Fridays

This article is about the television program Fridays. For the day of the week, please see Friday.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Fridays was the name of ABC's weekly late-night hour-long live comedy show, which aired on Friday nights from 1980 to 1982.

Related Topics:
ABC - 1980 - 1982

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The program was ABC's attempt to cash in on the success of NBC's popular Saturday Night Live. Like SNL, each week, Fridays featured a different celebrity guest host, fake newscasts, musical guests and cast members performing comedy sketches, and spoofs of television shows and commercials.

Related Topics:
NBC - Saturday Night Live

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The cast included Mark Blankfield, Maryedith Burrell, Melanie Chartoff, Larry David, Darrow Igus, Brandis Kemp, Bruce Mahler, Michael Richards, and John Roarke. In addition, staff writer Rich Hall appeared in some segments on the series, but he was not a regular cast member. Head writer/producer Jack Burns also occasionally appeared.

Related Topics:
Mark Blankfield - Maryedith Burrell - Melanie Chartoff - Larry David - Darrow Igus - Brandis Kemp - Bruce Mahler - Michael Richards - John Roarke - Rich Hall - Jack Burns

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Blankfield and Kemp (who were husband and wife) were recruited from Low Moan Spectacular, a comedy group which had briefly been considered as a ready-made cast for the series. Mahler - a gifted pianist and violinist - made several bizarre appearances on TV before joining the Fridays cast, including performances on The Gong Show and Fernwood 2Nite. Igus had co-starred in an obscure CBS series called Roll Out, and had also appeared in the motion picture Car Wash. Chartoff had been a cast member on the soap opera Search For Tomorrow in 1976, and had also appeared in 1978's American Hot Wax. Burrell had been a member of a well-known L.A. comedy improv group, The Groundlings, which had also launched the careers of Paul Rubens, Robin Williams, and Phil Hartman, to name a few. For his part, Roarke had performed comedy in Boston. Larry David - who specialized in angry characters - was discovered at Catch a Rising Star in New York City, and Michael Richards was discovered similarly; at The Improv in Los Angeles.

Related Topics:
Low Moan Spectacular - The Gong Show - Fernwood 2Nite - Roll Out - Car Wash - Search For Tomorrow - 1976 - 1978 - American Hot Wax - The Groundlings - Paul Rubens - Robin Williams - Phil Hartman - Catch a Rising Star - The Improv

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The humor of the show differed from Saturday Night Live inasmuch as it included even more references to drugs than the NBC series, included more political humor, and was frequently more experimental than Saturday Night Live probably felt it could afford to be.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

One of the most memorable moments on the show was an evening when comedian Andy Kaufman was hosting the show. During one sketch, about couples at dinner sneaking away to the bathroom one by one to smoke marijuana, Kaufman, who loved causing trouble on live TV, broke character and refused to read his lines. Richards got up from the table, grabbed the cue cards and threw them down on the table in front of Kaufman, who responded by throwing a glass of water on Richards. Some of the show's cast and crew members became angry and a small brawl broke out on stage. Since the show was broadcast live, home viewers were able to see most of these events transpire on their television screens until the network cut the cameras off. Kaufman returned the following week in a taped apology to home viewers. This incident was recreated in the 1999 film Man On The Moon. Richards admitted several years later that the entire episode had been planned in advance.

Related Topics:
Comedian - Andy Kaufman - Live TV - 1999 - Man On The Moon

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The series ended in 1982 following ABC's decision to expand Nightline to five nights a week, which forced Fridays to air at midnight instead of its first season timeslot of 11:30. Although by the end of its first season Fridays was outperforming Saturday Night Live in the ratings (admittedly at a time when Saturday Night Lives ratings were practically at their nadir), the later timeslot badly hurt the show during its second season. One final attempt was made by ABC to save the show by putting it on in primetime. However, the one episode which was broadcast in primetime was scheduled against Dallas, which was then one of the most popular TV shows in the country. Predictably, the ratings for this primetime episode were dismal. This episode - broadcast on April 23, 1982 - was the last of the series.

Related Topics:
Nightline - Dallas

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Chartoff, David, and Richards are today the most active and successful ex-members of the cast. Larry David would, a few years after the end of Fridays, go on to help create Seinfeld, one of the most popular television shows in American history. Michael Richards became one of the stars of that show with his performance as "Cosmo Kramer." Other former Fridays cast members also turned up occasionally. Bruce Mahler made four appearances on the show as "Rabbi Glickman," Maryedith Burrell appeared twice, and Melanie Chartoff also appeared twice. In addition, former Fridays writers Larry Charles, Elaine Pope and Bruce Kirschbaum later became writers for Seinfeld. Today Larry David stars in the very successful Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Related Topics:
Seinfeld - American - Larry Charles - Elaine Pope - Bruce Kirschbaum - Curb Your Enthusiasm

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Following the demise of Fridays Michael Richards played small roles on TV and in movies, most notably in 1989's UHF. Following the end of Seinfeld - for which he won three Emmy Awards - Richards starred in a short-lived sitcom, 2000's The Michael Richards Show, in which he played detective Vic Nardozza. He is known to be a 33rd degree Scottish Rite Freemason.

