She appeared in a Season 1 episode as one of Katie's friends. Lawrence was added to show to take over the cute kid role with Lara Jill Miller getting older and maturing into a young women. All is resolved when Andy brings up his deceased wife Maybelle, and how he's still not over her, but agrees to go to Lilly's place if she invites him again. She attempted suicide and struggled with her faith. Sadly, Nell Carter, who played Nell, and Dolph Sweet, who played Carl, have since passed away. In real life the three performers would all go on tour together during their hiatuses. FremantleMedia owns the international rights, as they own Thames Television, which acquired Reeves Entertainment Group in 1990. Lara Jill Miller was shown in opening credits as a regular cast member, rather than a guest star, in the episodes where she appeared. - 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. Thelma Hopkins said if the script didn't call for it they wouldn't speak to each other and weren't close outside of the show, but in time managed a decent working relationship. Joey's supposed backstory of living with an uncle was originally treated as a lie. The series premiered on October 29, 1981. Nell Carter was interred in Hillside Memorial Park in Culver City, California. 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. 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. Logo TV may used to air this show reruns from 2015 until the end of 2017. This episode dealt with a Greek restaurant called "Two Guys From Greece" and the two guys who worked at it, Nicky, and his friend Tyler. However, another good one that I think deserves mentioning is Hazel Shermet. The creators of the show were Mort Lachman and Sy Rosen. Dolph Sweet was in classic movies ,and in Little House on the Prairie. During the show's third season, the writers changed the story line and made it that Margaret Kanisky, who was Carl's wife and a close friend of Nell's, asked Nell to raise her kids after she died. A running gag involved the Kanisky's goldfish, Gertrude. However, Samantha usually acted as if she never knew her mother. ", "Gimme a Break! Although the show never cracked the top 30, it was still considered a solid enough hit to keep on the air for six years. 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. Moreover, they featured near-identical scorelines: wild card Kimberly Birrell upset No.31 seed Kaia Kanepi 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-1 and No.26 seed Elise Mertens scored her first win over Garbie Muguruza 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-1. 'Gimme A Break'!And Get This Travesty off the Tube. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. One episode has Katie hospitalized when her I.U.D. Nell Carter was nominated twice for an Emmy for her work on this show. 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. Carter found that she saw eye to eye more often with Parker and Cooper on all levels, and due to the stability the latter team would stay with the program for the rest of its run. A guide listing the titles AND air dates for episodes of the TV series Gimme a Break!. This show was one of my favorite's as a kid growing up in the 1980s It had me laughing constantly. [12], Nell Carter received two Emmy nominations as Best Actress in a Comedy Series. Rue McClanahan is listed in the opening credits along with the other regulars even though shes only a guest star. Joey Lawrence was asked in an interview if he had the choice to reboot Blossom or Gimme a Break!, which show would he pick. If I thought television could get substantially worse than this, I am not sure I would have the courage or desire ever to turn the set on again, Shales concluded. As they were redoing it, the boy was replaced by Tracey Gold, who was going to play a tomboy named Samantha. In 2009, VEI announced that they plan on releasing the entire series in a complete series box set in 2010. Carter's character works in the home of a widowed chief of police who needs help taking care of his three daughters. We heart Hollywood History. Final episode. 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. This would eventually become known as "Must See TV", and come to include shows like Cheers (1982), Family Ties (1982), The Cosby Show (1984), Hill Street Blues (1981), Seinfeld (1989), L.A. Law (1986), ER (1994), Friends (1994), Will & Grace (1998), and The Office (2005), and would dominate the network ratings from the '80s into the 2000s. 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). Several spin-offs were considered by producing pilot episodes during the series run. Carter had begun experimenting with cocaine while in the cast of Aint Misbehavin I thought she was great! According to Rod Parker in an interview, at one point during the series Nell Carter had a slight falling out with Joey Lawrence because she thought he was getting too much screen-time. Early in her career, singer Whitney Houston made her acting debut in a non-singing role the Season 3 episode Katie's College. I wish I could sue NBC for the grievous consternation, intestinal distress and aggravated low moaning I have suffered as a result of Gimme a Break, Shales wrote, going on to criticize the shows sex jokes and what he found to be the racial stereotypes embodied by Carters character. During the third season, Pat Sajak guest-starred as himself when Nell and Addy were contestants on Wheel of Fortune. At the end of the first episode of the fifth season, the picture fades of the Chief slowly, with no applause from the audience. Nell agreed, so as a favor to Margaret she moved into the Kanisky home and took over motherly duties. 