The Tony Randall Show

The Tony Randall Show is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC during its first season from September 23, 1976, to March 10, 1977, and on CBS for its second (and final) season from September 24, 1977, to March 25, 1978.

Synopsis
The series starred Tony Randall as Walter Franklin, a widowed and very talented judge, and took place in Philadelphia. The show followed the reserved Franklin dealing with being a single parent, raising his daughter, Roberta (Devon Scott), and son, Oliver (Brad Savage). At times he also had to play surrogate parent to his daffy English housekeeper (Rachel Roberts), whose inedible cooking was a frequent source of humor. She made huge mistakes which contributed to lowering her self-confidence. At work, Judge Franklin had to contend with his stuffy and acerbic secretary, Miss Janet Reubner (Allyn Ann McLerie), and his court reporter, Jack Terwilliger (Barney Martin), as well as presiding over court cases. Actor Zane Lasky played the recurring role of Mario Lanza, an annoying, nerdy, overbearing assistant who irritated Judge Franklin, but who kept getting rehired by Miss Reubner. Another recurring role was played by Diana Muldaur, who appeared as Judge Franklin's love interest, Judge Eleanor Hooper. Annette O'Toole played the role of Melissa (Oliver's teacher, to whom Walter was attracted) in two episodes, one in each season. In the show's second season, Devon Scott was replaced in the role of Roberta by Penny Peyser, and Hans Conried joined the cast in the occasional recurring role of Walter's irascible father Wyatt. Towards the very end of the series run, Walter began teaching a night class in law; Michael Keaton was seen as Zeke Zacharias, one of Water's students, in two late-running episodes.

The show was produced by MTM Enterprises and aired for one season on ABC. For its second season, the series moved to CBS where it aired for one more season before being canceled. Writer/producer Gary David Goldberg discusses behind-the-scenes stories in his autobiography, Sit, Ubu, Sit.