Thursday, October 11, 2012

Remembering Webster's Alex Karras; First Cancelation of Fall 2012: CBS Drama Made in Jersey

Alex Karras

Actor and former NFL player Alex Karras, who starred as George Papadapolis in Webster, has died. Karras died at his Los Angeles, California home in the morning hours on October 10 of complications from kidney failure. He had suffered from a variety of health problems in recent years, including dementia, heart disease and stomach cancer. Mr. Karras was 77.

Karras' acting career begain in 1968 when he played himself in the film adaptation of Paper Lion. He made many television guest appearances in series such as Daniel Boone, Love American, Style, The Odd Couple, McMillian & Wife and M*A*S*H. In 1974, he played thug Mongo in the Mel Brooks' comedy film Blazing Saddles. His character knocks out a horse with a single punch in a memorable scene. He played Hans Brumbaugh in the 1978-1979 NBC miniseries Centennial. Karras' television movie credits included Hardcase, The 500 Pound Jerk, Babe (a 1975 biopic where he met his wife Susan Clark), Mad Bull, Jimmy B. & André, Alcatraz: The Whole Shocking Story, Masada and Made in America. His theatrical film credits included Victor Victoria, Porky's and Against All Odds.

Karras played the lovable George Papadapolis, a former professional football player turned sportscaster, in the hit sitcom Webster. The series was about a couple who adopts a recently orphaned 7-year-old child named Webster. Karras starred with his real-life wife Susan Clark and Emmanuel Lewis. ABC aired the series for four seasons from 1983-1987 before it moved into first-run syndication for the final two seasons from 1987-1989. A total of 150 episodes were produced. Karras and Clark were among the producers of the series through their Georgian Bay Entertainment production company.

He played college football at the University of Iowa from 1956-1957. Karras was a first team All-American in 1956. In 1957, he helped his team win the Rose Bowl and received the Outland Trophy for the best interior lineman. He finished as the runner-up in voting for the Heisman Trophy. The Detroit Lions drafted him 10th overall in the first round of the NFL draft in 1958. He was one of the most dominant defensive tackles in the league during his 12 seasons in the league from 1958-1962 and 1964-1970. Karras was named to Pro Bowl team four times in 1959, 1960, 1961 and 1965. He was also named to the 1960s All-Decade NFL team. Following the end of his career, he later worked on ABC's Monday Night Football broadcast team with Howard Cosell and Frank Gifford for three seasons from 1974-1976.

Karras' survivors include his wife, Susan Clark; his sons George, Alex Jr. and Peter; and daughter, Katie. He was a talented man on and off the field. While he was one of the most fearsome players in football, he was a gentle giant on screen as an actor. We loved his work on Webster. It's very sad that he had dealt with so many health problems in recent years. He will be greatly missed.

Share your memories of Alex Karras here. Visit our Webster fan site for all things Webster.


Made in Jersey

CBS has pulled its new Friday drama Made in Jersey after just two airings. This is the first official cancelation of the 2012-13 season. The drama only mustered a 0.8 adults 18-49 rating last Friday in week two, after premiering to just a 1.1 adults 18-49 rating the week prior. CBS will move CSI: NY to the hour effective immediately this Friday (Oct. 12). CSI: NY was airing in the 8pm hour and also was struggling. Drama repeats will air for the next three weeks at 8pm (NCIS on Oct. 12 and 26 and Hawaii Five-0 on Oct. 19). CBS will launch the new season of Undercover Boss on Friday, Nov. 2 at 8pm. It will be opposite Kitchen Nightmares on Fox in terms of reality, as ABC's Shark Tank will be moving to 9pm on that night.

No word if CBS will air the remaining episodes that were already in the can. It is not known how many were completed in production. The series starred Janet Montgomery, Erin Cummings, Kristoffer Polaha, Kyle MacLachlan, Megalyn Echikunwoke and Toni Trucks. Will more series that are struggling be pulled soon too? Some candidates include The Mob Doctor, Animal Practice, Partners and sophomore comedy Up All Night. Stay with us, and also stay with us for any full season pick-ups (that's what we like to tell you more about, of course)!


Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Saturday, April 1

Act Your Age - "Weekend At Bernie's" (Bounce TV, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Bernadette's childhood friends come to town, stirring up feelings of jealousy with Angela and Keisha; Olivia launches her new online platform.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 27)

