The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences hosted "Funnybone of the '80s" last night with the cast and creators of some of the great sitcoms of the 1980s— Cheers, Designing Women, Murphy Brown, and Night Court.
The Archive spoke to a few of the guests on the press line, including cast members Ted Danson (Cheers), Kelsey Grammer (Cheers), Joe Regalbuto (Murphy Brown), and Charles Robinson (Night Court).
Glen & Les Charles (along with James Burrows) are best known for creating the classic sitcom Cheers. Their 8-part Archive of American Televison Interview is now available for viewing online. The Charles brothers were interviewed separately about their early years and influences and jointly about their contributions to television as writer-producers. "Take a break from all your worries" and click here to access their complete interview.
Interview description:
The writing-partner brothers talked about their early years growing up near Las Vegas, Nevada and their decision in the mid-70s to try their hand at freelance writing for television. They talked about selling their first script (to M*A*S*H) and their break into staff writing at MTM Productions where they worked as writer-producers on Phyllis and the final season of The Bob Newhart Show. They talked about other writing assignments on such series as The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Betty White Show. They detailed working with the cast and crew on the hit series Taxi, for which they produced (and wrote for) the ABC run [the show would run a final season on NBC]. The two chronicled their creation (with James Burrows) of the series Cheers for which they served as producers and later executive producers during the show’s entire eleven year run. The interview was conducted by Gary Rutkowski on December 8, 2003.
Will & Grace (& Jack & Karen) are throwing their last barb/insult/witticism/pie-in-the-face this week. Not only will fans miss the talented ensemble (all four of whom won Emmy Awards), but also the guest shots by "it" list celebrities that together resemble a merger of Elton John's and Vanity Fair's Oscar parties.
Amazingly, every one of the nearly 200 "Will & Grace" episodes were directed by one person — legendary sitcom creator/director James Burrows. Burrows was interviewed by the Archive of American Television and talked about his experiences directing "Will & Grace" as well as such career highlights as "Taxi," "Cheers," and "Friends."
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Labels:
"Cheers",
"Taxi",
"Will and Grace"
VIDEO LINKS CAN BE ACCESSED HERE: http://emmytvlegends.org/interviews
