Author Topic: Pat Harrington Jr...... (Read 9841 times)

aaron sica · « **on:** February 01, 2006, 11:46:49 AM »

So I caught the tail end of the last ep of the week of MG'74 last night, with Pat Harrington Jr. on the panel. "One Day at a Time" was around a year away from premiering. What was his claim to fame in '74? IMDB lists minor roles, but nothing that answered my question...

SRIV94 · « **Reply #1 on:** February 01, 2006, 11:57:07 AM »

[quote name=\'aaron sica\' date=\'Feb 1 2006, 10:46 AM\']So I caught the tail end of the last ep of the week of MG'74 last night, with Pat Harrington Jr. on the panel. "One Day at a Time" was around a year away from premiering. What was his claim to fame in '74? IMDB lists minor roles, but nothing that answered my question...

[snapback]109189[/snapback]

[/quote]
Rayburn mentioned something about him having a recurring role on OWEN MARSHALL: ATTORNEY AT LAW (Harrington mentioned that he was the losing attorney every third week or so). Boy, was he a bad MG player, though.

Weren't Harrington and Rayburn both part of Steve Allen's crew?

Doug -- and the countdown to 1800 continues

uncamark · « **Reply #2 on:** February 01, 2006, 02:25:25 PM »

[quote name=\'SRIV94\' date=\'Feb 1 2006, 10:57 AM\']Weren't Harrington and Rayburn both part of Steve Allen's crew?

[snapback]109190[/snapback]

[/quote]

They were--Harrington played Italian golf pro Guido Panzini in the Man on the Street sketches and Rayburn was both the "Tonight" show and Sunday night show announcer.

Among his "Tonight" duties was anchoring a straight newscast every evening (when some at NBC wanted "Tonight" to be more like the "Today" show). Those of us who mainly know him from "MG" might found that astounding by itself.

Matt Ottinger · « **Reply #3 on:** February 01, 2006, 04:22:52 PM »

Getting the part of Schneider on One Day At A Time was definitely a huge bump in his career, but he was one of those always-working actors whose face was familiar, even if his resume wasn't. It's safe to assume that he and Rayburn were friendly from their Steve Allen days, and that might have helped him get a spot on the panel.

Fun on-topic facts: Harrington was on the panel of Jackie Gleason's notorious flop, You're In The Picture. He was also the original host of the Pantomime Quiz revival Stump the Stars (oddly, that's not mentioned on his IMDB listing) before Mike Stokey decided he'd rather go back to hosting his baby. Harrington also played the quiz bowl moderator in Disney's The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes. OK, I'm done now.

aaron sica · « **Reply #4 on:** February 01, 2006, 04:33:05 PM »

Continuing about Pat....

His trademark mustache (or should I say, "Schneider's" trademark mustache) I only ever saw on "One Day At a Time". I never saw him with it when on game shows, or any other show for that matter - was it just for his character?

For fans of ODaaT (like me), Comcast now has the first 6 episodes of the show available On Demand. The show also sticks in my mind because it was CBS's last 3:30pm (EST) offering before GL moved to the 3-4 timeslot (from 2:30-3:30) in February 1980.

ObGameShow: MG also aired at 3:30pm for a good bit of its run.

BrandonFG · « **Reply #5 on:** February 01, 2006, 05:08:52 PM »

[quote name=\'aaron sica\' date=\'Feb 1 2006, 04:33 PM\']Continuing about Pat....

His trademark mustache (or should I say, "Schneider's" trademark mustache) I only ever saw on "One Day At a Time". I never saw him with it when on game shows, or any other show for that matter - was it just for his character?

[snapback]109213[/snapback]

[/quote]
{Zach mode}Seems like it...he was clean-shaven when he appeared on Blackout as well. He did a Roseanne guest shot in the mid-90s and still had it, but played himself.{/Zach mode}

Robert Hutchinson · « **Reply #6 on:** February 01, 2006, 06:40:57 PM »

I could post another Stoopid Game Show Connection for Mr. Harrington, but it would require admitting that I watch Yes, Dear.

FOXSportsFan · « **Reply #7 on:** February 01, 2006, 08:00:25 PM »

[quote name=\'Robert Hutchinson\' date=\'Feb 1 2006, 06:40 PM\']I could post another Stoopid Game Show Connection for Mr. Harrington, but it would require admitting that I watch Yes, Dear.

[snapback]109231[/snapback]

[/quote]

How the hell that show got a reprieve and to 100 episodes and to syndication and the like is one of God's many miracles.

tvwxman · « **Reply #8 on:** February 01, 2006, 09:00:23 PM »

[quote name=\'FOXSportsFan\' date=\'Feb 1 2006, 08:00 PM\'][quote name=\'Robert Hutchinson\' date=\'Feb 1 2006, 06:40 PM\']I could post another Stoopid Game Show Connection for Mr. Harrington, but it would require admitting that I watch Yes, Dear.

