Monday, December 03, 2018

Comedy Central Orders Awkwafina Comedy; Remembering Ken Berry of F Troop, Mayberry R.F.D. and Mama's Family

Comedy Central

Comedy Central is working with ascendant multi-hyphenate Awkwafina, as the #1 brand in comedy ordered 10 episodes of her self-titled scripted series. Awkwafina is a half-hour scripted narrative starring writer, actor and rapper Awkwafina (Ocean's 8, Crazy Rich Asians) as a twenty-something living in Queens, striving for a larger than life existence while living with her father and grandmother. Awkwafina, Karey Dornetto (SMILF, Portlandia) and Teresa Hsiao (Family Guy, American Dad) wrote the pilot directed by Lucia Aniello (Broad City, Rough Night). The cast is rounded out by Bowen Yang as Awkwafina's more successful cousin, BD Wong as her father, and Lori Tan Chinn as her grandmother.

Looking ahead, Comedy Central has a stacked year to offer fans with a programming slate that will feature new and returning series including: the premieres of scripted half-hour series Robbie, The Other Two and South Side; sketch-comedy series Alternatino with Arturo Castro; stand-up series This Week at the Comedy Cellar and The New Negroes; new series from Jordan Klepper and Anthony Jeselnik; along with the final season of Broad City, the return of the critically acclaimed Corporate, and new seasons of The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Tosh.0, Drunk History, The Jim Jefferies Show and much, much more.


Ken Berry

Actor Ken Berry, who starred in F Troop, Mayberry R.F.D. and Mama's Family, has died. He died on December 1 in Burbank, California. Mr. Berry was 85.

Berry's early television guest appearances included Talent Patrol, Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts, Playboy's Penthouse and Harrigan and Son. He had a recurring role as Woody, a bellhop at a New York hotel called the Bartley House, in the CBS sitcom The Ann Sothern Show from 1960 to 1961. He appeared in seven episodes of Ensign O'Toole as Calucci / Lt. Melton from 1962 to 1963. Some of his other 1960s sitcom guest appearances included The Jim Backus Show, Peter Loves Mary, Hennesey, The Gertrude Berg Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show (two episodes), Hazel, No Time for Sergeants (three episodes), The Lucy Show and The Andy Griffith Show (four episodes as Sam Jones).

F Troop

His first sitcom starring role was as Captain Wilton Parmenter in the 1965-1967 ABC sitcom F Troop. He was the gallant although laughably clumsy military governor of the territory and commander of Fort Courage. The series, which ran for two seasons, also starred Forrest Tucker, Larry Storch, Melody Patterson, Frank de Kova, Don Diamond, James Hampton, Bob Steele and Joe Brooks.

Mayberry R.F.D.

He appeared in the last few episodes of The Andy Griffith Show as Sam Jones, a widowed farmer with a young son, in 1968. Berry continued to play the character in the spin-off series Mayberry R.F.D., which premiered on CBS on September 23, 1968. It ran for three seasons and 78 episodes until the rural purge of 1971. The series also starred Frances Bavier (1968-1970), George Lindsay, Jack Dodson, Paul Hartman, Arlene Golonka, Buddy Foster and Alice Ghostley.

Berry had a long working relationship with Carol Burnett. He made 19 guest appearances on The Carol Burnett Show from 1968 to 1978. They appeared together in the 1972 CBS color remake of Burnett's Broadway hit, Once Upon a Mattress. He played Phillip, Eunice's brother, in the 1982 CBS TV movie Eunice, which was based on The Carol Burnett Show sketch, The Family.

Mama's Family

He starred as Vinton Harper in Mama's Family, which was a spin-off from The Carol Burnett Show. Vinton was the youngest of Thelma Harper's three children. He was married to Naomi Oates Harper. The series aired for two seasons on NBC from 1983 to 1984 and four seasons in first-run syndication from 1986 to 1990. It starred Vicki Lawrence, Rue McClanahan (1983-1984), Dorothy Lyman, Eric Brown (1983-1984), Karin Argoud (1983-1984), Betty White (1983-1984, 1986), Allan Kayser (1986-1990) and Beverly Archer (1986-1990).

Some of his other sitcom guest appearances included Love, American Style, The Brady Bunch, The Love Boat, Gimme a Break!, Small Wonder, The Golden Girls and Maggie Winters.