Related Topics:
UHF - Emmy Awards - The Michael Richards Show - Freemason

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Melanie Chartoff co-starred for three seasons in the early '90s TV series Parker Lewis Can't Lose and today is a very successful voice actor (best known for her work on Rugrats) and acting coach, also doing theatre and TV work. Chartoff's many male fans will be happy to know that, despite now being nearly 60, recent photographs show her to be a woman who appears to be a good 15 years younger.

Related Topics:
Parker Lewis Can't Lose - Rugrats

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

John Roarke - a skilled impressionist and celebrity impersonator - is active as an entertainer at corporate functions, and still occasionally works on TV and in the movies. Ironically, one of the characters who he impersonates is Richards' Kramer character on Seinfeld.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bruce Mahler retired from acting in 2001 to focus on his Florida-based production company, and was an assistant production manager on Bruce Almighty and Freddy vs. Jason.

Related Topics:
Bruce Almighty - Freddy vs. Jason

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Blankfield, Kemp, Burrell, and Igus have continued appearing on TV and in movies in recent years; mostly in small roles.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

No DVDs have been released yet from the series; reportedly because Michael Richards was the only cast member who had the right to approve any home video releases from the series written into his contract. To date he hasn't signed off on a DVD release, though some clips of Richards on Fridays appear on the Seinfeld Season Three DVD.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Edited episodes of Fridays appeared on the USA Network later in the 1980s, but the series has not been aired since then.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

No reunion of the Fridays cast has ever occured. The closest thing to a reunion to date was the 1998 series finale of Seinfeld in which Richards, Chartoff, Mahler, and Burrell all appeared, and which David directed.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

There have occasionally been vague rumors over the years that ABC has sometimes considered reviving the series with a new cast. However, this seems extremely unlikely given the series' short original run, the difficult ratings, and the continued run of Nightline.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Recurring sketches and characters

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• "Drugs 'R' Us" Blankfield as a strung-out pharmacist who apparently samples his own goods liberally. Catch Phrase: "I can handle it!"
• "Nat E. Dred- Rasta Gourmet" Darrow Igus prepares- and smokes- food items heavily dosed with 'ganja.'
• "Battle Boy" Michael Richards as a hyperkinetic young boy who stages elaborate war scenarios in his backyard with toy soldiers.
• "Dick" Michael Richards as an overzealous would-be ladies' man.
• "Pitkinville, Montana" Rich Hall narrates footage of a fictional small town of tiny model people, usually at the mercy of household implements such as an electric hair dryer simulating a hurricane.
• "Latin DJ" Bruce Mahler fills time between records by reading radio commercials entirely in Spanish.
• "The Three Stooges" Bruce Mahler, Larry David, and John Roarke portray the antics of Moe, Larry, and Curly as being the result of the consumption of massive amounts of drugs. Reportedly these sketches were halted when Moe Howard's family threatened to sue.
• "Live and Be Well" Bruce Mahler and Larry David as two particularly earnest rabbis co-hosting a TV show. Mahler's "Rabbi Glickman" character on Seinfeld was essentially a reprise of his character in these sketches.
• "Howdy Doody" A running gag on Fridays was that Howdy Doody was such a huge star that he could always jump the line ahead of anyone at restaurants and nightclubs, no matter how famous they were; Frank Sinatra, for instance. Kramer's "Right this way, Mr. Doody" in an early Seinfeld episode was Michael Richards' tribute to this now-obscure running gag.

Memorable sketches aired only once

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• "Diner of the Living Dead" A couple visits a diner run by and catering to zombies, who are seen eating human body parts and killing a living human with what seems to be a chainsaw in the diner's kitchen. The sketch was so offensive to some viewers that an apology was made on the following week's show by Chartoff, and it was removed from subsequent airings. Six ABC affiliates also pulled the series from their schedules as a result of the sketch.
• "The Ronny Horror Picture Show" A sprawling 17-minute send-up of the incoming Reagan administration based on The Rocky Horror Picture Show. In the sketch Reagan (played by John Roarke in Dr. Frank N. Furter drag) plans on creating the ultimate Republican, but inadvertantly creates an angry black militant (played by Igus) instead. To this day many consider this sketch to have been the series' tour de force. However, like "Diner of the Living Dead," the sketch was only aired once due to a complaint from Lou Adler, the producer of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Memorable Musical Guests

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Although Saturday Night Live had featured a number of punk rock and new wave acts in its first few seasons, Fridays took that ball and ran with it. Acts which appeared on Fridays included:

Related Topics:
Punk rock - New wave

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• The Clash in their debut American TV performance.
• The Jam
• The Boomtown Rats
• The Plasmatics
• Rockpile
• Devo
• King Crimson
• The Stray Cats
• The Busboys
• The Pretenders
• The Cars
 
Fridays: External links ►