[snapback]109231[/snapback]

[/quote]

How the hell that show got a reprieve and to 100 episodes and to syndication and the like is one of God's many miracles.

[snapback]109237[/snapback]

[/quote]

Easy answer : The show is owned by the network. If the show is owned by the network, it has a much better chance of getting to the magic 100 eps, if the show is MARGINALLY good (and cheap. cheap helps too.). Because syndication is the promised land for sitcoms.

sshuffield70 · « **Reply #9 on:** February 02, 2006, 09:44:31 AM »

Harrington was also well known in animation in the same role as Peter Sellers and, now, Steve Martin.

SRIV94 · « **Reply #10 on:** February 02, 2006, 11:31:51 AM »

[quote name=\'sshuffield70\' date=\'Feb 2 2006, 08:44 AM\']Harrington was also well known in animation in the same role as Peter Sellers and, now, Steve Martin.

[snapback]109262[/snapback]

[/quote]
Don't say "sí," say "oui."

Harrington also voiced the Inspector's sidekick--Sergeant Deux-Deux.

Doug -- and the countdown to 1800 continues

Don Howard · « **Reply #11 on:** February 02, 2006, 11:39:08 AM »

[quote name=\'SRIV94\' date=\'Feb 1 2006, 11:57 AM\']Rayburn mentioned something about him having a recurring role on OWEN MARSHALL: ATTORNEY AT LAW (Harrington mentioned that he was the losing attorney every third week or so).

[snapback]109190[/snapback]

[/quote]
Indeed so. One of the non-winning counselors he rotated with was Gilligan's Island professor Russell Johnson.
As for the moustache, yays, twas fake. In a series of commercials Pat did for HOT CAR which ran in Cleveland (and quite likely many other cities) during the early 1980s, he played himself [without the 'stache] and as the Schneider character [with said 'stache]--sometimes in the same spot.

uncamark · « **Reply #12 on:** February 02, 2006, 12:19:21 PM »

[quote name=\'tvwxman\' date=\'Feb 1 2006, 08:00 PM\'][quote name=\'FOXSportsFan\' date=\'Feb 1 2006, 08:00 PM\'][quote name=\'Robert Hutchinson\' date=\'Feb 1 2006, 06:40 PM\']I could post another Stoopid Game Show Connection for Mr. Harrington, but it would require admitting that I watch Yes, Dear.

[snapback]109231[/snapback]

[/quote]

How the hell that show got a reprieve and to 100 episodes and to syndication and the like is one of God's many miracles.

[snapback]109237[/snapback]

[/quote]

Easy answer : The show is owned by the network. If the show is owned by the network, it has a much better chance of getting to the magic 100 eps, if the show is MARGINALLY good (and cheap. cheap helps too.). Because syndication is the promised land for sitcoms.

[snapback]109240[/snapback]

[/quote]

*Partially* owned by the network--Twentieth-Century Fox is the other owner. And unfortunately for CBS, when they tossed the coin 20th got the more lucrative (for sitcoms) domestic syndication rights. CBS Paramount only has the far less lucrative overseas rights.

In the end, "Yes, Dear" is one of those shows that enough people find unobjectionable enough that its afterlife will far surpass the trendy shows that critics and Internet message posters obsess over but don't get the Nielsen numbers. Despite the 500-channel universe, Paul Klein's Least Objectionable Program theory still has some traction--and "Yes, Dear" and "According to Jim" will be on prime time on NAN ten years from now while "Scrubs" and "Arrested Development" only exist on whatever replaces DVDs.

ObGameShow: No ifs, ands or buts, Mike O'Malley's got Guts! Do you have it?

BrandonFG · « **Reply #13 on:** February 02, 2006, 06:06:02 PM »

[quote name=\'uncamark\' date=\'Feb 2 2006, 12:19 PM\']Despite the 500-channel universe, Paul Klein's Least Objectionable Program theory still has some traction--and "Yes, Dear" and "According to Jim" will be on prime time on NAN ten years from now while "Scrubs" and "Arrested Development" only exist on whatever replaces DVDs.

[snapback]109266[/snapback]

[/quote]
"Yes Dear" is tolerable...I'll even say it has it's moments (such as that Speed Dating episode)...plus, I give Greg Garcia credit for writing some "Family Guy" episodes and coming up with "My Name is Earl".

However, "According to Jim"=someone either made a deal with the devil or had some pictures involving farm animals.

Robert Hutchinson · « **Reply #14 on:** February 02, 2006, 08:12:53 PM »

Subtract all the stupid sitcom plots and irritating husband-wife bickering from the show, and the 20 or 30 percent of Yes, Dear that's left is pretty funny, IMO. (FTR, Pat appeared on the show, as himself, as an impromptu narrator of a wedding video, and all of his dialogue was with Mike O'Malley's character, IIRC. PDQ, AFTRA, SOL.)

. . .
*coughLizaSnyderdoesn'thurteithercough*