''Busting Loose'' is an American

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

starring

Adam Arkin Adam Arkin (born August 19, 1956) is an American actor and director. He is known for playing the role of Aaron Shutt on ''Chicago Hope''. He has been nominated for numerous awards, including a Tony (Best Actor, 1991, '' I Hate Hamlet'') as well ...

which centers on a young man in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

who has moved out of his parents house to live on his own for the first time. The show aired on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

between January 17, 1977, and November 16, 1977.Brooks, Tim, and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime-Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present, Sixth Edition'', New York: Ballantine Books, 1995, , p. 147.McNeil, Alex, ''Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming From 1948 to the Present'', New York: Penguin Books, 1996, p. 128.

Cast and characters

as Lenny Markowitz * Barbara Rhoades as Melody Feebeck *

Jack Kruschen Jacob "Jack" Kruschen (March 20, 1922 – April 2, 2002) was a Canadian character actor who worked primarily in American film, television and radio. Kruschen was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Dr. ...

as Sam Markowitz *

Pat Carroll Patricia Ann Carroll (May 5, 1927 – July 30, 2022) was an American actress and comedian. She was known for voicing Ursula in ''The Little Mermaid'' and for appearances in CBS's ''The Danny Thomas Show'', ABC's '' Laverne & Shirley'', and NB ...

as Pearl Markowitz *

Danny Goldman Daniel Goldman (October 30, 1939 – April 12, 2020) was an American actor and casting director. He was most widely recognized as the voice of Brainy Smurf in Hanna-Barbera's ''The Smurfs'' (1981–1989). Early life Goldman graduated from Far ...

as Lester Bellman *

Steve Nathan Steven Jay Nathan is an American keyboardist. He is known for his session work in Muscle Shoals and Nashville studios. Biography Nathan was born and raised in Buffalo, New York. In 1977, Nathan moved to Muscle Shoals, Alabama. After touring w ...

as Allan Simmonds *

Greg Antonacci Gregory Gerald Antonacci (February 2, 1947 – September 20, 2017) was an American television actor, director, producer, and writer. He portrayed Johnny Torrio in ''Boardwalk Empire'' in every season, from 2010 to 2014, and as Phil Leotardo's ri ...

as Vinnie Mordabito *

Paul Sylvan Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

as Woody Warshaw *

Paul B. Price Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

as Ralph Cabell * Ralph Wilcox as Raymond St. Williams *

Louise Williams Louise or Luise may refer to: * Louise (given name) Arts Songs * "Louise" (Bonnie Tyler song), 2005 * "Louise" (The Human League song), 1984 * "Louise" (Jett Rebel song), 2013 * "Louise" (Maurice Chevalier song), 1929 *"Louise", by Clan of ...

as Jackie Gleason

Synopsis

Lenny Markowitz is a 24-year-old Jewish American man who recently graduated from

engineering school Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

. Tired of living with his overprotective and meddling parents Sam and Pearl, he secretly moves out on his own for the first time – "busting loose" from them – into a low-rent apartment in a rundown

apartment building An apartment (American English), or flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies part of a building, generally on a single story. There are ma ...

where his neighbor is Melody Feebeck, a beautiful, voluptuous, older redheaded woman who works for an

escort service An escort agency is a company that provides escorts for clients, usually for sexual services. The agency typically arranges a meeting between one of its escorts and the client at the customer's house or hotel room (outcall), or at the escort' ...

. Lacking the money even to replace the

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form ...

-covered

wallpaper Wallpaper is a material used in interior decoration to decorate the interior walls of domestic and public buildings. It is usually sold in rolls and is applied onto a wall using wallpaper paste. Wallpapers can come plain as "lining paper" (so ...

in his new apartment and still looking for work as an

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

, he temporarily takes a menial job at the Wearwell Shoe Store, operated by Ralph Cabell, where his coworker is Raymond St. Williams, a "hip" young

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

man. His childhood friends Lester Bellman, Allan Simmonds, Vinnie Mordabito, and Woody Warshaw frequently visit him; they play poker together and get involved in various escapades. In the fall of 1977, Lenny finds a regular girlfriend, Jackie Gleason, an attractive young woman unrelated – and bearing no resemblance – to the real-life television star

Jackie Gleason John Herbert Gleason (February 26, 1916June 24, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, writer, composer, and conductor known affectionately as "The Great One." Developing a style and characters from growing up in Brooklyn, New York, he was know ...

