The premise of the 1977 sitcom "Three's Company" -- adapted from the 1973 British series "Man About the House" -- would likely never fly in 2024. Roommates Janet (Joyce DeWitt) and Chrissy (Suzanne Somers) require a third roommate to pay rent in their expensive Santa Monica apartment. They stumble across Jack Tripper (John Ritter), an aspiring culinary student whom they get along with. It so happens, though, that the building's landlord, Mr. Roper (Normal Fell), is ultra-conservative and refuses to let unmarried men and women share his apartments. To get around this contrived contingency, Janet and Chrissy tell Mr. Roper that Jack is gay. This satisfies the landlord but opens Jack up to homophobic jibes.
Fell eventually left the series and was replaced by the high-strung Mr. Furley, played by Don Knotts. Mr. Furley, it seems, required the charade to continue. Somers also left the show in its last two seasons and was...
Fell eventually left the series and was replaced by the high-strung Mr. Furley, played by Don Knotts. Mr. Furley, it seems, required the charade to continue. Somers also left the show in its last two seasons and was...
- 3/16/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Dena Dietrich, a character actress who appeared in numerous TV shows and on Broadway but was instantly recognizable as the face of Mother Nature from a popular, long-running commercial campaign for Chiffon margarine, died Saturday, Nov. 21 of natural causes in a Los Angeles health care facility. She was 91.
Her death was confirmed by SAG-AFTRA in a statement honoring Dietrich’s service as a former SAG National Board member for nearly a decade.
With an impeccable delivery and a lightning shift in mood from matronly sweet to thunderous anger, Dietrich first uttered what would become a classic commercial catchphrase – “It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature!” – in 1971. The commercials, created by the D’Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles advertising agency, had Dietrich dressed in a diaphanous white gown and a daisy-chain laurel, test-tasting what she was sure to be her very own natural butter. Told by a narrator that she was actually eating Chiffon margarine,...
Her death was confirmed by SAG-AFTRA in a statement honoring Dietrich’s service as a former SAG National Board member for nearly a decade.
With an impeccable delivery and a lightning shift in mood from matronly sweet to thunderous anger, Dietrich first uttered what would become a classic commercial catchphrase – “It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature!” – in 1971. The commercials, created by the D’Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles advertising agency, had Dietrich dressed in a diaphanous white gown and a daisy-chain laurel, test-tasting what she was sure to be her very own natural butter. Told by a narrator that she was actually eating Chiffon margarine,...
- 11/24/2020
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
1972: Emmerdale Farm premiered.
1985: Atwt's Holden introduced himself as the new stable boy.
1985: Theo died on Days of our Lives.
1992: Days of our Lives' Isabella died."The best prophet of the future is the past."
― Lord Byron
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1939: Irna Phillips' The Right to Happiness, a spinoff of popular radio soap opera The Guiding Light, premiered on the NBC Blue Network. The show initially focused on the character Rose Kransky from Guiding Light but eventually Carolyn Allen (played first by Eloise Kummer and then Claudia Morgan) took center stage. Carolyn remained the central character of the program until the series...
1985: Atwt's Holden introduced himself as the new stable boy.
1985: Theo died on Days of our Lives.
1992: Days of our Lives' Isabella died."The best prophet of the future is the past."
― Lord Byron
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1939: Irna Phillips' The Right to Happiness, a spinoff of popular radio soap opera The Guiding Light, premiered on the NBC Blue Network. The show initially focused on the character Rose Kransky from Guiding Light but eventually Carolyn Allen (played first by Eloise Kummer and then Claudia Morgan) took center stage. Carolyn remained the central character of the program until the series...
- 10/17/2018
- by Roger Newcomb
- We Love Soaps
A good situation comedy — or sitcom — can make viewers forget their troubles for 22 minutes. Or it can be “2 Broke Girls.”
Long before that lame CBS series somehow made it six seasons, there was “Mama’s Family,” “Joanie Loves Chachi,” “The Ropers” and even something called “Homeboys in Outer Space.”
TheWrap dumpster-dove deep to find these, the 31 worst sitcoms of all time.
Also Read: People v Oj Simpson: 11 TV Personalities Who Got Their Big Break Covering the Case (Photos)
Here are some examples:
“Harry & the Hendersons”
Let’s just say this one was a little before the “War for the Planet of the Apes” technology.
