A Family for Joe (1990– )

The premise was that four cute upper-middle-class kids had been suddenly orphaned. About to be split up and sent to foster homes, they located a cranky old homeless man and offered him food... See full summary »

Stars:

Robert Mitchum, David Lascher, Ben Savage

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Robert Mitchum	...	Joe Whitaker (9 episodes, 1990)
David Lascher	...	Nick Bankston (9 episodes, 1990)
Ben Savage	...	Chris Bankston (9 episodes, 1990)
Jessica Player	...	Mary Bankston (9 episodes, 1990)
Juliette Lewis	...	Holly Bankston (9 episodes, 1990)
Barry Gordon	...	Roger Hightower (9 episodes, 1990)

Storyline

The premise was that four cute upper-middle-class kids had been suddenly orphaned. About to be split up and sent to foster homes, they located a cranky old homeless man and offered him food, a home, and a decent life-style if he would live in their nice house and pose as their grandfather (this could only happen in a sitcom!). Of course he took his new responsibilities more seriously than they expected, and amid the quips, little lessons in life were learned by all around the sunny kitchen table. Roger was the helpful next-door neighbor, an air traffic controller turned homemaker.

---

Plot Keywords:

sitcom | orphan | character name in title

---

Genres:

Comedy

---

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 September 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Un nonno, quattro nipoti, un cane

Company Credits

Production Co:

Grosso Jacobson, National Broadcasting Company (NBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Follows A Family for Joe (1990)

User Reviews

A Tender Robert Mitchum

I'm a fan of every Robert Mitchum movie. And then this TV series came along and he played this sentimental role as homeless man, who finds a place in a family of 3 children, without parents, each needing the other to sustain their independence and for the children to not be separated into foster care. I found it to be less comedy and more on family values. Heart-warming situations every week for about the 6 episodes that it ran.

I was sad when it ended. But a couple of years ago I searched the web and found a commercial source for the DVD of the entire TV series.

Robert Mitchum was so under appreciated for his natural talent. If you look at the body of his work, he could play any type of role. My favorite was "El Dorado". "Promises to Keep" was a TV movie that showed his softer side. And, yes, he played too many "B" movies. But he didn't care. He liked not being poor and making, as he called it, "easy money". Did you know he even wrote the story, acted the lead in the movie, and recorded the song "Thunder Road"? What a guy!!!