Tuesday, March 19, 2019
Sabrina Returns April 5 on Netflix; Remembering Character Actor Richard Erdman of Community

Double double boys and trouble. The trailer has arrived for (season one) Part 2 of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, launching globally April 5, Only on Netflix. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina re-imagines the origin and adventures of Sabrina the Teenage Witch as a dark coming-of-age story that traffics in horror, the occult and, of course, witchcraft. Part 2 finds Sabrina exploring her darker side, curious to learn more about her heritage, while struggling to maintain her friendships in the mortal world. Romantically, Sabrina is caught in an unholy love triangle with between sexy warlock Nicholas Scratch and salt-of-the-Earth mortal Harvey Kinkle. Meanwhile, The Dark Lord, Madame Satan, and Father Blackwood continue to conjure chaos in the Spellman household and the town of Greendale. And they aren't the only ones trying to raise hell. Everything is in question... relationships, identity, true intentions... when the devil's work is at hand.
The series stars Kiernan Shipka, Miranda Otto, Lucy Davis, Ross Lynch, Michelle Gomez, Chance Perdomo, Jaz Sinclair, Richard Coyle, Tati Gabrielle, Adeline Rudolph, Abigail Cowen, Lachlan Watson and Gavin Leatherwood. The series has been renewed for a second season already (parts 3 and 4). Newcomers for parts 3 & 4 include Jedidiah Goodacre as Dorian Gray and Alexis Denisof as Mary Wardwell's boyfriend, Adam Masters.
Character actor Richard Erdman, who had a recurring role as the old student Leonard Rodriguez in Community, has died. He died on March 16 in an assisted-living facility in Los Angeles, California. He had been suffering from age-related dementia and recently had a fall. Mr. Erdman was 93.
Erdman's first sitcom starring role was as Pete Morrisey in the 1953-1954 ABC sitcom Where's Raymond?. The series was renamed The Ray Bolger Show for the second season in 1954-1955. Pete was Raymond Wallace's (Ray Bolger) landlord and press agent. It also starred Allyn Joslyn (1953-1954), Betty Lynn (1953-1954), Marjie Millar (1954-1955), Christine Nelson (1954-1955), Charlie Cantor (1954-1955) and Sylvia Lewis.
His next starring role was as Peter Fairfield III in the 1960-1961 NBC sitcom The Tab Hunter Show. Peter was the rich playboy and best friend of cartoonist Paul Morgan (Tab Hunter). The series also starred Jerome Cowan as John Larsen, Paul's Boss and the owner of Comics, Inc. and Reta Shaw as Thelma, Paul's housekeeper.
Erdman had a recurring role as the old student Leonard Rodriguez in 53 episodes of Community from 2009 to 2015. The series aired for five seasons on NBC before moving to Yahoo! Screen for the sixth and final season. Leonard was an elderly man who studied business at Greendale Community College. The series starred Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Yvette Nicole Brown, Alison Brie, Donald Glover, Ken Jeong, Chevy Chase and Jim Rash.
Some of his 1950s and 1960s sitcom guest appearances included The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (3 episodes), December Bride (2 episodes), Make Room for Daddy, Mister Ed, The Bill Dana Show, Petticoat Junction, The Dick Van Dyke Show (he also directed 2 episodes), Green Acres, Mr. Terrific, Hogan's Heroes, Mayberry R.F.D., I Dream of Jeannie and The Beverly Hillbillies.
His 1970s and later sitcom guest appearances included Here's Lucy, That Girl, Love American Style, Alice, One Day at a Time, Too Close for Comfort, Small Wonder, Cheers, She's the Sheriff, It's a Living, Wings, Out of This World, Hudson Street, The Bernie Mac Show and Weird Loners. He made his final guest appearance in a 2017 episode of Dr. Ken.
Erdman starred as Klugie, the staff photographer and office philosopher, in the 1962-1963 newspaper drama Saints and Sinners. Some of his drama guest appearances included Perry Mason (6 episodes), The Twilight Zone, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Police Story, The Six Million Dollar Man (2 episodes), The Bionic Woman, Lou Grant, Quincy M.E., Murder, She Wrote, Beverly Hills 902010, Judging Amy and Joan of Arcadia.
He also did work as a voice over artist. Some of his voice credits included Space Stars, The Dukes, Galtar and the Golden Lance, The Smurfs, DuckTales, Popeye and Son, The Flintstone Kids, The New Yogi Bear Show, Snorks, The Further Adventures of SuperTed, Fantastic Max and The Pirates of Dark Water.
Erdman appeared in more than 60 films. Some of his best-known supporting roles were in The Men, Cry Danger, Stalag 17 and Tora! Tora! Tora!.
Mr. Erdman appeared in more than 160 films, television and theater productions during his career which spanned seven decades. We thank him for the many laughs and entertainment he brought us. He will be greatly missed.
Share your memories on our Community message board. View photos in our galleries.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Tuesday, February 11
St. Denis Medical - "Nobody Even Mentions the Brownies!" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Joyce pushes the staff to upsell patients on hospital procedures, kicking off some fierce competition and a case of mistaken identity; Bruce and Ron try to play plumber for a day.
Night Court - "Ab-ventures in Babysitting" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
An old friend returns and leaves Abby saddled with taking care of a baby during court; the gang tries to stop an influencer from publicly embarrassing the courthouse.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of February 10)
Tuesday, February 11
- Anthony Mackie (Twisted Metal) - Catch Anthony on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Lizzy Caplan (Party Down/The Class/The Pitts) - Lizzy appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Fred Armisen (Los Espookys/Forever/Final Space) - Fred is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Mikey Madison (Better Things) - Mikey appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. She is telling Drew about working on Oscar nominated film Anora, how director Sean Baker molded the role to her and some of her earliest acting influences on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings. Plus, she's making her baking debut and sharing her chocolate chip cookie recipe with Drew.
- Margaret Cho (All-American Girl) - Margaret is a guest on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Cecily Strong (Schmigadoon!), Rachel Dratch (Grimsburg/Imaginary Mary/30 Rock), Ana Gasteyer (American Auto/People of Earth/Lady Dynamite/Suburgatory), Cheri Oteri (Sit Down, Shut Up) - Cecily, Rachel, Ana, Cheri and Laraine Newman are guests on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 9pm on Bravo.
- John Lithgow (Trial & Error/Twenty Good Years/3rd Rock from the Sun) - John stops by to talk about New York City Ballet's Carnival of the Animals on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Rickey Smiley (The Rickey Smiley Show) - Rickey sits down for a DAYTIME EXCLUSIVE on the unexpected miracle of learning he's the father of twin girls on Tamron Hall, so check your local lisitngs.
- Selma Blair (Anger Management/Kath & Kim/Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane) and Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Café Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Selma is telling Drew about being a boy mom to a 13-year-old son, dating in her fifties and how she has spoken about her health to help others feel seen on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings. Plus, Selma is sharing one of her favorite simple breakfast dishes with Drew and Valerie Bertinelli.
- Laverne Cox (Clean Slate) - Laverne talks about starring in the new Amazon series Clean Slate on Sherri, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
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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