McGurk: A Dog's Life

Last updated

A Dog's Life is a 1979 television pilot created by Charlie Hauck for NBC and the last television concept developed by Norman Lear to become a pilot. The show starred Barney Martin, Beej Johnson, Charles Martin Smith and Sherry Lynn. Only one half-hour pilot episode was made of this offbeat costume comedy. It was shown only once on NBC on June 15, 1979 at 8:00 PM EST. [1] The show featured the actors portraying the roles of the family dogs and wearing dog costumes. Lear's intention was to do an All in the Family -style show by using the dog's point of view to discuss controversial social and racial biases.

Contents

Peter J. Boyer of the Associated Press reviewed the pilot negatively, stating that "except for the dog suits, it's a formula sitcom with familiar subjects." [2]

Plot summary of pilot episode

"Curtains for McGurk"
McGurk is the old family dog whose life becomes complicated when his owners adopt a young, eager-to-please pup named Tucker. Iris is McGurk's love interest, while Camille is Iris's young pup who takes an instant liking to Tucker.

Cast

Production team

Title song

The show's title song was "We're your dogs", and was sung and performed by the four principal cast members.

Similar shows

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norman Lear</span> American television writer and producer (1922–2023)

Norman Milton Lear was an American screenwriter and producer who produced, wrote, created, or developed over 100 shows. Lear created and produced numerous popular 1970s sitcoms, including All in the Family (1971–1979), Maude (1972–1978), Sanford and Son (1972–1977), One Day at a Time (1975–1984), The Jeffersons (1975–1985), and Good Times (1974–1979). His shows introduced political and social themes to the sitcom format.

The Skatebirds is an American live-action/animated package program produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and broadcast on CBS from September 10, 1977, to January 21, 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daws Butler</span> American voice actor (1916–1988)

Charles Dawson Butler, professionally known as Daws Butler, was an American voice actor. He worked mostly for the Hanna-Barbera animation production company and the Walter Lantz cartoon studio. He originated the voices of many familiar Hanna-Barbera characters, including Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Snagglepuss, Auggie Doggie, Loopy De Loop, Wally Gator, Quick Draw McGraw and Baba Looey, Snooper and Blabber, Dixie and Mr. Jinks, Hokey Wolf, Elroy Jetson, Peter Potamus, The Funky Phantom and Hair Bear. While at Walter Lantz, he did the voices of Chilly Willy, Smedley, Maxie the Polar Bear, Gooney, Sam in the Maggie and Sam series, and much more.

<i>Archie Bunkers Place</i> American television series (1979–1983)

Archie Bunker's Place is an American television sitcom produced as a continuation of All in the Family. It aired on CBS from September 23, 1979 to April 4, 1983. While not as popular as its predecessor, the show maintained a large enough audience to last four seasons. It performed so well during its first season that it displaced Mork & Mindy from its Sunday night time slot; a year earlier, during its first season, Mork & Mindy had been the No. 3 show on television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Martin Smith</span> American actor (born 1953)

Charles Martin Smith is an American actor, writer, and director of film and television based in British Columbia, Canada. He is known for his roles in American Graffiti (1973), The Buddy Holly Story (1978), Never Cry Wolf (1983), Starman (1984), The Untouchables (1987), Deep Cover (1992), And the Band Played On (1993), Speechless (1994) and Deep Impact (1998).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barney Martin</span> American actor (1923–2005)

Barney Martin was an American actor, best known for playing Morty Seinfeld, father of Jerry, on the sitcom Seinfeld (1991-1998). He also played supporting roles in Mel Brooks's The Producers (1967), and the Dudley Moore comedy Arthur (1981). He also originated the role of Amos Hart in the 1976 Broadway production of Chicago.

Tandem Productions, Inc. was a film and television production company that was founded in 1958 by television director Bud Yorkin and television writer/producer Norman Lear.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ELP Communications</span> American television production company

ELP Communications was an American television production company that originally began in 1974.

