Monday, November 02, 2015
2015 ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas Schedule; Remembering Happy Days Star Al Molinaro
ABC Family's "25 Days of Christmas," cable's biggest programming event of the year, returns with 25 continuous days of holiday-themed entertainment for the whole family. From December 1 - 25, viewers can ring in the holidays with holiday specials, classic holiday movies, and returning favorites. As you all know, ABC Family is becoming Freeform in January 2016. This year, "25 Days of Christmas" will feature classic Jim Henson Christmas specials The Bells of Fraggle Rock and Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas, which have been remastered and are returning to television after several years. Additionally, December 13 features a marathon of Disney·Pixar's Toy Story films. Also, the network will air Beyond the Shadows: The Making of Shadowhunters, which gives an inside look at the upcoming saga series.
Other faves airing this year include The Polar Express, The Santa Clause, Mickey's Christmas Carol, A Very Brady Christmas, Home Alone: The Holiday Heist, Holiday in Handcuffs, Christmas Cupid and Snowglobe. View the full 25 Days of Christmas schedule, so you don't miss any of your favorites!
Actor Al Molinaro, who was best known for his roles as Al Delvecchio in Happy Days and Murray Greshler in The Odd Couple, has died. He died on October 30 in a Glendale, California, hospital. His son, Michael, said his death was the result of complications from an infected gallbladder. Mr. Molinaro was 96.
Molinaro played the supporting role of Murray the cop in The Odd Couple from 1970-1975. Murray Greshler was one of Oscar's (Jack Klugman) poker partners. He appeared in 73 episodes of the series. His early sitcom guest appearances included Get Smart, Green Acres, That Girl and Bewitched.
Garry Marshall hired him to replace Pat Morita in Happy Days in 1976. Molinaro played Al Delvecchio, the owner of Arnold's drive-in, beginning in the fourth season. He appeared in 146 episodes of the series. His character was known for the catchphrase "yep-yep-yep-yep." He married Chachi's mother, Louisa (Ellen Travolta).
Molinaro left Happy Days in 1982 to star in the spin-off series Joanie Loves Chachi, which aired for 17 episodes. He returned to Happy Days to make three guest appearances in 1983 and 1984. In 1987, Anson Williams and Molinaro opened a chain of diners in the Midwest called appropriately enough, Big Al's. He appeared in the Happy Days Reunion Special on ABC in 1992.
He starred in The Family Man in 1990-1991 on CBS. He played the grandfather, Joe Alberghetti, in the sitcom which aired for one season. Some of his other sitcom guest appearances included Love, American Style, Laverne & Shirley, The Love Boat, Punky Brewster and Step by Step. His film credits included Freaky Friday and Gridlock. He also starred in TV commercials for On-Cor frozen dinners for 16 years from 1987-2003.
In the 1995 Weezer video, "Buddy Holly" directed by Spike Jonze, vintage Happy Days footage was intercut with shots of Weezer performing on the original Arnold's drive-in set. The introduction of the video was delivered by Molinaro as Al Delvecchio and seizing the opportunity to ad lib, Al plugged his hometown--and his words "...from Kenosha, Wisconsin: Weezer!" ended up in heavy rotation on MTV for weeks during 1995.
Survivors include his wife, Betty; son, Michael; a brother, Oliver; and three grandchildren.
Mr. Molinaro was a talented character actor. His roles as Murray the cop and Al Delvecchio were very funny and memorable. He was great at playing the second banana. We thank him for the many laughs and memories he brought us. He lived a long and good life. Big Al will be greatly missed.
Share your memories on our Happy Days message board. View photos in our photo galleries.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Wednesday, January 21
Shifting Gears - "Toys" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Riley’s new relationship feels perfect until Matt crashes in, throwing some unexpected obstacles her way. Meanwhile, Matt’s toy car project is derailed when he and Gabe are tasked with working together. Jesse Williams and Maria Bamford guest star.
Abbott Elementary - "Mall Part 3: Heroes" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
After the faculty finds surprising success operating the school in the mall, they quickly realize they are being taken advantage of. Meanwhile, a new custodian arrives to join Mr. Johnson.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 19)
Wednesday, January 21
- Martin Short (Only Murders in the Building/Mulaney/I'm a Big Girl Now/The Associates) - Watch Martin on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Jackson White (Mrs. Fletcher) - Jackson appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Jane Fonda (Grace and Frankie) - Jane is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Jessica Williams (Shrinking/Love Life/Just for Kicks) - Jessica stops by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS. She also chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Bert Kreischer (Free Bert) - Bert appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Kenan Thompson (Kenan/Kenan & Kel) - Kenan appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He also chats about Unfunny Bunny and Saturday Night Live with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Simu Liu (Kim's Convenience) - Simu is a guest on Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
- Kenan Thompson (Kenan/Kenan & Kel) - Kenan share details of his new children’s book, Unfunny Bunny, and more on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
- Scott Foley (The Goodwin Games/A.U.S.A./Scrubs) - Scott talks about Will Trent and It's Not Like That on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Sarah Jessica Parker (And Just Like That.../Divorce/Sex and the City/Square Pegs) - Sarah discusses her love of reading and protecting her vision with Lara Spencer on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
- Jennette McCurdy (Sam & Cat/iCarly) - Jennette talks about Half Her Age on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Arden Myrin (Free Bert/Working/Still the King) - Arden dishes about her new Netflix series Free Bert on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Jason Biggs (Outmatched/Mad Love/Drexell's Class) and Meaghan Rath (Children Ruin Everything/Cooper Barrett's Guide to Surviving Life/The Assistants) - Jason and Meagahn talk about their film Untitled Home Invasion Romance on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Kim Fields (The Upshaws/Living Single/The Facts of Life/Baby, I'm Back) - Kim talks about Netflix's The Upshaws on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
08/26 - The Huckleberry Hound Show - The Complete Original Series (Blu-ray)
09/30 - Touché Turtle and Dum Dum - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
10/07 - Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season (DVD)
10/14 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
10/28 - St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/04 - Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fifteenth Season (DVD)
11/11 - Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/02 - Tom and Jerry - The Golden Era Anthology (1940-1958) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
12/16 - Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/16 - Wally Gator - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
01/20 - The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Golden Age Collection (Blu-ray)
01/27 - The New Fred and Barney Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/11 - Tom and Jerry - The Complete CinemaScope Collection (Blu-ray)
More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive
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