I first became acquainted with "Car 54 Where Are You" almost 20 years ago. I was 18, fresh out of high school, and loved to get my "nightly dose" of Nick at Nite. I'll admit, I did not connect with it right away, however, one night, everything changed. In the beginning, I would glance at the show in passing, but one night, I sat down and watched an episode in its entirety, and immediately became hooked! I fell in love with the guys at the 53rd precinct in the Bronx. Not only was the casting superb, but so was the writing. The show would win an Emmy for outstanding direction in 1962, an honor rightfully deserved.
I could not imagine anyone else other than Joe E. Ross and Fred Gwynne being Gunther Toody and Francis Muldoon. The two were completely different, both on screen and in real life. Toody was short, stocky, nosy, and not very bright. He lived with his loud, domineering wife, Lucille. Muldoon was very tall, quiet, and more intelligent. He was a shy bachelor, who still lived with his Mother, and had two younger sisters. Joe E. Ross dropped out of high school, and became a singing waiter, before becoming a stand-up comic, while Fred Gwynne graduated from Harvard. However, the chemistry between the two was undeniable and amazing. The two policemen each had a heart of gold, and the zany adventures they would get caught up in were outrageous! Other cast members included Beatrice Pons, Al Lewis, Charlotte Rae, Nipsey Russell, Ossie Davis, Paul Reed, and Hank Garrett. This was one of the first shows to regularly feature actors of other ethnicities, and they were not there to be the "butt" of everyone else's jokes. They were simply there because it was an accurate representation of the real world, a rather significant step for a television show in the early 1960s.
If you ever get a chance to watch an episode or two, please do so! You will be blessed to discover a REAl gem, and you will be a fan for life;-)
I could not imagine anyone else other than Joe E. Ross and Fred Gwynne being Gunther Toody and Francis Muldoon. The two were completely different, both on screen and in real life. Toody was short, stocky, nosy, and not very bright. He lived with his loud, domineering wife, Lucille. Muldoon was very tall, quiet, and more intelligent. He was a shy bachelor, who still lived with his Mother, and had two younger sisters. Joe E. Ross dropped out of high school, and became a singing waiter, before becoming a stand-up comic, while Fred Gwynne graduated from Harvard. However, the chemistry between the two was undeniable and amazing. The two policemen each had a heart of gold, and the zany adventures they would get caught up in were outrageous! Other cast members included Beatrice Pons, Al Lewis, Charlotte Rae, Nipsey Russell, Ossie Davis, Paul Reed, and Hank Garrett. This was one of the first shows to regularly feature actors of other ethnicities, and they were not there to be the "butt" of everyone else's jokes. They were simply there because it was an accurate representation of the real world, a rather significant step for a television show in the early 1960s.
If you ever get a chance to watch an episode or two, please do so! You will be blessed to discover a REAl gem, and you will be a fan for life;-)