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. Copyright document.write(new Date().getFullYear()) Ironically though Dolph Sweet died in 1985, the actor who played his father (John Hoyt) made appearances til the end of the show. . However, they were considered acceptable at the time. Gimme a Break! The Chief hits Katie and Julie during the course of the show. The other cast was great too. was a hit TV present that ran for six seasons from 1981 to 1987 on NBC. Your email address will not be published. After Gimme a Break wrapped in the spring of 1987, Telma Hopkins and Rosetta Lenoire would co-star two years later in the smash hit ABC sitcom Family Matters. Another episode that aired earlier in the 198485 season, "Baby of the Family", ranked No. Joey's father was portrayed by two different actors Fred McCarren and Patrick Collins (I). The series starred Nell Carter as the housekeeper for a widowed police chief ( Dolph Sweet) and his three daughters. 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. Julie and Jonathan, who were now living in the Chief's old room, found out they were expecting a baby; their daughter, whom they named after Nell, was born before season's end. 73years (October 28, 1948) Michaelson would binge, purge, and fast. 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! Sweet died Wednesday at Tarzana Hospital, said NBC-TV publicist Matt Bozek. Nell started singing more, Nell's frumpy and unflattering wardrobe, hair and makeup was upgraded to more glamorous and stylish. 52 - Minutes needed for No.19 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova to defeat Ysaline Bonaventure 6-2, 6-1, the quickest match of the first . Nell Carter won an Emmy and a Tony Award. NBC canceled the series in the spring of 1987. Mamas Date to check out the antics of the Kanisky family. 38 on TV Land's list of "The 100 Most Unexpected TV Moments"; the latter episode depicted Joey dressing and performing in blackface at Nell's church benefit at Sam's behest after Nell did not allow Sam to go on an unchaperoned fishing trip. She had been in rehearsals for ''Raisin,'' a musical adaptation of the play ''A Raisin in the Sun . The series stars Nell Carter as the housekeeper for a widowed police chief (Dolph Sweet) and his three daughters. We heart movies. One of the episodes is called "Knock Three Times". 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. I am sure if Nell Carter hadn't passed away, they would be bringing this show back. 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. Carl has to deal with the aftermath of shooting a man dead. Unreliable citations may be challenged or deleted. True Hollywood Story, she was adamant that frequently calling her "Maggie" was a tactic to help young Joey and Matthew Lawrence focus on their lines, rehearsals and shootings without acting up, as kids often do. [2][3][4][5] More recently as of January 2018, it is now shown on Antenna TV. 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. Over the course of the 198485 season, Sweet's health went into serious decline as the cancer further ravaged his body. She revealed an incident where the cast was in the lunchroom doing a reading of the script and Joey and Matthew Lawrence's mother Donna Lawrence started making her way into the room and Nell Carter yelled across the room at the boys mother to get out and inappropriately called her the "c-word slur" right in front of the two brothers who were in the room when the incident happen. I still remember watching this show on Saturday nights back in the '80's over at my grandparents house.I believe it was on NBC-at 830pm right after Diff'rent Strokes (another classic sitcom that also has finally made it to DVD).It was an amazing show-It had the premise of a maid taking care of her employer-a police chief and his 3 teenage daughters.After 25 years since its premiere, several cast members have went to that great casting couch in the sky- Dolph Sweet (Chief Kanisky), Nell Carter (Nell Harper) and Howard Morton (Officer Ralph Simpson: They will live on forever via DVD. The episode "Cat Story" was performed and broadcast live on March 2, 1985, as a promotional gimmick, which the cast was able to pull off without a hitch. Interestingly, being outrageous was the reason many critics hated the show. From 2006 until 2010, both networks are Ion Television and MeTV reruns this show, during daytime and nighttime. A foster son, Joey (Joey Lawrence) was added in season 3. 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