Freddie Led The Way For George Lopez And Others - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Cheryl Harrell · 03-22-2002, 05:10 AM

I'd been seeing ads on tv for a new tv show called the GEORGE LOPEZ SHOW & it appeared to be a Hispanic sitcom. I'd see the ads & think if Freddie were alive he'd have his own show like that! So I decided to look up George Lopez on the internet to see if he was inspired by Freddie. I found his website & the one on him from ABC & a few articles of it him there as part of the search results & that's what I looked at.

No mention of Freddie but I did see some similarities in that his career followed some of the same turns as Freddie. He is from CA & not NYC tho but he did do gigs at some of the same places Freddie did like the IMPROV & he did do the TONIGHT SHOW WITH JOHNNY CARSON like Freddie did. Guess who his manager is? Freddies old manager Ron Deblasio! Wow! Evidently after Freddie passed on he must've continued managing Hispanic comics. The show looks like it'll be a funny one & he's probably gonna be funny & a real hoot too. But nowhere near Freddie tho. I'll probably watch it to see what it is all about. Guys like this owe it all to Freddie!

Freddie was the first, the origional & the best!

Pitooey · 03-22-2002, 10:15 AM

You're right! He was the first. I'll be looking at the G. LO. show too. LOL..........

wheeeone · 03-23-2002, 05:40 AM

Cheryl,

Here are a couple of excerpts from interviews with George that reference Freddie. I have them posted on my Admirer Comment Page on my Freddie site. He acknowledges Freddie's influence and talent.

Excerpt from interview with comedian George Lopez

As for his visibility as a Latino in the media, Lopez remembers that there were no real role models when he was growing up. That is one of the reasons he has turned down roles where he would have had to play a gang member or a criminal. "Other than Freddie Prinze, there really wasn't anyone to look up to," he reflects. "There was nothing to dream, nothing tangible. But I always dreamed of becoming a force in my hometown, and whether radio, TV or movies, whatever, Ill take it."

Excerpt from an interview with George Lopez, host of the morning radio show on Mega 92.3 in Los Angeles-Interview from the Orange County Register....

Lopez said his life changed when he saw Freddie Prinze on the TV show "Chico and the Man." "It changed my world," he said. "It changed the way I thought about myself. Here was a guy who spoke the way we spoke and looked the way we looked. Until he came along, I didn't know someone like me could earn a living telling jokes.

"When he died, I cried for a week. His death affected me for years."

Inspired by Prinze, Lopez gave stand-up a try but he was a bust on open mike nights around the city. "I wanted it real bad, but I just wasn't funny. So I gave up the dream and got a job."

Cheryl Harrell · 03-23-2002, 12:51 PM

Thanks for the info! I had seen that one your site but had no idea it was him. So glad he tributes Freddie!

I bet Freddie will be looking down & smiling the ntie the show debuts on ABC. That could've been Freddie if he had lived!

Joy · 03-24-2002, 12:21 AM

That was very interesting thanks for sharing!!

Cheryl Harrell · 03-27-2002, 09:07 AM

I found a couple of articles on AOL on the new GEORGE LOPEZ show that mention CATM & Freddie.

Since everyone doesn't have AOL I will copy them here... Here goes:

ABC's new "George Lopez" show straddles two worlds

By Steve Gorman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - When describing the fictional household he leads on the new ABC sitcom that bears his name, comedian George Lopez is fond of saying, "We're just a regular American family, with great tans."

That's his off-handed way of acknowledging what ABC insists is mostly incidental to the show -- that "George Lopez" is the first comedy series in prime time based on a Latino cast since Norman Lear's short-lived "A.K.A. Pablo" in 1984.

Clearly reluctant to see its latest mid-season offering branded TV's "Hispanic show," the struggling network, owned by Walt Disney Co., is touting "George Lopez" as a shining example of its return to old-fashioned family-oriented programs -- in the tradition of "Roseanne" and "Home Improvement."