He appeared in television dramas. He provided comic relief as Dr. John Kapish in 25 episodes of Dr. Kildare, which starred Richard Chamberlain, from 1961 to 1964. Some of his drama guest appearances included Michael Shayne, General Electric Theatre, Mr. Novak, Burke's Law, Combat!, The Rogues, Rawhide, 12 O'Clock High, Medical Center, Ellery Queen, The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams, Little House on the Prairie, CHiPs and Fantasy Island.

Some of his film credits included the 1969 musical comedy Hello Down There, Guardian of the Wilderness and Disney's Herbie Rides Again and The Cat from Outer Space.

Berry was also an accomplished dancer and singer. He appeared on Broadway in The Billy Barnes Revue and headlined as George M. Cohan in the musical George M!. Some of his other theater credits included The Music Man, I Do! I Do!, Sugar and 1993's From the Top with Carol Burnett. In 1970, he released an album called Ken Berry RFD. He appeared in two episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show in 1964 as dance instructor Tony Daniels. He had his own short-lived summer musical variety series called The Ken Berry "Wow" Show on ABC in 1972. He worked as a choreographer on several episodes of Mama's Family.

He was interviewed for the Archive of American Television for The Interviews: An Oral History of Television on March 7, 2012.

Mr. Berry was a man of many talents as an actor, dancer and singer. He stated in interviews that he was most proud of his work on F Troop, but he made everything he appeared in much better. He just seemed like a genuine, likable man. We thank him for the many laughs and hours of entertainment that he brought us during his long career. He will be greatly missed.

Share your memories on our F Troop, Mayberry R.F.D. and Mama's Family message boards. View photos in our galleries.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Tuesday, March 19

Night Court - "The Duke's a Hazard" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When Gurgs' royal boyfriend pays a surprise visit, she questions their compatibility; Dan defends his family's honor after he discovers a feud that dates back centuries.

Extended Family - "The Consequences of Being Irish" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
When Jim learns of Trey's St. Patrick's Day fundraiser plans, he offers his expertise in an effort to save Trey and the Celtics from embarrassment.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 18)

Tuesday, March 19

  • Tracy Morgan (The Last O.G./30 Rock/The Tracy Morgan Show) - Catch Tracy on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Leslie Bibb (Palm Royale/God's Favorite Idiot/American Housewife/The Odd Couple/About a Boy) - Leslie appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Brendan Hunt (Ted Lasso), Marc Maron (GLOW/Maron) and Zainab Johnson (Upload) - Brendan, Marc and Zainab are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Hilary Swank (Camp Wilder) - NBC's Today catches up with Hilary in the 10am hour.
  • The cast of Girls5eva) - Busy Philipps, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Paula Pell and Sara Bareilles are guests on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
  • Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family/The Class) - Jesse talks about his podcast Dinner's On Me on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
  • Annie Potts (Young Sheldon/Over the Top/Love & War/Designing Women/Goodtime Girls) - Annie talks about her legendary career and new film, Ghostbuster: Frozen Empire, on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
  • Joe Manganiello (How I Met Your Mother) - Joe stops by Tamron hall to chat about hosting the new Deal or No Deal Island, so check your local listings.


New on DVD/Blu-ray (November-March)

Leave it to Beaver - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Father Knows Best - The Complete Series The Odd Couple - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Three's Company - The Official 40th Anniversary Collection Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

11/07 - South Park - The Complete Twenty-Sixth Season (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/14 - Leave it to Beaver - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/05 - Father Knows Best - The Complete Series
12/05 - The Odd Couple - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/12 - The Dick Van Dyke Show - The Complete Series
12/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
12/12 - That Girl - The Complete Series
12/15 - Letterkenny - Season 11
12/19 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series
12/22 - Three's Company - The Official 40th Anniversary Collection (includes The Ropers and Three's a Crowd)
01/09 - South Park - Seasons 11-15 (Blu-ray)
01/16 - Ghosts (UK) - Season Five
02/13 - Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/27 - The Really Loud House - Season One
03/12 - Ghosts (UK) - The Complete Series
03/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 3 (Blu-ray)
03/12 - Rick and Morty - Season 7 (Blu-ray Steelbook) (Blu-ray) (DVD)

That Girl - The Complete Series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD Releases / DVD Reviews Archive / SitcomsOnline Digest


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