Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Car 54: Sylvia Schnauzer's Wedding


This episode: The Courtship of Sylvia Schnauser (3/25/1962), NBC at Sunday 8:30 PM
Created by Nat Hiken, Starring Joe E. Ross, Fred Gwynne, No. of episodes 60
Original run September 17, 1961 – September 8, 1963
Car 54, Where Are You? was an American sitcom that ran on NBC from 1961 to 1963. Episodes had various directors, the most recognized being Al De Caprio. A majority of filming took place on location in the The Bronx, and at Biograph Studios.
The series followed the madcap adventures of NYPD officers Gunther Toody (Joe E. Ross) and Francis Muldoon (Fred Gwynne) in the fictional 53rd precinct in The Bronx.
* Joe E. Ross as Officer Gunther Toody
* Fred Gwynne as Officer Francis Muldoon
* Hank Garrett as Officer Ed Nicholson
* Jim Gormley as Officer Nelson
* Albert Henderson as Officer Dennis O'Hara
* Bruce Kirby as Officer Kissel
* Al Lewis as Officer Leo Schnauser (1961-1963)
* Beatrice Pons as Lucile Toody
* Charlotte Rae as Sylvia Schnauser
* Paul Reed as Capt. Paul Block
* Joe Warren as Officer Steinmetz
* Nipsey Russell as Officer Anderson
Fred Gwynne and Al Lewis would later appear together again in The Munsters (1964-1966). Much of the script was written by Nat Hiken. Joe E. Ross and Beatrice Pons were teamed once more as husband and wife (Ross played the witless Rupert Ritzik in Sergeant Bilko, Pons his wife Emma). Silvia Schnauser (Charlotte Rae) also appeared in Bilko as "The Twitch", and Gwynne made an appearance as a prodigious eater.
* The TV show's police cars used on location shots were actually bright red but on black and white film would appear dark, similar to that of real NYPD RMP units of that era (black and green with a white roof and trunk). Hence filmmakers achieved a realistic appearance without alarming bystanders during production.

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