Indeed, "George Lopez," which debuts Wednesday and is executive-produced by Bruce Helford ("The Drew Carey Show") and movie star Sandra Bullock, is fairly typical sitcom fare.

Lopez, 40, stars as a middle-class man caught between the pressures of family and his factory job, with the added twist that he supervises his sharp-tongued, overbearing mother.

While references to the family's ethnicity inform some of the humor -- "Why does she need to know how to swim? We're already here." -- they are hardly the program's focus.

"We're just playing it straight, man," Lopez told Reuters in a recent interview. "There's no accents, no criminal background, no rooster, none of those."

Actually, at least two of the characters, George's mother, Benny, played by Belita Moreno, and his buddy Ernie, portrayed by Valente Rodriguez, speak with slight inflections that fall somewhere between a Spanish accent and an east-L.A. dialect.

BUSINESS OF DIVERSITY

But ABC, singled out last year by civil rights activists as the slowest network to boost racial diversity on the airwaves, isn't running away from the show's Latino pedigree, either. Lopez will be closely watched as part of the TV industry's recent scramble to bring greater ethnic color to programming.

That trend is about more than simply doing the right thing, however. ABC's move underscores broadcasters' desire to tap into an underserved but growing niche audience -- Hispanic viewers who watch English-language programs by default because there is little to choose from in their native tongue.

This is precisely the demographic Spanish-language broadcasters, such as Univision Communications Inc., have targeted as they launch new programming on U.S. airwaves.

ABC has struggled with low ratings this season after failing to air any hit series recently beyond the one-time top-rated game show "Who Wants to be a Millionaire." That decline, coupled with weak ad sales due to the recession, has severely hurt the earnings of parent company Disney.

Disney has said ABC needs just one or two hit shows to put it back in the ratings race, and ABC has mounted a bilingual marketing campaign for "Lopez," including buying promotional ads on U.S. Spanish-language networks, an ABC official said.

The program also will be simulcast in Spanish via Secondary Audio Programming, (SAP) a supplemental broadcast signal that allows viewers with suitable TV sets to receive the show in another language.

Still, white, English-speaking households account for nearly 80 percent of U.S. television viewers. So like any network show in prime time, "George Lopez" ultimately will have to cut across racial lines and find a mass audience.

"They're looking for the next Cosby home run," said media professor Robert Thompson, head of the Syracuse University's Center for the Study of Popular Television, referring to the 1980s smash hit "The Cosby Show."

REAL-LIFE ROOTS

Lopez said he is counting on the universal appeal of his show, drawn from his real-life experiences working in an aircraft parts factory with his real-life overbearing mother, and his more recent off-stage role as a father and husband.

"I think as a lead character, guys will relate to me, being caught between your wife, and your mom and your kids and doing the right thing," he said. "I'm not just targeting Latino people, or thinking, 'This is for us, and if white people like it too, then OK.' ... I want everybody to watch the show."

Public television viewers familiar with the new Latino drama "American Family," which PBS launched this season after CBS passed on that series, will recognize one of its co-stars, Constance Marie, as Lopez' wife, Angie, on his show.

Lopez said his series will be much less ethnically oriented than the last prime-time comedy that centered on a Latino family, "A.K.A. Pablo," which starred Paul Rodriguez as a struggling young Hispanic comedian and his large, noisy family. That show was canceled after several weeks on ABC.

"They relied on a lot of images that people had become used to -- a lot of people in the family, accents, they spoke Spanish in the house," Lopez said. "What 'George Lopez' is about is they're just a family."

That approach has seen success in two recently launched sitcoms about African American families, Damon Wayans' "My Wife and Kids" on ABC and "The Bernie Mac Show" on Fox.

But for a hit comedy centered on a Latino character, one has to go back to the 1970s series "Chico and the Man," with the late Freddie Prinze as an enterprising young Chicano determined to form a business partnership with a cranky white garage owner played by Jack Albertson.

Lopez, who hosted an English-format morning radio show in Los Angeles last year, got his TV break after Bullock caught his stand-up act at a local nightclub and decided she wanted to develop a show around him. She and Helford, executive producer of "The Drew Carey Show," later teamed up to pitch the show to ABC, which readily committed to the project, Lopez said.

