TV Guide: Norman Fell

Listing: Three's Christmas

Sun, 07 Dec 2008 10:00:00 -0500

Sun Dec 7 10:00 AM TVLAND The trio accept the Roper's invitation to a Christmas party, but are then asked to one they'd rather attend. John Ritter, Suzanne Somers, Joyce DeWitt. Roper: Norman Fell. Mrs. Roper: Audra Lindley.

Video: Three's Company: Season 4

Video Detective — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 00:16:25 -0500

TV's second most popular series, and its single most popular sitcom, Three's Company returned in 1979 for its fourth successful season. As before, the titular trio consists of aspiring chef Jack Tripper (John Ritter), florist Janet Wood (Joyce DeWitt), and receptionist Chrissy Snow (Suzanne Somers), who for economic, rather than carnal, reasons all share the same Santa Monica apartment. In past seasons, the very heterosexual Jack had to convince his landlord, Mr. Roper (Norman Fell), that he was gay so that Roper would not break his lease. In season four, Jack pulls the same snow job on new landlord Ralph Furley, played by Don Knotts. Also joining the regulars is Ann Wedgeworth in the hitherto recurring role of Jack's girlfriend Lana Shields -- though Wedgeworth would exit the series after ten episodes, allegedly because of friction on the set. As for another of the series' regulars, Richard Kline as photographer Larry Dallas, he is off the show more than on during season four, due to other professional commi

Video: Three's Company: Season 3

Video Detective — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 00:16:21 -0500

As the third most popular program on network television, Three's Company entered its third season on ABC with the greatest of ease in the fall of 1978. No major changes had been made in the format or premise: Jack (John Ritter) still shared a Santa Monica apartment with Janet (Joyce DeWitt) and Chrissy (Suzanne Somers), the relationship was still strictly platonic, and the trio's landlord, Mr. Roper (Norman Fell), remained convinced that Jack was gay (this was the story given him by the girls, who didn't want to be kicked out), though both Jack and the audience knew that this was far from the truth. As the season progressed, Jack graduated from cooking school and began work as a caterer, Chrissy landed a new secretarial job in the firm run by female executive J.C. Braddock (Emmaline Henry), and Janet, the calm, reliable roommate, occasionally kicked over the traces and acted silly just for the heck of it. Towards the end of the season, Mr. Roper and his wife, Helen (Audra Lindley), sold their apartment buildi

Video: Three's Company: Season 2

Video Detective — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 00:16:19 -0500

Having quickly climbed to 11th place during its six-week tryout in the spring of 1977, Three's Company was assured a full-season run by ABC beginning in the fall of that same year. Sensing the series' excellent potential, network boss Fred Silverman moved Three's Company to ABC's powerhouse Tuesday-night lineup, right after the league-leading sitcoms Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley. Since audiences had proven their devotion to the new series, there was no need to tinker with its format. The action still took place in the Santa Monica apartment building owned by Stanley and Helen Roper (Norman Fell, Audra Lindley). The Ropers' prize tenants were three roommates, two female, one male: florist-shop clerk Janet (Joyce DeWitt), sexy typist Chrissy (Suzanne Somers), and chef-in-training Jack (John Ritter). The girls were still passing Jack off as gay so that the prudish Mr. Roper would not break their lease, while the aggressively non-gay Jack continued dating hot chicks and trying to make the moves on the curvace

Video: Three's Company: Season 1

Video Detective — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 00:16:16 -0500

Based on the British sitcom Man About the House, Three's Company was given a six-week trial run on ABC's Thursday-night schedule in the spring of 1977. In the first episode, aspiring chef Jack Tripper (John Ritter) was found sleeping in the bathtub of the Santa Monica apartment shared by floral-shop employee Janet Wood (Joyce DeWitt) and typist Chrissy Snow (Suzanne Somers) the morning after the girls' going-away party for their former roommate. Hoping to quickly snatch up a new roomie to share expenses -- and gratified that at last they had found someone who could actually cook -- Jane and Chrissy invited Jack to move in with them -- on a strictly platonic basis, of course. In order to persuade their landlord, Stanley Roper (Norman Fell), that no hanky-panky was going on, the girls convinced Mr. Roper that Jack was gay. This, of course, was the subterfuge to end all subterfuges: not only was Jack aggressively heterosexual, but he never let an opportunity pass to be alone with the voluptuous but innocent Chri

Video: The Medarra Block

Amazon Video on Demand — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 22:25:09 -0500

To thwart a coup, Robinson and Scott must decipher the inscription on a wooden block given to them by a dying Moroccan. Guest starring: Jack Kruschen, Norman Fell, Arthur Batanides, Joe Bernard, David Bond, Louis Guss, Kenneth Tobey -