Gimme a Break! is an American sitcom which aired on NBC for six seasons from
October 29, 1981 until May 12, 1987. The series stars Nell Carter as the
housekeeper for a widowed police chief and his three daughters.
Premise The sitcom takes place in Glenlawn, a
fictional California suburb. Nellie Ruth "Nell" Harper agrees to be a housekeeper
for the Kanisky household as a special favor to her late friend, Margaret
Huffman Kanisky, who was the wife of police chief Carl Kanisky. Nell also
served as a parent to the Chief's three daughters, Katie, Julie, and Samantha. A
foster son, Joey, was added in Season 3. Over the six-year run, a number of
celebrities appeared on the show, including singers Whitney Houston, Andy
Gibb, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Ray Parker Jr.. In some of these episodes, the
guest would eventually perform a song with Nell. During the third season, Pat
Sajak guest-starred as himself when Nell and her friend Addy were contestants on
Wheel of Fortune. Other notable guest stars included Milton Berle, Danny
Glover, Rue McClanahan, Tony Randall, Helen Hunt, Don Rickles, Gwen Verdon,
Dennis Haysbert, Ernie Hudson, Gary Collins, and Elizabeth Berkley.
The episode "Cat Story" was performed and broadcast live on March 2, 1985, as
a promotional gimmick, which the cast performed without major incident. An
earlier episode, "Baby of the Family," ranked No. 38 on TV Land's list of "The
100 Most Unexpected TV Moments"; it depicted Joey dressing and performing in
blackface at Nell's church benefit, a plan hatched by Samantha for revenge
after Nell forbade her to go on an unchaperoned camping trip.
The location of Glenlawn is never fully clarified, but Season 3 episode
"Flashback" placed the town an hour away from Fresno, in the direction of
Bakersfield. In yet another episode, Chief Kanisky boasts to the town mayor
that his new police car will make it to Sacramento in just 23 minutes, putting
the city of Glenlawn somewhere closer to the capital city than Fresno.
Cast = Main characters=
Nell Carter as Nellie Ruth "Nell" Harper. Nell was a singer from
Tuscaloosa County, Alabama who ran away from home when she was 18. She met and
became friends with Margaret Kanisky and promised to look after her family after
she had died from cancer. In keeping her promise, Nell took on the role of
housekeeper and mother to the kids and remained in the series for the entire
6-year run. She later became a foster mother to Joey Donovan in Season 3. Nell
moved to Greenwich Village in New York City in Season 6 with Joey and Addy and
worked as an assistant editor for a publishing company.
Dolph Sweet as Police Chief Carl "Chief" Kanisky. Police Chief Carl Kanisky,
known as "The Chief" was a widower with three daughters. After Dolph Sweet's
death on May 8, 1985, it was explained in the first episode of Season 5 that
the Chief had died, and the show continued with Nell taking over as head
of the household. Kari Michaelsen as Kathleen "Katie"
Kanisky. The Chief's eldest daughter, portrayed as a typical "blonde" and
being promiscuous. She decided not to go to college and opened a boutique called
Katie's Korner. After her boutique went out of business, she got a job in San
Francisco and left the series after Season 5. Her last appearance was the
first episode of Season 6. Lauri Hendler as Julie Kanisky Maxwell.
The Chief's middle daughter, portrayed as being very intelligent. She married
Jonathan Maxwell at the end of Season 4 and became pregnant in Season 5. In the
Season 6 premiere, after Nell Maxwell had been born, the new 3-member Maxwell
family moved to San Jose and was therefore written out of the series.
Lara Jill Miller as Samantha "Sam" Kanisky. The Chief's youngest daughter,
portrayed as a typical tomboy in her preteen years but developed into a
boy-crazy teenager. She moved to Warren County, New Jersey to go to Littlefield
College and had a recurring role in Season 6.
Joey Lawrence as Joey Donovan, who eventually became Nell and the Chief's
foster son; before that he had been working as a con artist to raise money
to join his uncle in Chicago. Later Joey became a key cast member. His father Tim
Donovan appeared on the show in New Orleans and in New York City. Joey met
his little brother and moved in with Tim at the beginning of season 6 but soon
afterwards was reunited with Nell and lived with her and Addy in New York
City. Howard Morton as Officer Ralph Waldo
Simpson. A dopey but lovable police officer who was a subordinate of the
Chief's. John Hoyt as Stanley "Grandpa" Kanisky.
The Chief's crusty but lovable Polish immigrant father. After his wife died,
Grandpa Kanisky came to live with his son and granddaughters in Season 3. In
Season 6 he moved to New York City, into the same building as Nell.
