Retro TV1: Gimme a Break

Monday, February 18

Gimme a Break

Gimme a Break! is an American sitcom which aired on NBC from October 29, 1981 until May 12, 1987. It starred stage actress Nell Carter as the housekeeper for a police chief and his three daughters, whose mother had died.

Premise
The sitcom took place in fictional town of Glenlawn, CA. Nellie Ruth "Nell" Harper (Nell Carter) agrees to be a housekeeper for the Kanisky household as a special favor to her late friend, who was the wife of police chief Carl Kanisky (Dolph Sweet). His three daughters were (oldest to youngest) Katie (Kari Michaelsen), Julie (Lauri Hendler), and Samantha ("Sam") (Lara Jill Miller).

Supporting characters
Officer Ralph Simpson (Howard Morton) was a dopey police officer who worked with Carl. During the second season, Carl's parents, Grandpa Stanley (John Hoyt) and Grandma Mildred (Jane Dulo), were occasionally seen, as was his brother, Ed (Pete Schrum), an overweight mortician who loved to play practical jokes. Grandma, however, died after that season, and Grandpa moved in with Carl and his family. Ed got married and was written out of the series.

During the 1982-1983 season, the family also contended with a man who would often annoy the Kanisky household, who was only known by his surname of "Swackhammer" (played by actor Jack Fletcher). The aforementioned Swackhammer was at first the head of the local phone company in Glenlawn, who angered Nell and called her by the wrong surname, not to mention turned off Phone Service to the Kanisky household, and having Nell arrested and thrown in jail. (He referred to her as a Mrs. Fong!) However, the phone company snafu was fixed up, and the arrogant Swackhammer was demoted thusly. Other episode had him as a neighbor, who complained about noise, and he was often referrred to as "that jerk, Swackhammer!"; however after five episodes, Swackhammer disappeared with no explaination whatsoever.

The third season saw occasional appearances of Adelaide "Addy" Wilson (Telma Hopkins), Nell's childhood friend who worked as a teacher. (Although they were friends, Nell and Addy would be somewhat competitive at times too) Joey Donovan (Joey Lawrence) was a six-year-old orphan who joined the Kanisky household that year. Addy became a regular cast member one year later. That same year, Julie married Jonathan Maxwell (Jonathan Silverman), a pizza-delivery man, who moved into the household.

Over the series run, a number of celebrities have appeared on the show, including singer Whitney Houston, Andy Gibb, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Ray Parker, Jr.. In some of these episodes, the guest would eventually perform a song with Nell.

Later developments
The fifth season saw the death of the chief (Dolph Sweet had died), and Nell became the head of the household. In an attempt to reverse a drop in ratings, the producers of Gimme a Break! made several changes after the fifth year. Katie moved to San Francisco; Julie, Jonathan, and their baby, Nell, moved to San José; and Samantha attended college in New Jersey. Addy got a job in New York City, so Nell and Grandpa and Joey came to New York to join her. There, they discovered Joey's irresponsible father, Tim, who showed him his brother, Matthew (played by Matthew Lawrence, Joey's real-life brother), and left them with Nell and Grandpa. Marty (Paul Sand) was their landlord who also owned a Mexican restaurant under the name "Esteban." One of their New York neighbors was a young lady named Maggie O'Brien, played by Rosie O'Donnell.

As a promotional gimmick, one episode of this series was performed and broadcast live. The episode aired on March 2, 1985.

The show was produced by Alan Landsburg Productions, whose successor-in-interest, Reeves Entertainment Group, took over production in 1985. The American syndication rights are held by NBC Universal Television Distribution. Fremantle Media owns the international rights, as they own Thames Television, which acquired Alan Landsburg Productions and Reeves Entertainment Group product. The creators of the show were Mort Lachman and Sy Rosen.

Gimme a Break - Season 1 Open