Production notes

Mark Rothman and

Lowell Ganz Lowell Ganz (born August 31, 1948 in New York City) is an American screenwriter, television writer, and television producer. He is the long-time writing partner of Babaloo Mandel. Ganz grew up in Queens, New York, attending Martin Van Buren Hi ...

created ''Busting Loose'' and served as its executive producers, and Rothman composed the shows theme music.

Lawrence Kasha Lawrence Kasha (December 3, 1933 – September 29, 1990) was an American theatre producer and director, playwright, and stage manager. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Kasha began his Broadway career as a production assistant for ''Silk Stockin ...

was the producer for the first season; John Thomas Lenox produced the second season. Lenox also directed one episode; the other episode directors were

, James Burrows,

Mel Ferber Mel Ferber (October 2, 1922 – June 19, 2003) was a television director and producer, who oversaw the live two-hour TV presentation of ''Wonderful Town'' and the pilot for ''60 Minutes'' and other shows. Ferber was an executive producer of ' ...

, Norm Gray,

Asaad Kelada Asaad Kelada ( ar, أسعد قلادة; born May 11, 1940) is an American television director of many American television sitcoms. Early life Kelada was born in Cairo, Egypt and he studied drama under Youssef Chahine at the American Universit ...

, Harvey Miller,

Tony Mordente Tony Mordente (born December 3, 1935) is an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and television director. Career Born in New York City, Mordente attended the High School of Performing Arts and made his professional dance debut at the Jaco ...

Alan Myerson Alan Myerson (born July 1, 1940) is an American film and television director. Career Myerson began working in theatre in New York City, then directing The Second City in Chicago. He founded the improvisational comedy troupe The Committee in San F ...

, Bill Persky, Howard Storm, and

Joel Zwick Joel Zwick (born January 11, 1942) is an American film director, television director, and theater director.Mann, Iris (June 1, 2016)"'Hillary and Monica': An Unlikely Meeting" ''Jewish Journal''. He worked on the television series '' Perfect Stra ...

. Antonacci, Ganz, Rothman, Chet Dowling,

David W. Duclon David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, Howard Gewirtz, Joe Glauberg,

Sandy Krinski Sandy may refer to: People and fictional characters *Sandy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Sandy (surname), a list of people *Sandy (singer), Brazilian singer and actress Sandy Leah Lima (born 1983) *(Sandy) Al ...

, David Lerner, Deborah Leschin,

Babaloo Mandel Marc "Babaloo" Mandel (born October 13, 1949) is an American screenwriter. He first wrote episodic television comedy, then later began writing feature films. He and long-time writing partner Lowell Ganz penned numerous high-profile films includ ...

, and

Barry Rubinowitz Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 1950 ...

all wrote or co-wrote one or more episodes. During its first season, ''Busting Loose'' aired on

on Monday at 8:30 p.m. from January to May 1977. The show then left the air until July 1977, when reruns of the first season began to air on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. The second season also ran at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday in the fall of 1977. In "Mr. Dennis Steps Out," broadcast on October 26, 1977, as the fifth episode of the second season of ''Busting Loose'', Melody is afraid that her boss at the escort service, Roger Dennis – played by guest star

Ted Knight Ted Knight (born Tadeusz Wladyslaw Konopka; December 7, 1923August 26, 1986) was an American actor well known for playing the comedic roles of Ted Baxter in ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'', Henry Rush in ''Too Close for Comfort'', and Judge Elihu ...

– is going to fire her. The episode served as the pilot for Knights first show of his own, the short-lived 1978 sitcom '' The Ted Knight Show'', which centered on Roger Denniss firm, the Mr. Dennis Escort Service. However, Barbara Rhoades and her Melody Feebeck character did not appear in ''The Ted Knight Show''.

Episodes

''Busting Loose'' was broadcast over two seasons. Thirteen episodes aired during its first season in the winter and spring of 1977. Eight more were broadcast during its second season in the fall of 1977, and four other episodes produced for that season never aired.

Season 1 (1977)

Season 2 (1977)

Sourcestvguide.com Busting Loose Episodes
/ref>

Notes

External links

''Busting Loose'' opening credits on YouTube1977 CBS promotional advertisement for ''Good Times'' and ''Busting Loose''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Busting Loose CBS original programming 1977 American television series debuts 1977 American television series endings 1970s American sitcoms English-language television shows Television shows set in New York City Television series by CBS Studios