True Colors (TV series)
True Colors is an American sitcom television series that aired on Fox from September 2, 1990 to April 12, 1992 for a total of 45 episodes.[1] The series was created by Michael J. Weithorn, and featured an interracial marriage and a subsequent blended family.
| True Colors | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Michael J. Weithorn |
| Written by | Peter Freedman Gregory Allen Howard Jeffrey Joseph Michael J. Weithorn |
| Directed by | Peter Bonerz Stan Lathan Arlene Sanford Rob Schiller Carol Scott John Sgueglia |
| Starring | Frankie Faison (Season 1) Cleavon Little (Season 2) Stephanie Faracy Claude Brooks Brigid Conley Walsh Adam Jeffries Nancy Walker |
| Theme music composer | Lennie Niehaus |
| Composer | Gordon Lustig |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 45 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Michael J. Weithorn |
| Producer | Faye Oshima Belyeu |
| Running time | 22–24 minutes |
| Production companies | Hanley Productions 20th Century Fox Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | Fox |
| Original release | September 2, 1990 – April 12, 1992 |
Synopsis
Premise and first season
Set in Baltimore, Ronald Freeman (Frankie Faison) is a widowed African-American dentist who marries Ellen Davis (Stephanie Faracy), a divorced white kindergarten teacher who was one of his patients. Ron has two sons from his first marriage, 17-year-old earnest conservative Terry (Claude Brooks) and daydreaming 14-year-old troublemaker Lester (Adam Jeffries), while Ellen has a teenage daughter, studious, cause-driven Katie (Brigid Conley Walsh). Ellen's ex-husband, Leonard (played in guest appearances by Paul Sand), who is accepting of her second marriage, would occasionally visit her while attempting to get his life back on track. Although the series did focus on race issues, most episodes focused on the family adjusting to their new living situation and the three children going through adolescence.
Second season
In the second season of the series, Faison was replaced by Cleavon Little as Ron Freeman. Nancy Walker, who was suffering from lung cancer, continued to star on the series, but ultimately only appeared in half the season's episodes due to her treatments and compromised health. Before long, due to the sudden loss of her physical mobility, Walker went on to appear in a motorized wheelchair for the majority of her second-season episodes. Terry went off to Marshall State University that fall, not far from home. Ellen accepted a new teaching job at Cortez Junior High, and during the season, she finally realized her long-time talent as a painter. She began to showcase some of her work at local art exhibits, in hopes of launching a new side career. Early in 1992, Robert (Norman D. Golden II) was introduced. Robert, who went by the nickname "Twist", was a young neighbor boy who attached himself to the Freemans, stealing scenes and causing an uproar, usually involving Lester and Terry along the way. Meanwhile, Little's physical appearance began to look more gaunt during the course of the season, as the actor disclosed he was battling colorectal cancer.
Cancellation and cast deaths
Fox shortened the season order for True Colors by February sweeps, and kept the episode total at 21. The new episode aired on April 12, 1992 wound up being the series' last, as Fox cancelled True Colors one month later. However, Walker, who had continued working into the winter months until she could no longer do so, died on March 25, 1992, after the series had produced what would be its last episode, but less than a month before the last original episode aired. On October 22, 1992, Little died of cancer.[2]
Cast
- Frankie Faison.....Ronald Freeman (1990–1991)
- Cleavon Little.....Ronald Freeman (1991–1992)
- Stephanie Faracy.....Ellen Davis Freeman
- Nancy Walker.....Sara Bower
- Brigid Conley Walsh.....Katie Davis
- Claude Brooks.....Terry Freeman
- Adam Jeffries.....Lester Freeman
- Norman D. Golden II....Twist (aka Robert) (1992)
Episode list
Season 1 (1990–91)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "A Visit from Ray" | Stan Lathan | Michael J. Weithorn | September 2, 1990 | |
| Ron wants to have a 2-month wedding anniversary dinner for the Family to bond. After the Family get a live turkey to eat, they name him Ray and start to treat him more like a pet. | ||||||
| 2 | 2 | "A Pair of Cranks" | Stan Lathan | Michael J. Weithorn | September 9, 1990 | |
| Ron's disdain for Lester's friend JR Taylor is justified when JR shoplifts a pair of expensive athletic shoes. When Lester is accused of same, Sara bails him out by purchasing the shoes to avoid police involvement. But then Ron finds Sara's "gift", and Lester realizes he would have been better off in the County jail than in his father's jail. | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | "One of the Girls" | John Sgueglia | Lloyd Garver | September 16, 1990 | |
| 4 | 4 | "A Dog's Life" | John Sgueglia | Michael J. Weithorn | September 23, 1990 | |
| Terry has an offer for a scholarship. However, when Katie joins him at his interview for the scholarship, she accidentally kills the Interviewer’s Dog. | ||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Step Lightly" | John Sgueglia | Michael J. Weithorn | September 30, 1990 | |
