Gimme a Break
| Gimme a Break! | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Mort Lachman Sy Rosen |
| Directed by |
John Bowab Hal Cooper Jim Drake Linda Day Dick Harwood Jules Lichtman Will Mackenzie Patrick Maloney Phil Ramuno Tony Singletary Oz Scott Howard Storm |
| Starring |
Nell Carter Dolph Sweet Lara Jill Miller Lauri Hendler Kari Michaelsen Howard Morton John Hoyt Joey Lawrence Telma Hopkins Jonathan Silverman Rosetta LeNoire Matthew Lawrence Paul Sand Rosie O'Donnell |
| Theme music composer | Jay Graydon |
| Opening theme | "Gimme a Break" performed by Nell Carter |
| Composer(s) | Bob Christianson |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 137 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Hal Cooper Mort Lachman Rod Parker |
| Producer(s) | Arthur Julian Coleman Mitchell Geoffrey Neigher |
| Running time | 24–25 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
Alan Landsburg Productions (1981–1985) Reeves Entertainment Group (1985–1987) |
| Distributor | MCA TV (1986–1996) Universal Television Enterprises (1997–1998) Universal Worldwide Television (1998–2000) Studios USA (1998–2002) Universal Domestic Television (2002–2004) NBCUniversal Television Distribution (2004–present) The Program Exchange (2006–2016) |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | October 29, 1981 – May 12, 1987 |
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 (Dolph Sweet) and his three daughters.
The sitcom takes place in Glenlawn, a fictional California suburb. Nellie Ruth "Nell" Harper (Nell Carter) agrees to be a housekeeper for the Kanisky household as a special favor to her late friend, Margaret Huffman Kanisky (played in flashback by Sharon Spelman), who was the wife of police chief Carl Kanisky (Dolph Sweet). Nell also served as a parent to the Chief's three daughters, Katie (Kari Michaelsen), Julie (Lauri Hendler), and Samantha (Lara Jill Miller). A foster son, Joey (Joey Lawrence), was added to the Kanisky household 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., Ray Parker Jr., and The Pointer Sisters. 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 (Telma Hopkins) 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.
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