Bullock is slated to guest star in the show's third episode as an accident-prone employee returning to the job, Lopez said. The show premieres Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time.

ABC's new "George Lopez" show straddles two worlds

By Steve Gorman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - When describing the fictional household he leads on the new ABC sitcom that bears his name, comedian George Lopez is fond of saying, "We're just a regular American family, with great tans."

That's his off-handed way of acknowledging what ABC insists is mostly incidental to the show -- that "George Lopez" is the first comedy series in prime time based on a Latino cast since Norman Lear's short-lived "A.K.A. Pablo" in 1984.

Clearly reluctant to see its latest mid-season offering branded TV's "Hispanic show," the struggling network, owned by Walt Disney Co., is touting "George Lopez" as a shining example of its return to old-fashioned family-oriented programs -- in the tradition of "Roseanne" and "Home Improvement."

Indeed, "George Lopez," which debuts Wednesday and is executive-produced by Bruce Helford ("The Drew Carey Show") and movie star Sandra Bullock, is fairly typical sitcom fare.

Lopez, 40, stars as a middle-class man caught between the pressures of family and his factory job, with the added twist that he supervises his sharp-tongued, overbearing mother.

While references to the family's ethnicity inform some of the humor -- "Why does she need to know how to swim? We're already here." -- they are hardly the program's focus.

"We're just playing it straight, man," Lopez told Reuters in a recent interview. "There's no accents, no criminal background, no rooster, none of those."

Actually, at least two of the characters, George's mother, Benny, played by Belita Moreno, and his buddy Ernie, portrayed by Valente Rodriguez, speak with slight Spanish inflections.

BUSINESS OF DIVERSITY

But ABC, singled out last year by civil rights activists as the slowest network to boost racial diversity on the airwaves, isn't running away from the show's Latino pedigree, either. Lopez will be closely watched as part of TV broadcasting's recent scramble to bring greater ethnic color to programming.

That trend is about more than simply doing the right thing, however. ABC's move underscores broadcasters' desire to tap into an underserved but growing niche audience -- Hispanic viewers who watch English-language programs by default because there is little to choose from in their native tongue.

This is precisely the demographic Spanish-language broadcasters, such as Univision Communications Inc., have targeted as they launch new programming on U.S. airwaves.

ABC has struggled with low ratings this season after failing to air any hit shows recently beyond the one-time top-rated game show "Who Wants to be a Millionaire." The decline, coupled with weak ad sales due to the recession, has severely hurt the earnings of parent company Disney.

Disney has said ABC needs just one or two hit shows to put it back in the ratings race, and ABC has mounted a bilingual marketing campaign for "Lopez," including buying promotional ads on U.S. Spanish-language networks, an ABC official said.

The program will be simulcast in Spanish via Secondary Audio Programming, (SAP) a supplemental broadcast signal that allows viewers with suitable TV sets to receive the show in another language.

Still, white, English-speaking households account for nearly 80 percent of U.S. television viewers. So like any network show in prime time, "George Lopez" ultimately will have to cut across racial lines and find a mass audience.

"They're looking for the next Cosby home run," said media professor Robert Thompson, head of the Syracuse University's Center for the Study of Popular Television, referring to the 1980s smash hit "The Cosby Show."

REAL-LIFE ROOTS

Lopez said he is counting on the universal appeal of his show, drawn from his real-life experiences working in an aircraft parts factory with his real-life overbearing mother, and his more recent off-stage role as a father and husband.

"I think as a lead character, guys will relate to me, being caught between your wife, and your mom and your kids and doing the right thing," he said. "I'm not just targeting Latino people, or thinking, 'This is for us, and if white people like it too, then okay.' ... I want everybody to watch the show."

Lopez said the series will be much less ethnically oriented than the last prime-time comedy that centered on a Latino family, "A.K.A. Pablo," which starred Paul Rodriguez as a struggling young Hispanic comedian and his large, noisy family. That show was canceled after several weeks on ABC.

