief Carl Kanisky in Gimme a Break in 1981. In an interview Carter gave for O'Donnell's E! FremantleMedia owns the international rights, as they own Thames Television, which acquired Alan Landsburg Productions and Reeves Entertainment Group product in 1990. I know she did musicals but her singing voice is like chalk on a blackboard, very nasal. Despite these extensive changes, ratings continued to decline as NBC began to move the show around to various spots in its schedule (the show averaged out at #42 in the Nielsens for season six, which was actually 7 spots higher than in its third season, when NBC evidently gave the show more support). This is one of many shows I used to watch just because it was on, not because I particularly enjoyed it. For the six seasons that in ran on NBC-TV(1981-1987) in the eighties,this was one of those shows that was constantly in the top ten ratings during its run on the Peacock network. Netflix has announced that Daybreak will not be renewed for a second season. At the start of the 198687 season, Katie moved to San Francisco; Julie, Jonathan, and baby Nell moved to San Jos; and Samantha attended college in New Jersey. Nell Carter was nominated twice for an Emmy for her work on this show. Later additions to the cast included Stanley Kanisky (Carl's father), Adelaide "Addy" Wilson (Nell's best friend, played by Telma Hopkins), adopted son Joey (Joey Lawrence) and Nell's mother, Maybelle. When the show went to New York, it was wasn't the same show anymore.". Bring this hit sitcom back on the air, immediately. The sitcom took place in the fictional Los Angeles, California, suburb of Glenlawn. 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. When the two are arguing, Katie makes a snide remark about why she thinks her father wanted her to take the test, prompting him to warn her to stop, and when she presses on, he takes off his belt and chases after her. Tracey Gold was originally tapped to play Samantha, but at the last moment was replaced by Lara Jill Miller. I have, in fact, written a review of this episode and it has been posted. including a new theme song, new producers, and new writers (only co-Creator Mort Lachman stayed). I am sure if Nell Carter hadn't passed away, they would be bringing this show back. Miller also expressed in the same interview that she felt the producers made a big mistake getting rid of the daughters and implied that the decision came from the girls receiving less story-lines starting around the fourth season and more emphasis being put on Nell Carter and Thelma Hopkins. It was a sitcom that ran for a total of 6 seasons and consisted of 137 episodes. aired 137 episodes over six seasons, with its finale airing on May 12, 1987. "The Purse Snatcher" also seems to be one of these. Gimme a Break! She and Max Green (Don Rickles) catch an orphaned girl named Danny stealing money and food. . The show has been in syndication since 1985. Joey's supposed backstory of living with an uncle was originally treated as a lie. All these years later I watched a couple episodes just to "check in", and it was pretty much as I'd remembered it. The producers wanted a foil for Nell to interact with instead of just solving the girls problems. 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why was gimme a break cancelled