Nell Carter She went into rehab several times during production and was blowing her money on cocaine every week . "The Purse Snatcher" also seems to be one of these. Nell's father was originally the one who disapproved of Nell's dreams, but after he died. Who was the unluckiest person in the world? The original theme song's opening line "Gimme a break, I sure deserve it" is a reference to a popular 1970's McDonald's commercial jingle and slogan "You deserve a break today.". NBC canceled the series in the spring of 1987. Carter also said that she called other cast members by their character names for the same reason. 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). 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. Her character married the only other Jewish person in the cast, Jonathan Silverman. Gimme a Break! Place of burial The abrupt changes in tone are handled adroitly, John J. OConnor wrote. Kaser was named as, 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!,. Required fields are marked *. 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. But the show belong to Nell Carter who was a joy to watch. The Complete Series on DVD in Canada on July 20, 2010.[7]. For US airdates of a foreign show, click The Futon Critic. The only other storyline in the episode consisted of the activities director Lilly, a four time widow, having a crush on one of the senior members named Andy, and how he refused to go to her house for dinner many times. Parker said he was always most concerned on the effect Nell's intense mood swings could have on the kids on the show. on Issac Hayes' hit song "Theme From Shaft.". 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 mother was originally portrayed by Hilda Haynes. But,they should of been in the show not wiped out all together. Nell Carter would admit later in interviews that she had a serious cocaine problem when she starred on this show, which spiralled out of control. DON'T FORGET TO; SUBSCRIBE+LIKE+COMMENTGimmie a break is an American television sitcom that was created by Mort Lachman and Sy Rosen. The two made peace in 1997 when Rosie had her hit talk show which lasted for six seasons. my shows | like | set your list <preferences> Gimme a Break! I watched reruns of this show when it aired on USA in 1998. to his question about how she'd think her mother would react if she knew her daughter had been arrested. "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. I understand that they had Katie,Julie,Jonathan and baby Nelle exit. All these years later I watched a couple episodes just to "check in", and it was pretty much as I'd remembered it. Parker said Carter spoiled him for a good two years and then suddenly turned on him. The episode aired three days after he died. Gimme a Break! 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). As with many star vehicles in Hollywood, the main character was named after the star. Although the show never cracked the top 30, it was still considered a solid enough hit to keep on the air for six years. The Complete Series on DVD in Canada on July 20, 2010. 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. 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. We heart influencers and interesting people. A real romance developed between Kari Michaelson and Andy Gibb when he guest starred. I also love the grandfather character. Wonderful show with many risqu , over the top episodes. IHeartHollywood.com is an online magazine about all thing "Hollywood." The marriage story-line with Lauri Hendler and Jonathan Silverman's characters didn't click with viewers and neither did Silverman's character who was added a series regular. Jane Dulo who portrayed Mildred Kanisky, mother of Carl Kanisky (played by Dolph Sweet) was born October 13, 1917 (some sources give 1912 and 1918 as her birth year); and with Sweet being born July 18, 1920, he and Dulo are too close in age to be playing mother and son credibly. 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. Nell intervenes (by standing in the way) and stops him, and he eventually cools off and backs away. I just hope some network brings this series back one day so that I'll be able to see every episode. Officer Simpson catches Joey Donovan, an abandoned seven-year-old boy, trying to bilk people out of their money. Marty (Paul Sand) was their landlord who also owned a Mexican restaurant under the name "Esteban." (See the Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show, What's Happening, The Partridge Family, etc.). This show is in syndication on Antenna Tv and the episodes are on YouTube . A running gag involved the Kanisky's goldfish, Gertrude. Ironically though Dolph Sweet died in 1985, the actor who played his father (John Hoyt) made appearances til the end of the show. / The episode "Cat Story" was aired live over NBC-TV on March 2, 1985. It has been nice revisiting the story lines, how real they were , and how people can still relate .i am glad to eee some of the cast is extremely successful RIP to some of the cast who I loved as a teenager . 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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. Then Gold was replaced last minute by Lara Jill Miller, who wound up playing Samantha for the duration of the show. Now, in conclusion, when and if this show is ever brought back on the air, I hope that you catch it one day before it goes off the air for good. Nell's middle name is Ruth, which was also Nell Carter's middle name in real life. This was the first show in NBC's all-star Thursday night line-up. In "Julie Smokes", after slapping Julie, Carl says he had never laid a hand on his kids before. Originally, Nell's mother supported her dream of being a singer, but later became a shrill woman who never had faith in her. Joey's supposed backstory of living with an uncle was originally treated as a lie. Age, 83years (April 22, 1939) Also, the network had nothing to replace the show with as they were struggling with their programming and ratings during this time period. Jonathan Silverman was a good addition after that. Minelli flew her to a special rehab center the Halzalden Clinic in Minnesota where she kicked her habit a second time and lost over 90 pounds. They even doubled down and added ANOTHER cute kid in the form of Matthew Lawrence, who played Joey's brother Matthew. 