"What 'George Lopez' is about is they're just a family," Lopez said. That approach has seen success in two recently launched sitcoms about African American families, Damon Wayans' "My Wife and Kids" on ABC and "The Bernie Mac Show" on Fox.

But for a hit comedy centered on a Latino character, one has to go back to the 1970s series "Chico and the Man," with the late Freddie Prinze as a young Chicano determined to form a business partnership with a cranky white garage owner.

Cheryl Harrell · 07-26-2002, 06:46 AM

I read on a website that the GEORGE LOPEZ SHOW will be back on ABC in the fall. It'll be on Wed nites at 8:30PM est. This is part of some new family hour programming ABC is trying out... Cool! Freddie is smiling down from heaven over this I'm sure. Freddie was the first...

Joy · 07-26-2002, 08:19 AM

I bet you Freddie would even do a couple guest appearances on the show!
I think we should think of a charecter he could play and a storyline for it

Cheryl Harrell · 07-26-2002, 02:48 PM

That's a neat idea! A George Lopez show/Freddie fan fiction!

I think Freddie would've made a better friend for George than the guy who plays his best friend on there...

Pitooey · 07-26-2002, 09:18 PM

Hey wouldn't it be nice if Issac (Mando) would play a friend of George's just like he was a friend of Chico's. Wouldn't that be great??? I would love him to be on the George Lopez Show.

If anyone gets in touch with Issac maybe you can pitch him that idea!!!

Cheryl Harrell · 07-27-2002, 05:02 AM

Mando would be prefect for this show! They ought to get him to be on there. I'm sure selling stuff for the dental company can be put on hold while being on this show!

Cheryl Harrell · 01-16-2003, 07:58 AM

I found some Articles on George Lopez online that mention Freddie. & He also has out a comedy album. Sounds like Freddie doesn't it only he's happier than Freddie was. When we watched George Lopez last nite Mike pointed out to me that his hair was sort of similar to Freddies & we both agreed that that episode is something Freddie would have doneL

Here are the Urrls:

http://www.georgelopez.com/news/01_07.html

http://www.georgelopez.com/news/02_11.html

http://www.georgelopez.com/news/02_17.html

http://www.georgelopez.com/news/02_18.html

http://www.georgelopez.com/news/02_19.html

http://www.georgelopez.com/retail/retail.html

Danisel331 · 01-17-2003, 05:23 AM

OK, it took some thinking on my part, but here's my way of getting from Freddie to G.Lo! LOL
Freddie was on Chico and the Man with Issac Ruiz (Mando). Issac did a guest spot on The Rockford Files, which of course starred James Garner. James Garner was in a movie, Murphy's Romance with the ever bubbly Sally Field. Sally Field was in another movie, Steel Magnolias(filmed in my homestate!) with Shirley McLaine. Shirley McLaine was in the movie Terms Of Endearment with Jack Nicholson. Jack Nicholson was in the movie Blood and Wine with Jennifer Lopez (before she hit it really big!). Jennifer Lopez was, of course. in the movie, Selena, with Constance Marie. And Constance Marie playes George Lopez wife on the George Lopez Show!
Yay!

I got it all there!

Luckymama58 · 01-17-2003, 10:10 AM

Thank you, Cheryl, for all of the info.
Reading about George's life growing up reminded me that Freddie had a tough time too, but not as bad as George it sounds like. I am glad Freddie was there to inspire him to better. It sounds like, too, that George has a heart for his family, as disfunctional as it sounds, like Freddie had with his. That is nice to see.
I have watched only one of George's shows.... I don't get to watch that much TV these days (I'm always on the computer LOL). It was the show where his son is diagnosed with dyslexca. The show reminded me of a slightly more disfunctional rendition of Cosby... more edge but still with plenty of warmth. It is a good show and I wish him the best of luck.
It is funny tho, I was never a fan of Sandra Bullocks, but after reading that she admired Freddie too, maybe I will have to look at her in a different light from now on. LOL

Dani.... you are a hoot.... 7 degrees of Kevin Bacon game, huh? LOL That is a great connection between Freddie and George!