“Ferris Bueller”
“Ferris Bueller” the movie covered one awesome day. “Ferris Bueller” the TV show wasn’t even good for that long.
Also Read: 'Game of Thrones' Star John Bradley Exclusive StudioWrap Portraits (Photos)
And:
“My Mother the Car”
One has to wonder...
Long before that lame CBS series somehow made it six seasons, there was “Mama’s Family,” “Joanie Loves Chachi,” “The Ropers” and even something called “Homeboys in Outer Space.”
TheWrap dumpster-dove deep to find these, the 31 worst sitcoms of all time.
Also Read: People v Oj Simpson: 11 TV Personalities Who Got Their Big Break Covering the Case (Photos)
Here are some examples:
“Harry & the Hendersons”
Let’s just say this one was a little before the “War for the Planet of the Apes” technology.
“Ferris Bueller”
“Ferris Bueller” the movie covered one awesome day. “Ferris Bueller” the TV show wasn’t even good for that long.
Also Read: 'Game of Thrones' Star John Bradley Exclusive StudioWrap Portraits (Photos)
And:
“My Mother the Car”
One has to wonder...
- 6/8/2018
- by Tony Maglio
- The Wrap
Happy Tuesday, "General Hospital" fans. Unfortunately, we have some bad news for you guys in this article. According to a new report from soapcentral.com and other news outlets, Monica Quartermaine portrayer Leslie Charleson recently suffered a pretty bad leg injury while walking her dog. The injury is so bad that she actually has to step down from her General Hospital role temporarily! The official General Hospital Twitter page ran a tweet about this back on April 17, 2018. They wrote, "@lesliecharleson's beloved dog, Riley Rose, was a little too eager for her morning walk and tripped Leslie - injuring her leg. Unfortunately, she will need to be replaced in shows already written. Cont'd... (1/2)." You guys can view that tweet on General Hospital's Twitter page by Clicking Here. Shortly after that, General Hospital wished Leslie a quick recovery, and confirmed that she will be back as soon as she gets better.
- 5/1/2018
- by Andre Braddox
- OnTheFlix
Jeffrey Tambor praised Transparent creator Jill Soloway on Late Night With Seth Meyers. "She's exploring, and telling people what it's like, and the humanity and the travails of the transgender community," Tambor said. "And I think there is not a more opportune time to be talking about this."
The actor, who won an Emmy Award last year for portraying Maura Pfefferman on Transparent, also spoke about owning his own bookstore, an old commercial audition where he and 200 other actors pretended they knew how to ice skate and a scene from...
The actor, who won an Emmy Award last year for portraying Maura Pfefferman on Transparent, also spoke about owning his own bookstore, an old commercial audition where he and 200 other actors pretended they knew how to ice skate and a scene from...
- 9/14/2017
- Rollingstone.com
Too much quality TV got you down? All that art and introspection making you pine for the long-gone age of junk? Here’s a companion to our list of the 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time – a few of our picks for the worst. Remember: For every bad show that claws its way to the airwaves, there are hundreds of even worse ones that never made it that far. Respect!
Duck Dynasty
2012-present
Congratulations, Robertson family – you are officially the worst anything ever! A dipshit sitcom passed off as a reality show,...
Duck Dynasty
2012-present
Congratulations, Robertson family – you are officially the worst anything ever! A dipshit sitcom passed off as a reality show,...
- 9/26/2016
- Rollingstone.com
This story originally appeared in TheWrap magazine: Emmy Race Begins. Before his revelatory turn in “Transparent,” Jeffrey Tambor was best known for his Emmy nominated performances as unctuous sidekick Hank Kingsley in faux talk show “The Larry Sanders Show” and “Arrested Development” patriarch George Bluth. But the 70-year-old actor with the distinctive bald pate and patented hang-dog expression has credits that stretch decades earlier to include roles on Broadway, “Three’s Company” spinoff “The Ropers,” plus “…And Justice for All” with Al Pacino. These diverse roles prepared him for an unlikely leading role in “Transparent.” He considers it the part of a lifetime,...