Telma Hopkins as Dr. Adelaide "Addy" Wilson. Nell's childhood friend, Ph.D.
and a Phi Beta Kappa, Addy was chief educational curriculum supervisor for
postgraduate students who are studying for Doctorates in history, English and
economic geography under the California university system and later moved to New
York City; Nell eventually joined her there. Although Nell and Addy were
friends, they were also constantly clashing.
Jonathan Silverman as Jonathan Maxwell. Julie's husband, pizza-delivery man and
archeology student. Jonathan went to Mexico on a dig for 3 months. After
season 5, Jonathan, Julie, and their new baby left for San Jose.
Rosetta LeNoire as Maybelle "Mama Maybelle" Harper. In 1982 and 1983 the
character's name was Emma and was played by Hilda Haynes and was soft-spoken;
LeNoire's character was stern, bitter and critical of Nell.
Paul Sand as Marty. The landlord of the building Nell, Addy, Joey, and Matthew
lived in and owner of the adjacent restaurant La Gaspacho. While at the
restaurant, he went by the name of Esteban.
Rosie O'Donnell as Maggie O'Brien. Nell's dental hygienist neighbor in New
York City. Matthew Lawrence as Matthew Donovan.
Joey's little brother. = Recurring characters=
Alvernette Jimenez as Angie MacDowell. Nell's tall, skinny, and dim-witted
friend, the typical airhead. Angie's character was eventually written out of
the show, but appeared in several episodes between seasons 1 and 4.
Jane Dulo as Mildred Kanisky. Stanley Kanisky's wife, Carl's mother. Also
played by Elvia Allman in "Katie the Cheat" and Elizabeth Kerr in "Grandma
Fools Around". Jane Dulo played the role in season 2. Her character died, leaving
Stanley a widower in season 3. Pete Schrum as Ed Kanisky, Carl's
brother, an overweight mortician who loved to play practical jokes. Ed was
recurring in seasons 1 and 2, then got married and was written out of the
series. Patrick Collins as Tim Donovan. Joey and
Matthew's father was a merchant seaman. Joey reunited with Tim in New Orleans in
season 4. Joey went to live with Tim and Matthew in the beginning of season 6
when Tim decided to get a job in New York City. After realizing he couldn't
handle a 9-to-5 job, Tim decided he wanted to go back to sea and Joey
returned to Nell and Addy along with Matthew.
Jack Fletcher as Erwin J. Swackhammer. During the 1982–83 season, the family
contended with this man who would annoy the Kanisky household in various ways.
Most notably when he was the manager of the telephone company and had Nell
arrested and jailed. After 5 episodes, Swackhammer disappeared with no
explanation. Harrison Page as Hamilton Storm. A news
reporter that appeared occasionally, during seasons 1 and 2.
Episodes Production information
The show was produced by Alan Landsburg Productions, whose
successor-in-interest, Reeves Entertainment Group, took over
production in 1985. The American syndication rights are held by NBC
Universal Television Distribution, the successor company to original
syndication MCA Television and 20th Century Fox Television. FremantleMedia
owns the international rights, as they own Thames Television, which acquired
Alan Landsburg Productions and Reeves Entertainment Group product in 1990. The
creators of the show were Mort Lachman and Sy Rosen.
Carter performed the lyrics in both versions of the theme song. The original
version was used for the first two seasons and was replaced with an
up-tempo rearrangement with new lyrics for season three onward.
Syndication The show has been in off-network
syndication since 1985. Reruns have also aired nationally on WWOR EMI Service and
the USA Network. Distribution rights are jointly owned by The Program Exchange
and NBCUniversal Television Distribution, successor in interest to
previous syndicator MCA Television. Reruns of the series are a mainstay of
many of Sinclair Broadcast Group's The CW and MyNetworkTV stations, especially
in low-traffic time periods due to the low-cost barter setup of The Program
Exchange. After not being aired on cable in nearly
15 years, the show aired on TV One, usually twice a week on Fridays and
Saturdays. The reruns began on May 3, 2013 and continued until September 20,
at which they had reran all 137 episodes.
The show returned to TV One on April 17, 2015, once again airing Friday nights.
DVD releases = United States=
Universal Studios Home Entertainment released a three-disc DVD of the
complete first season of Gimme a Break! on February 14, 2006, available in the
United States only. The Complete Series is now available in the US.
= Canada= Visual Entertainment released the first
two seasons of Gimme a Break! on DVD in Canada between 2006-07. In 2009, VEI
announced that they plan on releasing the entire series in a complete series
box set in 2010. VEI released Gimme a Break! The Complete Series on DVD in
Canada on July 20, 2010. As of 2013, these releases have been discontinued
and are out of print. = UK=
Simply Media TV Ltd released the first and second series in the UK, although
the series has never been broadcast on British television.
References External links
Gimme a Break! at the Internet Movie Database
Gimme a Break! at TV.com Gimme a Break! at epguides.com