| 6 | 6 | "Life with Fathers" | John Sgueglia | Anne Convy | October 7, 1990 | |
| 7 | 7 | "What's Wrong with that Boy?" | John Sgueglia | Michael J. Weithorn | October 21, 1990 | |
| 8 | 8 | "Tooth or Consequences" | Rob Schiller | Gregory Allen Howard | October 28, 1990 | |
| 9 | 9 | "Soft Shell" | Arlene Sanford | Stan Seidel | November 4, 1990 | |
| 10 | 10 | "Young at Heart" | Peter Bonerz | Peter Freedman | November 11, 1990 | |
| 11 | 11 | "Occasional Wife" | Peter Bonerz | Anne Convy | November 18, 1990 | |
| 12 | 12 | "High Anxiety" | Carol Scott | Story by : Regina Y. Hicks Teleplay by : Peter Freedman | November 25, 1990 | |
| Terry harbors a fear of flying due to his acrophobia. Katie tries to use a psychological method to get Terry to overcome his fear of heights on the roof, but a gust of wind causes everyone to get locked out of the building. | ||||||
| 13 | 13 | "Puppet Regime" | Rob Schiller | Peter Freedman | December 16, 1990 | |
| 14 | 14 | "Christmas Show '90" | Rob Schiller | Michael J. Weithorn | December 23, 1990 | |
| 15 | 15 | "Moment of Ruth" | Rob Schiller | Lloyd Garver & Regina Y. Hicks | January 13, 1991 | |
| 16 | 16 | "A Real Pain" | Rob Schiller | Stan Seidel | February 3, 1991 | |
| 17 | 17 | "The Tender Trap" | Carol Scott | Peter Freedman & Anne Convy | February 10, 1991 | |
| 18 | 18 | "Opposites Attract" | Rob Schiller | Stan Seidel | February 17, 1991 | |
| 19 | 19 | "Homies Alone" | Arlene Sanford | Story by : Peter Freedman Teleplay by : Regina Hicks & Stan Seidel | March 3, 1991 | |
| 20 | 20 | "Daughter Dearest" | Peter Bonerz | Regina Y. Hicks | March 24, 1991 | |
| Katie dates a fellow activist, but Terry has an intuition the man is trying to bed her, causing Ron to show concern and protection for his stepdaughter. | ||||||
| 21 | 21 | "A Matter of Principal" | Peter Bonerz | William Schifrin | April 14, 1991 | |
| 22 | 22 | "Superman, Superego" | Michael J. Weithorn | Michael J. Weithorn | April 21, 1991 | |
| 23 | 23 | "Prisoners of Love" | Rob Schiller | Story by : Regina Y. Hicks Teleplay by : Peter Freedman & Stan Seidel | April 28, 1991 | |
| 24 | 24 | "Favorite Son" | Rob Schiller | Kermit Frazier | May 12, 1991 | |
Season 2 (1991–92)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | 1 | "Lester X" | Rob Schiller | Linda M. Yearwood | August 22, 1991 | |
| Nobody in the family knows what to do with Lester after he reads The Autobiography of Malcolm X...and then adopts the views therein, renaming himself "Abdul X". Ultimately, Malcolm's philosophies fail to apply in Lester's everyday life. | ||||||
| 26 | 2 | "Strange Bedfellows" | M.J. McDonnell | Stan Seidel | September 12, 1991 | |
| 27 | 3 | "Splendor in the Basement" | Rob Schiller | Story by : Robert Rabinowitz Teleplay by : Michael J. Weithorn | September 15, 1991 | |
| 28 | 4 | "Yo' House, Mama: Part 1" | Rob Schiller | Kim Bass & Peter Freedman | September 22, 1991 | |
| 29 | 5 | "Yo' House, Mama: Part 2" | Rob Schiller | Kim Bass & Peter Freedman | September 29, 1991 | |
| 30 | 6 | "Presumed Guilty" | Dennis Erdman | Anne Convy | October 6, 1991 | |
| 31 | 7 | "Not My Sister, Brother" | Rob Schiller | Regina Y. Hicks | October 20, 1991 | |
| 32 | 8 | "Brotherly Love" | Rob Schiller | Michael J. Weithorn & Alan Uger | November 3, 1991 | |
| 33 | 9 | "Three for All" | M. J. McConnell | Story by : Stan Seidel Teleplay by : Regina Y. Hicks & Peter Freedman | November 10, 1991 | |
| 34 | 10 | "Seems Like Old Times" | Rob Schiller | Alan Uger | December 8, 1991 | |
| 35 | 11 | "Broken Home: Part 1" | Rob Schiller | Stan Seidel & Peter Freedman | December 15, 1991 | |
| 36 | 12 | "Broken Home: Part 2" | Rob Schiller | Stan Seidel & Peter Freedman | December 22, 1991 | |
| 37 | 13 | "Readin', Ritin' and Runnin" | Rob Schiller | Kim Bass | December 29, 1991 | |
| 38 | 14 | "Photo Opportunity" | Michael J. Weithorn | Michael J. Weithorn | January 5, 1992 | |
| 39 | 15 | "Art Attack" | Rob Schiller | Regina Y. Hicks | January 12, 1992 | |
| 40 | 16 | "The Beat Goes On" | Rob Schiller | Linda M. Yearwood | February 2, 1992 | |
| 41 | 17 | "Half a Man" | Rob Schiller | Michael J. Weithorn | February 9, 1992 | |
| 42 | 18 | "In a Flash" | Carol Scott | Kim Bass | February 16, 1992 | |
| 43 | 19 | "Affirmative Reaction" | Kenneth R. Shapiro | Jeffrey Joseph | March 1, 1992 | |
| 44 | 20 | "Feelings Up" | Rob Schiller | TBA | March 22, 1992 | |
| 45 | 21 | "Word to the Mother" | Rob Schiller | Story by : Peter Freedman Teleplay by : Regina Y. Hicks & Stan Seidel | April 12, 1992 | |
References
- "True Colors". TV Guide.
- "Cleavon Little, Award-Winning Actor, Dies at 53". The New York Times. October 23, 1992. Retrieved 2010-10-28.
Cleavon Little, the actor best remembered for his role as a black sheriff hired to save a redneck town in Mel Brooks's 1974 comedy Blazing Saddles, died yesterday at his home in Sherman Oaks, Calif. He was 53 years old. He died of colon cancer, said David C. Pollick, his publicity agent in Los Angeles.
External links
- True Colors at IMDb
- True Colors at TV.com