- 5/15/2015
- by Diane Garrett
- The Wrap
Three’s Company had already left the airwaves when I was born in 1985. However, I was still able to fall in love with the hijinks of Jack Tripper, the dumb blonde moments of Chrissy Snow, and the good old reliability of Janet Wood in the form of reruns. The show can still be watched today on TV Land. As a result, even younger fans than myself are able to watch the classic misunderstandings of this comedy. The sitcom experienced many different cast changes over its eight year run. Some of these were amicable (The Ropers), while others were pegged with controversy (Chrissy Snow). Here is a look at all the cast changes that took place on one of the most popular shows from the 1970’s and 1980’s. Like with most popular television series, a spin-off of Three’s Company saw the departure of two of the main characters on the show.
- 11/28/2014
- by Tim Gerstenberger
- TVovermind.com
Emmy-nominated comedy writer-producer George Burditt passed away on Tuesday (June 27). He was 89 years old.
Deadline reports the death of Burditt, who wrote dozens of episodes of "Three's Company," which he also serves as executive producer of from 1981-84. Burditt passed away in Burbank, CA.
Burditt earned four Emmy nominations as a writer in the 1970s; two each for variety shows "The Sonny And Cher Comedy Hour" and "Van Dyke And Company." He also wrote episodes for "All In The Family," "Sanford and Son," "The Jeffersons," "The Ropers," "Doc" and "Three's A Crowd." His productions credits include "Silver Spoons," "227" and "Three's A Crowd."
Born in Boston, Burditt worked for American Greetings in Cleveland before moving to Los Angeles to begin his work in TV. His son Jack Burditt is an Emmy-winning writer and producer from such comedies as "30 Rock" and "Frasier." He's also the creator of "Last Man Standing."
Burditt is...
Deadline reports the death of Burditt, who wrote dozens of episodes of "Three's Company," which he also serves as executive producer of from 1981-84. Burditt passed away in Burbank, CA.
Burditt earned four Emmy nominations as a writer in the 1970s; two each for variety shows "The Sonny And Cher Comedy Hour" and "Van Dyke And Company." He also wrote episodes for "All In The Family," "Sanford and Son," "The Jeffersons," "The Ropers," "Doc" and "Three's A Crowd." His productions credits include "Silver Spoons," "227" and "Three's A Crowd."
Born in Boston, Burditt worked for American Greetings in Cleveland before moving to Los Angeles to begin his work in TV. His son Jack Burditt is an Emmy-winning writer and producer from such comedies as "30 Rock" and "Frasier." He's also the creator of "Last Man Standing."
Burditt is...
- 6/27/2013
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Pop2it
The Emmy-nominated comedy writer-producer died Tuesday in Burbank. He was 89. George Burditt wrote dozens of episodes of the hit sitcom Three’s Company and served as its executive producer from 1981-84. He earned four Emmy noms as a writer during the 1970s — two each for variety shows The Sonny And Cher Comedy Hour and Van Dyke And Company — and also penned episodes of All In The Family, Sanford and Son, The Jeffersons, The Ropers, Doc and Three’s A Crowd. His producing credits include the sitcoms Silver Spoons, 227 and Three’s A Crowd. Born in Boston, Burditt served in the Marines in the Pacific during World War II. He worked for American Greetings in Cleveland before moving to La to become a TV writer. His son Jack Burditt is an Emmy-winning writer-producer on such comedies as 30 Rock and Frasier and creator of Last Man Standing. Along with son Jack, George Burditt...
- 6/27/2013
- by THE DEADLINE TEAM
- Deadline TV
Director, producer, writer and former DGA president Jack Shea, died yesterday of complications from Alzheimer’s in Tarzana, according to his wife Patt Shea. He was 84. Shea, a New York City native, served three terms as Directors Guild of America president from 1997 to 2002. Under his watch, the DGA addressed runaway production, encouraged diversity in hiring, formed an Independent Directors Committee and negotiated landmark deals, including the historic “blended contract.” One of the original organizers and a past president of the Radio and Television Directors Guild (Rtdg), the precursor to the DGA, Shea encouraged the merger of the Rtdg with the Screen Directors Guild in 1960 to form the DGA. In 1992, Shea was awarded the DGA’s Robert Aldrich Award for “40 years of extraordinary service.” His 40-year television directing and producing career included episodes of The Jeffersons, Silver Spoons, The Ropers, Sanford & Son and Designing Women for which he received an Emmy nomination.