James Edward Burrows, sometimes known as Jim "Jimmy" Burrows, is an American television director. Burrows has received numerous accolades including 11 Primetime Emmy Awards and five Directors Guild of America Awards. He was honored with the Directors Guild of America Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015 and NBC special Must See TV: An All-Star Tribute to James Burrows in 2016.

The Interviews: An Oral History of Television is a project of the nonprofit Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, that records interviews with notable people from all aspects of the television industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sherry Lynn</span> American voice actress

Sherry Lynn is an American voice actress who has played roles in anime, animated television series and video games. She portrayed Sasami Jurai in the Tenchi Muyo! franchise.

Dog's Life is a 2003 video game for the Sony PlayStation 2.

<i>The Baxters</i> American-Canadian television series

The Baxters is a sitcom that aired in broadcast syndication from September 1979 to August 1981. The original American incarnation of the series aired locally from 1977 to 1979 on the Boston station WCVB-TV; in 1979, Norman Lear took over production, and a recast version aired nationally in the 1979–80 television season. Facing cancellation, the series was then acquired by a Canadian firm who moved the production to Toronto, Ontario and recast it again; it lasted one more season as a Canadian series before ending its run in 1981. It is not to be confused with the 2018–2019 Lightworkers Media television series of that name based on the novels of Karen Kingsbury and starring Roma Downey.

The Blue Peter pets are animals that regularly appear on the long-running BBC children's television series Blue Peter. For 27 years, when not on TV, these pets were often looked after by Blue Peter's long-standing pet keeper Edith Menezes, who died in 1994. The exceptions were the dogs Petra, Shep and Goldie, who lived with Peter Purves, John Noakes and Simon Groom, respectively, for which the three presenters were paid a stipend for their upkeep.

Roger Andrew Caras was an American naturalist, animal welfare activist, wildlife photographer and writer.

The Lawless Years is an American crime drama series that aired on NBC from April 16, 1959, to September 22, 1961. The series is the first of its kind, set during the Roaring 20s, preceding The Untouchables by half a season.

"Hill Street Station" is the first episode of the first season of the American serial police drama Hill Street Blues. "Hill Street Station" originally aired in the United States on NBC on Thursday January 15, 1981, at 10:00 pm Eastern Time as part of a two-week five-episode limited-run pilot airing on Thursdays and Saturdays. The episode won numerous Primetime Emmy Awards, a Directors Guild of America Award, a Writers Guild of America Award, and an Edgar Award as well as Emmy Award nominations for film editing, music composition, and art direction. The episode was directed by Robert Butler and written by Michael Kozoll and Steven Bochco.

<i>Poochinski</i> American TV series or program

Poochinski is a 1990 unsold television pilot.

<i>Guess Who Died</i> American comedy television pilot by Norman Lear

Guess Who Died is an American comedy television pilot created by Norman Lear and Peter Tolan and starring Hector Elizondo, Holland Taylor, Beth Lacke, Adrian Martinez, and Christopher Lloyd. The pilot was directed by Adam Bernstein and written by Lear and Tolan, both of whom also executive produced alongside Brent Miller. Commissioned by NBC for the 2018–19 television season, the pilot was ultimately passed over and not picked up to series. Had the production been given a series order, it would have marked Lear's first original sitcom production in over twenty years.

Charlie Hauck was an American comedy writer, producer and screenwriter. He is best known as producer of the classic Norman Lear-created sitcom Maude and as the creator of the American family sitcom television series The Hogan Family. He is also one the co-creators of the short-lived sitcom television series The Associates, which he created with James L. Brooks, Stan Daniels, Ed. Weinberger and Michael Leeson.

References

  1. Copp, Earle (14 June 1979). Copp's Beat, Free Lance Star
  2. Peter J. Boyer (June 15, 1979). "Reviewer suggests walking dog instead". Southern Illinoisan. Retrieved October 8, 2019.