''Hanging In'' 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 ...
television series that aired for four episodes 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 ...
on Wednesday nights from August 8, 1979, to August 29, 1979.
Summary
After his failed attempt to launch the sitcom ''
Mr. Dugan
''Mr. Dugan'' is an American Situation comedy, sitcom about a Black people, black United States Congress, Congressman that was scheduled to air in March 1979 on CBS, but was pulled at the last minute and never shown.
History
In early 1978, produc ...
'',
Norman Lear
Norman Milton Lear (born July 27, 1922) is an American producer and screenwriter, who has produced, written, created, or developed over 100 shows. Lear is known for many popular 1970s sitcoms, including the multi-award winning '' All in the Fami ...
reworked the project, finally coming up with ''Hanging In'', the story of Lou Harper, a former professional football star who becomes president of fictional Braddock University.
Bill Macy
Wolf Martin Garber (May 18, 1922 – October 17, 2019), known professionally as Bill Macy, was an American television, film and stage actor, best known for his role in the CBS television series '' Maude'' (1972–1978).
Early life
Bill ...
(who had played Maude's husband, Walter Findlay, in ''
Maude'') resurfaced as the star of the version that finally did air, in August 1979.
Most of the supporting cast of ''Mr. Dugan'' and its several different incarnations (including the final three episodes of ''Maude'' and the unsold pilot ''Onward and Upward'', which featured ''
Good Times
''Good Times'' is an American television sitcom that aired for six seasons on CBS, from February 8, 1974, to August 1, 1979. Created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans and developed by executive producer Norman Lear, it was television's first Afric ...
'' star
John Amos) also appeared in ''Hanging In''. As ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows: 1946-Present'' by Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh dryly put it, "the actors must have known their lines pretty well by this point", as the scripts on each project were nearly identical.
Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle F.
''''
In the end, ''Hanging In'' lasted just four weeks on CBS, leaving the air after its August 29, 1979 broadcast.
Cast
*Bill Macy
Wolf Martin Garber (May 18, 1922 – October 17, 2019), known professionally as Bill Macy, was an American television, film and stage actor, best known for his role in the CBS television series '' Maude'' (1972–1978).
Early life
Bill ...
as Louis "Lou" Harper
*Barbara Rhoades
Barbara Rhoades (born March 23, 1946) is an American actress, known primarily for her comedy and mystery roles, especially as lady bandit Penelope "Bad Penny" Cushings in ''The Shakiest Gun in the West'' (1968). She had a recurring role on ''Soap ...
as Maggie Gallagher
* Dennis Burkley as Sam Dickey
*Nedra Volz
Nedra Volz (née Gordonier; June 18, 1908 – January 20, 2003) was an American actress. In television, she portrayed Aunt Iola on ''All in the Family'', Adelaide Brubaker on '' Diff'rent Strokes'', Emma Tisdale on ''The Dukes of Hazzard'', ...
as Pinky Nolan
*Darian Mathias as Rita Zefferelli
Episodes
References
External links
*
1979 American television series debuts
1979 American television series endings
1970s American sitcoms
CBS original programming
1970s American college television series
English-language television shows
Television series by Sony Pictures Television
Television shows filmed in Toronto
Television series created by Norman Lear
Television shows set in Connecticut
{{US-comedy-tv-prog-stub