Joy · 01-17-2003, 10:31 AM

Sandra Bullock admired Freddie? Well now I thought she was a great actress I loved her in while you were sleeping and I am looking forward to seeing two weeks notice. Now I can enjoy it even more knowing that

03-22-2002, 05:10 AM	#1
Cheryl Harrell I Love You Mike 4-Ever Forum Veteran Join Date: Mar 23, 2001 Location: Pixley!!!! Actually VA--USA LOL! Posts: 6,192	Freddie Led The Way For George Lopez And Others I'd been seeing ads on tv for a new tv show called the GEORGE LOPEZ SHOW & it appeared to be a Hispanic sitcom. I'd see the ads & think if Freddie were alive he'd have his own show like that! So I decided to look up George Lopez on the internet to see if he was inspired by Freddie. I found his website & the one on him from ABC & a few articles of it him there as part of the search results & that's what I looked at. No mention of Freddie but I did see some similarities in that his career followed some of the same turns as Freddie. He is from CA & not NYC tho but he did do gigs at some of the same places Freddie did like the IMPROV & he did do the TONIGHT SHOW WITH JOHNNY CARSON like Freddie did. Guess who his manager is? Freddies old manager Ron Deblasio! Wow! Evidently after Freddie passed on he must've continued managing Hispanic comics. The show looks like it'll be a funny one & he's probably gonna be funny & a real hoot too. But nowhere near Freddie tho. I'll probably watch it to see what it is all about. Guys like this owe it all to Freddie! Freddie was the first, the origional & the best!
	__________________ RIP darling Mike. I love you forever... You are with Freddie Prinze & Jesus now. 1951-2009 "Make it your way, who can beat the Lord, the Son of God. Dear Lord, help me be strong where I am weak, if it be your will"-- The Late Freddie Prinze Sr

03-22-2002, 10:15 AM	#2
Pitooey Member Forum Star Join Date: Feb 15, 2001 Location: Rocking in Transylvania. Posts: 15,042	You're right! He was the first. I'll be looking at the G. LO. show too. LOL..........
	__________________ Pitooey... AKA JennyLee - I love the Monkees all over again! *SAY NO TO DRUGS* Jesus saves...

03-23-2002, 05:40 AM	#3
wheeeone Member Frequent Poster Join Date: May 11, 2001 Location: Woodland Hills, Ca Posts: 138	Cheryl, Here are a couple of excerpts from interviews with George that reference Freddie. I have them posted on my Admirer Comment Page on my Freddie site. He acknowledges Freddie's influence and talent. Excerpt from interview with comedian George Lopez As for his visibility as a Latino in the media, Lopez remembers that there were no real role models when he was growing up. That is one of the reasons he has turned down roles where he would have had to play a gang member or a criminal. "Other than Freddie Prinze, there really wasn't anyone to look up to," he reflects. "There was nothing to dream, nothing tangible. But I always dreamed of becoming a force in my hometown, and whether radio, TV or movies, whatever, Ill take it." Excerpt from an interview with George Lopez, host of the morning radio show on Mega 92.3 in Los Angeles-Interview from the Orange County Register.... Lopez said his life changed when he saw Freddie Prinze on the TV show "Chico and the Man." "It changed my world," he said. "It changed the way I thought about myself. Here was a guy who spoke the way we spoke and looked the way we looked. Until he came along, I didn't know someone like me could earn a living telling jokes. "When he died, I cried for a week. His death affected me for years." Inspired by Prinze, Lopez gave stand-up a try but he was a bust on open mike nights around the city. "I wanted it real bad, but I just wasn't funny. So I gave up the dream and got a job."
	__________________ Practice Kindness