- 4/29/2013
- by THE DEADLINE TEAM
- Deadline TV
On the new NBC show Bent (premiering tonight at 9 p.m.), Amanda Peet is a divorced lawyer, David Walton her contractor, and Jeffrey Tambor his unemployed dad, Walter, who inserts himself into their lives because he can't find work as an actor. Walter likes to reminisce about past glories — stints on China Beach, Herman's Head, and Picket Fences — which feels like an inverse of Tambor's career: In the eighties, he was an omnipresent failed-sitcom star (The Ropers, the TV version of Nine to Five) and itinerant guest (The Love Boat, Hill Street Blues), but later in life became a TV-comedy icon on such ahead-of-their-time programs as Max Headroom, The Larry Sanders Show, and Arrested Development, which he'll return to as soon as the new seasons currently planned for Netflix get scripts. (Could that mean he'll have the chance to juggle appearances on Bent and Arrested at the same...
- 3/21/2012
- by Jennifer Vineyard
- Vulture
In honor of Jeff, Who Lives At Home, the gang at Wamg put together a different kind of Top Ten Ten Tuesday. This Friday, Paramount Vantage and Indian Paintbrush are bringing to the screen Jay Duplass’ and Mark Duplass’ story of Jeff (Jason Segel). On his way to the store to buy wood glue, Jeff looks for signs from the universe to determine his path. However, a series of comedic and unexpected events leads him to cross paths with his family in the strangest of locations and circumstances. Jeff just may find the meaning of his life… and if he’s lucky, pick up the wood glue as well.
So who’s game for a Top Ten Jeffs in Movies? We came up with a list of our favorite “Jeffs” and boy are they a busy lot. As you can see below, these guys have run the gamut between film,...
So who’s game for a Top Ten Jeffs in Movies? We came up with a list of our favorite “Jeffs” and boy are they a busy lot. As you can see below, these guys have run the gamut between film,...
- 3/15/2012
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Comedy writer and producer Mickey Ross, an Emmy winner who worked on "All in the Family," "The Jeffersons" and "Three's Company," died Tuesday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles of complications from a stroke and heart attack. He was 89.
In the 1950s, Ross formed a comedy partnership with fellow City College of New York alumnus Bernie West (Class of '39). They worked on "The Martha Raye Show" and there developed a relationship with Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin, the creators of the landmark "All in the Family" sitcom for CBS.
Ross was a writer, story editor and executive producer for 81 episodes of the show. He shared with West and Lee Kalcheim the 1973 Emmy for outstanding writing achievement in comedy for the episode "The Bunkers and the Swingers," where Edith answers a magazine personal ad from a couple seeking new friends.
Ross and West also wrote for and executive produced "The Jeffersons,...
In the 1950s, Ross formed a comedy partnership with fellow City College of New York alumnus Bernie West (Class of '39). They worked on "The Martha Raye Show" and there developed a relationship with Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin, the creators of the landmark "All in the Family" sitcom for CBS.
Ross was a writer, story editor and executive producer for 81 episodes of the show. He shared with West and Lee Kalcheim the 1973 Emmy for outstanding writing achievement in comedy for the episode "The Bunkers and the Swingers," where Edith answers a magazine personal ad from a couple seeking new friends.
Ross and West also wrote for and executive produced "The Jeffersons,...
- 5/29/2009
- by By Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
I've said it more than once: I don't like doing celebrity interviews. 9 times out of 10 you're not really there to interview them so much as you're there to help them sell their newest movie, and while those conversations can sometimes lead to some quality copy, it's more likely that you'll be stuck asking the same nine questions that 15 other entertainment writers just tossed out. And that makes for boring copy.
But when it comes to a celebrity like Jeffrey Tambor, who does Not have a new movie coming out next week, I find it really hard to say no. Partially because I love actors like Mr. Tambor (and have been a fan of his since The Ropers, for cryin' out loud), but mainly because I think it's very interesting to chat with an actor about his/her entire body of work ... or at least a few random sections that I find most interesting.
But when it comes to a celebrity like Jeffrey Tambor, who does Not have a new movie coming out next week, I find it really hard to say no. Partially because I love actors like Mr. Tambor (and have been a fan of his since The Ropers, for cryin' out loud), but mainly because I think it's very interesting to chat with an actor about his/her entire body of work ... or at least a few random sections that I find most interesting.
- 3/18/2009
- by Scott Weinberg
- Cinematical
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