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

Thursday, October 11, 2012

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

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

Tuesday, November 19

The Conners - "Slappy Holidays" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Chaos ensues when Dan finally gets the entire family together for Thanksgiving dinner. Mixed feelings about the Lunch Box continue to build tension in the house, and Harris makes an unexpected move. Guest starring is Eliza Bennett as Odessa.

Bless This Mess - "Six Out of Six" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Mike and Rio are at odds with each other when they consider having a kid of their own; and they soon get a taste of the parenting life when they are forced to take care of Portia’s six piglets. Meanwhile, Kay and Beau may have found common ground during the annual Euchre tournament party.

mixed-ish - "Weird Science" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Rainbow’s passion for science deflates when her peers convince her that science isn’t cool. During Career Day, Rainbow code-switches and pursues journalism in order to fit in, only to find that the local news anchor attending the fair has also been hiding a part of herself. Meanwhile, Harrison works to mold a testimony from Denise who struggles to be anyone but herself, and Santamonica tries to steal the spotlight back after Johan suffers an injury.

black-ish - "O Mother Where Are Thou?" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
When Dre discovers that Lynette (guest star Loretta Devine) is an art aficionado like himself, the two quickly bond and become close, but he begins to feel guilty since he is spending more time with her than Ruby. Meanwhile, Junior introduces Bow to virtual reality.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 18)

Tuesday, November 19

Michael Douglas (The Kominsky Method) - Catch Michael on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Josh Gad (The Comedians/1600 Penn/Back to You) - Josh stops by The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Anna Camp (Perfect Harmony/The Mindy Project) - Anna appears on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Rainn Wilson (The Office) - Rainn visits A Little Late with Lilly Singh at 1:35am on NBC.
Ray Romano (Everybody Loves Raymond) and Ron Funches (Powerless/Undateable) - Ray and Ron are panelists on Lights Out with David Spade at 11:30pm on Comedy Central.
Thomas Middleditch (Silicon Valley) - Thomas drops by Conan at 11pm on TBS.
Kristin Chenoweth (Trial & Error/Kristin) - Kristin appears on Watch What Happens: Live at 11pm on Bravo. She will also be on The Wendy Williams Show, so check your local listings.
Yara Shahidi (grown-ish/black-ish) - Yara is a guest on a repeat of LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
Helen Hunt (Mad About You/It Takes Two) and Paul Reiser (Mad About You/Red Oaks/The Paul Reiser Show/My Two Dads) - Helen and Paul are guests on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
Cheryl Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm/Son of Zorn/Suburgatory) - Cheryl visits The Real, so check your local listings.
Olivia Holt (I Didn't Do It/Kickin' It) - Olivia appears on The Real, so check your local listings.
Tisha Campbell (Dr. Ken/Rita Rocks/My Wife and Kids/Martin) - Tisha guest co-hosts The Real, so check your local listings.
James Wolk (The Crazy Ones) - James stops by The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Kristin Davis (Sex and the City) - Kristin is a guest on Rachael Ray, so check your local listings.
Ashley Williams (The Jim Gaffigan Show/Good Morning, Miami) - Ashley talks about Holiday Hearts on People Now at 12pm.
The Cast of black-ish - The cast of black-ish are guests on a repeat of ABC's GMA 3: Strahan, Sara & Keke at 1pm.
Tom Hanks (Bosom Buddies) - Tom talks about A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
Tamera Mowry-Housley (Sister, Sister/Roommates) - Tamera will be on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Nicole Byer (Loosely Exactly Nicole) - Nicole is a guest on Access Daily, so check your local listings.
Andrea Barber (Fuller House/Full House) - Andrea appears on the BUILD Series at 1pm.
Soleil Moon Frye (Punky Brewster/Sabrina, the Teenage Witch) - Soleil appears on the BUILD Series at 4pm.
Lena Waithe (Master of None) - Lena will be on CBS This Morning sometime between 7-9am.