Friday, March 31

  • Chris Pratt (Parks and Recreation) - Watch Chris on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. He also talks about The Super Mario Bros. Movie on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am and in the 9am hour.
  • Ike Barinholtz (History of the World, Part II/The Afterparty/Bless the Harts/The Mindy Project) - Ike appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Jamie Lee Curtis (Anything But Love/Operation Petticoat) - Jamie Lee is a guest on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) - Brooke appears on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • JoAnna Garcia Swisher (Animal Practice/Better with You/Reba) and Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - JoAnna and Morris guest co-host The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
  • Heather Graham (Californication/Emily's Reasons Why Not/Scrubs) - Heather appears on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
  • Katie Lowes (How We Roll) - Katie guest co-hosts LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
  • Kyra Sedgwick (Call Your Mother) - Kyra talks about Space Oddity on NBC's Today in the 10am hour. She will also be on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
  • John Owen Lowe (Unstable) - John is a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
  • Whitney Cummings (Whitney) - Whitney talks about her new OnlyFans comedy roast series Whitney Cummings Presents on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
  • Kym Whitley (Act Your Age/Young & Hungry/Animal Practice/Sparks) - Kym joins Sherri on the couch to talk about their NAACP Image Award-winning podcast Two Funny Mamas and her sitcom Act Your Age on Bounce TV on a repeat of Sherri, so check your local listings.
  • Leslie Odom Jr. (Love in the Time of Corona/Big Dady) and Nicolette Robinson (Love in the Time of Corona/Perfect Couples) - Leslie and Nicolette talk about I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
  • Christina Milian (Grandfathered) and Judy Reyes (Scrubs) - ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know spotlights Celia Cruz as first Afro-Latina on a U.S. quarter with family and celebrity guests Christina Milian, Amara La Negra and Judy Reyes at 1pm.


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

Frasier - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Ghosts - Season One Hogan's Heroes - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Ten Growing Pains - The Complete Series

11/08 - Frasier - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/08 - Young Rock - Season Two (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/15 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Seven / The Complete Season Eight
11/22 - That '70s Show - The Complete Series (Mill Creek)
11/29 - Ghosts - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
12/06 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - 70th Anniversary Ultimate Christmas Collection
12/13 - And Just Like That... - The Complete First Season
12/13 - Hogan's Heroes - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
01/03 - Andy Richter Controls the Universe - The Complete Series (2023 Release)
01/27 - Master of None - Season Three / The Complete Series
02/21 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Nine / The Complete Season Ten
02/28 - Growing Pains - The Complete Series
03/28 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD Releases / DVD Reviews Archive / SitcomsOnline Digest


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

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03/30 - Single Drunk Female Returns April 12; ABC's Not Dead Yet Premiere Scores Big in 35-Day Data
03/29 - Adult Swim Orders Season 2 of Royal Crackers; Game Show Network 2023 Upfront
03/28 - Platonic Gets Premiere Date on Apple TV+; SNL April Guest Hosts and Music Guests
03/27 - ABC Summer 2023 Schedule, Includes Return of The Wonder Years; HBO Max's Clone High Details
03/26 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 27, 2023)
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03/24 - Rewind TV Celebrates Mork & Mindy's 45th Anniversary on Earth Day; Disney's 6th Season of Raven's Home on April 9
03/23 - Antenna TV's Earth Day My Favorite Martian Marathon; Neil Patrick Harris Returns on How I Met Your Father
03/22 - Game Show Network Orders Tom Cavanagh Hosted Game Show; A Black Lady Sketch Show Returns for Season 4
03/21 - All That Stars to Reunite for Good Burger 2; Jim Belushi Returns For Another Season of Growing Belushi
03/20 - 2023 90s Con Recap in Hartford; Bel-Air Gets Season 3 on Peacock
03/19 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 20, 2023)
03/18 - SitcomsOnline Digest: New Sitcoms for Terry Crews and Wendi McLendon-Covey; Zachary Levi Holding Out Hope for Chuck Movie
03/17 - AXS TV Acquires The Monkees for Retro Night Block; HBO Max's The Other Two Returns in May
03/16 - Monk Returns with One Final Case on Peacock; John Mulaney Gets 3rd Netflix Comedy Special
03/15 - Apple TV+ Orders Comedy with Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey; CBS 2023 Season Finale Dates
03/14 - Disney+ Comedy American Born Chinese Premieres May 24; Tim Robinson Comedy to Return May 30 on Netflix
03/13 - New Girl Coming to Hulu and Peacock; Apple TV+ Renews Shrinking for Season 2
03/12 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 13, 2023)
03/11 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Beavis and Butt-Head Gets Second Season Renewal; Roles Cast in Bedrock Series
03/10 - Act Your Age Opens as Biggest Launch in Bounce History; Starz Comedy Blindspotting Returns April 14
03/09 - Mary Tyler Moore Film Premieres This May on HBO; Mike Judge's Beavis and Butt-Head Returns for Season 2
03/08 - HBO's Barry Returns April 16; Schmigadoon! Trailer for Season 2
03/07 - American Dad! Season 18 Premieres March 27; Hulu's Tiny Beautiful Things Launches April 7
03/06 - Antenna TV Spring 2023 Schedule; Rewind TV Spring 2023 Schedule
03/05 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 6, 2023)
03/04 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Rachael Ray to End After 17 Seasons; Fox Renews Krapopolis for Third Season
03/03 - The Thundermans Return; TMZ's New Game Show
03/02 - Fox Renews Krapopolis for Season 3; Disney Channel's New Comedy Saturdays
03/01 - HBO Max Chuck Lorre Comedy Sets Production; New Shonda Rhimes White House Series