''The Tony Randall Show'' is an American television

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 ...

that aired on ABC during its first season from September 23, 1976, to March 10, 1977, and on CBS for its second (and final) season from September 24, 1977, to March 25, 1978.

Synopsis

The series starred

Tony Randall Anthony Leonard Randall (born Aryeh Leonard Rosenberg; February 26, 1920 – May 17, 2004) was an American actor. He is best known for portraying the role of Felix Unger in a television adaptation of the 1965 play '' The Odd Couple'' by Neil Si ...

as Walter Franklin, a middle-aged widowed judge, and took place in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

. The show followed the reserved Franklin dealing with being a single parent, raising his teenage daughter, Roberta (

Devon Scott Devon Patricia Scott (born November 29, 1958) is a former American actress and daughter of actor/producer George C. Scott. She starred in the first season of ''The Tony Randall Show'', which ran from 1976 to 1978; she was replaced for the seco ...

) and preteen son, Oliver (

Brad Savage Brad Savage (born December 9, 1965) is an American actor and singer best known for his role as Danny in the 1984 movie ''Red Dawn'', for which he received a nomination for the Young Artist Award in the category "Best Young Supporting Actor in a ...

). At times he also had to play surrogate parent to his daffy English housekeeper ( Rachel Roberts), whose inedible cooking was a frequent source of humor. At work, Judge Franklin had to contend with his stuffy and acerbic secretary, Miss Janet Reubner ( Allyn Ann McLerie), and his court reporter, Jack Terwilliger (

Barney Martin Barney Martin (March 3, 1923 – March 21, 2005) was an American actor, best known for playing Morty Seinfeld, father of Jerry, on the sitcom ''Seinfeld'' (1991-1998). He also played supporting roles in Mel Brooks' '' The Producers'' (1967), ...

), as well as presiding over court cases. Actor

Zane Lasky The name Zane may be a given name or a surname. Its western usage derives from the Venetian form of ''Gianni'' or an alternate spelling of the German and Jewish name ''Zahn''. An Arabic name Zain, Zayn, or as it is often anglicized Zane, is an Arab ...

played the recurring role of Mario Lanza, an annoying, nerdy, overbearing assistant who irritated Judge Franklin, but who kept getting rehired by Miss Reubner. Another recurring role was played by

Diana Muldaur Diana Muldaur (born August 19, 1938) is an American film and television actress. Muldaur's television roles include Rosalind Shays on '' L.A. Law'' and Dr. Katherine Pulaski in the second season of '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''. She als ...

, who appeared as Judge Franklin's love interest, Judge Eleanor Hooper.

Annette O'Toole Annette O'Toole (born Annette Toole; April 1, 1952) is an American actress. She is known for portraying Lisa Bridges in the television series ''Nash Bridges'', Beverly Marsh in the 1990 television mini-series adaptation of Stephen King's epic hor ...

played the role of Melissa (Oliver's teacher, to whom Walter was attracted) in two episodes, one in each season. In the show's second season, Devon Scott was replaced in the role of Roberta by Penny Peyser, and

Hans Conried Hans Georg Conried Jr. (April 15, 1917 – January 5, 1982) was an American actor and comedian. He was known for providing the voices of George Darling and Captain Hook in Walt Disney's ''Peter Pan'' (1953), Snidely Whiplash in Jay Ward's '' Dud ...

joined the cast in the occasional recurring role of Walter's irascible father Wyatt. Towards the very end of the series run, Walter began teaching a night class in law;

Michael Keaton Michael John Douglas (born September 5, 1951), known professionally as Michael Keaton, is an American actor. He is known for his various comedic and dramatic film roles, including Jack Butler in ''Mr. Mom'' (1983), Betelgeuse in '' Beetlejuice'' ...

was seen as Zeke Zacharias, one of Water's students, in two late-running episodes. The show was produced by MTM Enterprises and aired for one season on ABC. For its second season, the series moved to CBS where it aired for one more season before being canceled. Writer/producer Gary David Goldberg discusses behind-the-scenes stories in his autobiography, ''Sit, Ubu, Sit''.

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (1976–77)

Season 2 (1977–78)

Award nominations

External links

* 1976 American television series debuts 1978 American television series endings 1970s American legal television series 1970s American workplace comedy television series 1970s American sitcoms American Broadcasting Company original programming CBS original programming Television series about families Television series by MTM Enterprises Television shows set in Philadelphia Television series created by Tom Patchett {{US-comedy-tv-prog-stub