''Short Ribbs'' is a weekly local

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...

program that was broadcast in the Orange County /

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

area on

KDOC-TV KDOC-TV (channel 56) is a religious television station licensed to Anaheim, California, United States, serving the Los Angeles area as an owned-and-operated station of Tri-State Christian Television (TCT). The station maintains studios on East F ...

. Featuring a midget and dwarf cast, The show starred veteran actor

Billy Barty Billy Barty (born William John Bertanzetti; October 25, 1924 – December 23, 2000) was an American actor and activist. In adult life, he stood tall, due to cartilage–hair hypoplasia dwarfism. Because of his short stature, he was often cast i ...

, whose production company produced the program. The format of ''Short Ribbs'' was similar to

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

, featuring take-offs of TV shows and commercials. The series was sponsored by

7 Up 7 Up (stylized as 7UP worldwide) or Seven Up is an American brand of Lemon-lime drink, lemon-lime–flavored non-caffeinated soft drink. The brand and formula are owned by Keurig Dr Pepper, although the beverage is internationally distributed ...

, and first aired on KDOC-TV on Saturday night, September 23, 1989, at 8:30 pm, running for 13 episodes.

Court case

While the program is relatively obscure outside of Southern California, it is known for the court case that followed the following year. In 1990, Barty was sued in small claims court by two of the writers of ''Short Ribbs'', producer and writer William Winckler, and writer Warren Taylor. Winckler and Taylor filed separate lawsuits against Barty for money owed, and Barty lost both cases. News of Barty losing in small claims court made headlines all over the world, with lead stories such as ''Barty Comes Up Short in Small Claims'', and other such puns. Barty claimed the lawsuit news was the most negative publicity he ever got, and compared it to similar bad press

Zsa Zsa Gabor Zsa Zsa Gabor ( , ; born Sári Gábor ; February 6, 1917 – December 18, 2016) was a Hungarian Americans, Hungarian-American socialite and actress. Her sisters were socialites and actresses Eva Gabor and Magda Gabor. Gabor competed in the ...

received for slapping a

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...

police officer.Los Angeles Times: "SHORT TAKES : Barty to Pay; Claims Victory"
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References

External links

* 1989 American television series debuts 1989 American television series endings 1980s American satirical television series 1980s American sketch comedy television series 1980s American variety television series American English-language television shows Local comedy television series in the United States {{US-comedy-tv-prog-stub