Mr. Belvedere
| Mr. Belvedere | |
|---|---|
Mr. Belvedere title card, from seasons 3–6
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| Genre | Sitcom |
| Based on | Belvedere (novel), by Gwen Davenport |
| Developed by |
Frank Dungan Jeff Stein |
| Starring |
Christopher Hewett Bob Uecker Ilene Graff Rob Stone Tracy Wells Brice Beckham |
| Theme music composer | Judy Hart-Angelo Gary Portnoy |
| Opening theme | "According to Our New Arrival" (performed by Leon Redbone for 116 episodes) (performed by an unidentified studio vocalist for the pilot only) |
| Composer(s) | Jimmie Haskell (Pilot episode; music arranged and conducted by) Lionel Newman (music supervision; Pilot episode/seasons 1–2) Ben Lanzarone (additional music; seasons 3–6) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 117 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Frank Dungan Jeff Stein Tony Sheehan (1985–87) Liz Sage (1989–90) |
| Producer(s) | Patricia Rickey Jeff Ferro (1988–90) Ric Weiss (1988–90) |
| Location(s) | ABC Television Center, Los Angeles, California |
| Editor(s) | Edward J. Brennan Jessie Hoke Don Wilson |
| Camera setup |
Videotape Multi-camera Single-camera (on-location shoots for at least two episodes) |
| Running time | 24 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Lazy B/F.O.B. Productions 20th Century Fox Television |
| Distributor | 20th Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) |
| Original release | March 15, 1985 – July 8, 1990 |
Mr. Belvedere is an American sitcom that originally aired on ABC from March 15, 1985 to July 8, 1990. The series is based on the Lynn Aloysius Belvedere character created by Gwen Davenport for her 1947 novel Belvedere, which was later adapted into the 1948 film Sitting Pretty. The sitcom stars Christopher Hewett in the title role, who takes a job as a butler with an American family headed by George Owens, played by Bob Uecker.
The series follows posh butler Lynn Belvedere, as he struggles to adapt to the Owens household. The breadwinner, George (Bob Uecker), is a sportswriter (however, in the pilot, he worked in construction). His wife Marsha (Ilene Graff) is attending law school. At the show's start, older son Kevin (Rob Stone) is a senior in high school, daughter Heather (Tracy Wells) is a freshman, and Wesley (Brice Beckham) is in elementary school. Over the course of the series, George becomes a sportscaster (a career shared with Uecker, who balanced his role as the longtime play-by-play announcer for the Milwaukee Brewers while starring in the series), Marsha graduates from law school and starts a career as a lawyer, Kevin leaves for college and gets his own apartment, Heather moves up in high school, and Wesley moves up to junior high.
Several episodes deal with the relationship between Wesley and Mr. Belvedere, who are always at odds with one another, with Wesley constantly antagonizing Belvedere. It is shown that deep down, however, they really love each other. In season two's "Wesley's Friend" – one of the series' many very special episodes – Danny, one of Wesley's classmates, contracts HIV via Factor VIII (the same type of the disease contracted by Ryan White). Danny is taken out of school due to the ignorance and uncertainty that shared by the parents of many of the other children at Wesley's school. After hearing rumors from his friends about how HIV can be spread, leading them to shun him if he keeps spending time with Danny. Wesley begins to avoid Danny in fear of getting the disease himself. Mr. Belvedere is there for him and the child, and he helps Wesley to shed his fear of the boy and publicly accept him as his friend.
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Wikipedia