Pat Harrington Jr. Drank Water Before Every Take, and Never Explained
TLDR: Pat Harrington Jr. spent nine seasons playing the building superintendent everyone eventually loved, even though Schneider’s whole shtick was making unwanted passes at Ann … Read more
One Day at a Time, the Real Story Behind the Romano Family
TLDR: One Day at a Time gave network television its first real look at a divorced single mother raising two teenage daughters. Off screen, one … Read more
Valerie Bertinelli Married Rock and Roll, Then Built a Career Beyond It
TLDR: Valerie Bertinelli was only 15 when One Day at a Time made her a star. She spent the next two decades married to one … Read more
Bonnie Franklin Made Single Motherhood Real, Then Fought for Others
TLDR: Bonnie Franklin insisted Ann Romano be written as a real, complicated woman rather than sitcom fluff. She spent the rest of her life applying … Read more
Redd Foxx’s Death Echoed the Joke He’d Told for Six Seasons
TLDR: Redd Foxx spent six seasons clutching his chest and pretending to die on cue as Fred Sanford. In 1991, the joke stopped being a … Read more
Sanford and Son, the Real Story Behind the Junkyard
TLDR: Redd Foxx built Fred Sanford’s most famous bit around faking his own heart attack. He died of a real one on the set of … Read more
LaWanda Page Got Cast Because Redd Foxx Insisted on His Real Friend
TLDR: LaWanda Page spent decades building a reputation as one of the raunchiest stand-up comics in Black nightclubs, under a nickname involving actual fire. Redd … Read more
Betty White Was Almost Cast as the Wrong Golden Girl Entirely
TLDR: Betty White almost played the wrong Golden Girl entirely, cast against a decade of typecasting rather than into it. She spent her last days … Read more
The Golden Girls, the Real Story Behind Four Best Friends
TLDR: The Golden Girls ran seven seasons on NBC, and all four of its leads have since passed away. Behind the show’s warmth was a … Read more
Bern Nadette Stanis Named Her Foundation After Her Mother Forgot Her
TLDR: Bern Nadette Stanis turned her own mother’s decline into a genuine cause. Years later, she watched her own daughter become the doctor her sitcom … Read more
Ja’net DuBois Played Willona, Then Wrote a Different Show’s Theme
TLDR: Ja’net DuBois spent eight years playing everyone’s favorite nosy neighbor on Good Times. The whole time, she was also quietly responsible for the theme … Read more
Janet Jackson’s Good Times Storyline Was Closer to Home Than Fans Knew
TLDR: Janet Jackson joined Good Times in 1977 at age 11, playing a child rescued from an abusive home. The storyline made television history for … Read more
Esther Rolle Refused Good Times Unless the Network Added a Father
TLDR: Esther Rolle is proof a lead actress could actually win a fight with a hit network show. She walked off the number one comedy … Read more
John Amos Got Fired From Good Times, Then His Death Split His Family
TLDR: John Amos got fired for refusing to let Good Times flatten his family into a punchline. Fifty years later, his own family couldn’t manage … Read more
Good Times, the Real Story Behind the Evans Family
TLDR: Good Times set out to be network television’s first real portrait of a two-parent Black family. Nearly everyone behind that promise ended up paying … Read more
Daniel Roebuck Was Almost the Home Alone Burglar Before Matlock Made Him a Familiar Face
TLDR: Daniel Roebuck played investigator Cliff Lewis on Matlock before building one of the most prolific character-actor careers in Hollywood, with roles spanning The Fugitive, … Read more