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!" [1], Main article: List of Gimme a Break! The US syndication rights are held by NBCUniversal Television Distribution, the successor company to original syndicator MCA TV. Nell's character went back to school to get her diploma and starting taking college courses in child psychology. usually managed to land in the Top 40 during its first four seasons. The original unaired pilot had the same plot as season one, episode one, "Katie the Crook", but it had a different set for the house, and the third Kanisky child was a redheaded boy named Matthew. Final episode. The producers had zero intentions on recasting Dolph Sweet's role of The Chief. NBC had many quality sitcoms on the air in the 80s, such as Diff'rent Strokes, The Facts Of Life, Silver Spoons, etc. BREAK POINT BOOKS & MORE Cancelled. She's in the "White Boys/Black Boys" number with Night Court (1984)'s Ellen Foley. She played one of the wicked stepsisters. Gimme a Break! Mel Carter 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. I was sad when Dolph Sweet died,he was funny even though I usually see him in reruns. I love the actress Laurie Hendler,but think this show is soo boring! 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. The show centered on the lives of the Kanisky Family in Glenlawn, CA, headed by Carl (Dolph Sweet), the widowed Chief of Police in town. 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. Added to that, he did not help with taking care of his brother's children after the Chief died. I have, in fact, written a review of this episode and it has been posted. Cozi TV started airing the show as of January 3, 2022. Netflix has announced that Daybreak will not be renewed for a second season. 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. was an American sitcom that ran on NBC for six seasons from 198187, 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. is an American television sitcom created by Mort Lachman and Sy Rosen, that aired on NBC for six seasons from October 29, 1981, to May 12, 1987. Five episodes into the sixth and final season, the show changed locales from Glenlawn to New York City, when Nell. I thought she was great! 's original producers Coleman Mitchell and Geoffrey Neigher, which involved personality conflicts and creative differences. Mamas Date Another episode has Julie not knowing the cause of her mother's death (it was lung cancer, which is how Carl convinces Julie to quit smoking). "Gimme a Break! is an American sitcom that ran on NBC for six seasons (198187), 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). 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. In the end, he forgives her, and tells her he was never as rich as he is now that he owns his own deli. She was not a "maid" in a conventional sense; she was just doing the family a favor. 52 - Minutes needed for No.19 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova to defeat Ysaline Bonaventure 6-2, 6-1, the quickest match of the first . ", http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Gimme-Break-The-Complete-Series/13768. The Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary is a Jewish cemetery located at 6001 West Centinela Avenue, in Culver City, California. A very young Joey Lawrence also appeared in it as a young street-hustler-turned-foster-kid-for-the-family. Sweet continued dropping weight, due to cancer. Two of them were during the first season and one was during the second. The "Flashback" episode shows her alive when the girls were relatively young, but still old enough to remember her. a guest appearance by Tony Randall in part two, NBC was to have an entire block of live episodes the night the episode originally aired. Producers found it increasingly difficult to keep him on-screen due to his condition and gaunt appearance, but Sweet insisted on working as much as possible in order to help him cope with his illness. Rosie O'Donnell made her television acting debut on this show. I still have not received not even an email from them and I still continue to check on all the following channels just to see if they have brought back this show. Contents 1 Cast 1.1 Main characters 1.2 Recurring characters In this episode, she was a busy body on a hospital pay phone. Although not noted on several Gimme A Break! Rosie O' Donnell and Nell didn't get along during the final season and O' Donnell said Nell treated her terribly. Rosetta LeNoire took over the role during the show's fourth season. Though I watched Gimme a Break from the start, it goes without saying that I lacked the maturity at that age to fully understand the adult humor and social issues being explored. GIMME A BREAK. He said Blossom, because Gimme a Break "was done so long ago, it's not really relevant at this point". On May 12, 1987, "Gimme a Break" was cancelled after 6 seasons and 137 episodes. Dolph Sweet also played a police chief in the original Out of Towners movie (1970). This sitcom centers on a housekeeper played by Nell Carter. The writers wrote a two part backdoor pilot towards the end of the sixth season titled Parent's Weeks. is an American television sitcom created by Mort Lachman and Sy Rosen, that aired on NBC for six seasons from October 29, 1981, to May 12, 1987. / He never did, however, and eventually, Carl's worst fears losing his wife and partner in raising their daughters to lung cancer came true. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. 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. 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