01-17-2003, 10:10 AM	#14
Luckymama58 Math Geeks Unite! Senior Member Join Date: Mar 18, 2001 Location: In my rock and roll fantasy Posts: 2,553	Thanks Cheryl Thank you, Cheryl, for all of the info. Reading about George's life growing up reminded me that Freddie had a tough time too, but not as bad as George it sounds like. I am glad Freddie was there to inspire him to better. It sounds like, too, that George has a heart for his family, as disfunctional as it sounds, like Freddie had with his. That is nice to see. I have watched only one of George's shows.... I don't get to watch that much TV these days (I'm always on the computer LOL). It was the show where his son is diagnosed with dyslexca. The show reminded me of a slightly more disfunctional rendition of Cosby... more edge but still with plenty of warmth. It is a good show and I wish him the best of luck. It is funny tho, I was never a fan of Sandra Bullocks, but after reading that she admired Freddie too, maybe I will have to look at her in a different light from now on. LOL Dani.... you are a hoot.... 7 degrees of Kevin Bacon game, huh? LOL That is a great connection between Freddie and George!
	__________________ We All Use Math Every Day! Everything is Numb3rs! Capt. Jack: Drink up, me hardies, Yo Ho! I reject your reality and substitute my own!-Adam Savage, Mythbuster A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds... With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. -Ralph Waldo Emerson RIP Freddie Prinze 1954-1977 You have your star now.

03-23-2002, 12:51 PM	#4
Cheryl Harrell I Love You Mike 4-Ever Forum Veteran Join Date: Mar 23, 2001 Location: Pixley!!!! Actually VA--USA LOL! Posts: 6,192	Thanks for the info! I had seen that one your site but had no idea it was him. So glad he tributes Freddie! I bet Freddie will be looking down & smiling the ntie the show debuts on ABC. That could've been Freddie if he had lived!

03-24-2002, 12:21 AM	#5
Joy Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: May 10, 2001 Location: In Mn lovin my DVD and the Prinze of comedy!!! Posts: 3,247	That was very interesting thanks for sharing!!

03-27-2002, 09:07 AM	#6
Cheryl Harrell I Love You Mike 4-Ever Forum Veteran Join Date: Mar 23, 2001 Location: Pixley!!!! Actually VA--USA LOL! Posts: 6,192	I found a couple of articles on AOL on the new GEORGE LOPEZ show that mention CATM & Freddie. Since everyone doesn't have AOL I will copy them here... Here goes: ABC's new "George Lopez" show straddles two worlds By Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - When describing the fictional household he leads on the new ABC sitcom that bears his name, comedian George Lopez is fond of saying, "We're just a regular American family, with great tans." That's his off-handed way of acknowledging what ABC insists is mostly incidental to the show -- that "George Lopez" is the first comedy series in prime time based on a Latino cast since Norman Lear's short-lived "A.K.A. Pablo" in 1984. Clearly reluctant to see its latest mid-season offering branded TV's "Hispanic show," the struggling network, owned by Walt Disney Co., is touting "George Lopez" as a shining example of its return to old-fashioned family-oriented programs -- in the tradition of "Roseanne" and "Home Improvement." Indeed, "George Lopez," which debuts Wednesday and is executive-produced by Bruce Helford ("The Drew Carey Show") and movie star Sandra Bullock, is fairly typical sitcom fare. Lopez, 40, stars as a middle-class man caught between the pressures of family and his factory job, with the added twist that he supervises his sharp-tongued, overbearing mother. While references to the family's ethnicity inform some of the humor -- "Why does she need to know how to swim? We're already here." -- they are hardly the program's focus. "We're just playing it straight, man," Lopez told Reuters in a recent interview. "There's no accents, no criminal background, no rooster, none of those." Actually, at least two of the characters, George's mother, Benny, played by Belita Moreno, and his buddy Ernie, portrayed by Valente Rodriguez, speak with slight inflections that fall somewhere between a Spanish accent and an east-L.A. dialect. BUSINESS OF DIVERSITY But ABC, singled out last year by civil rights activists as the slowest network to boost racial diversity on the airwaves, isn't running away from the show's Latino pedigree, either. Lopez will be closely watched as part of the TV industry's recent scramble to bring greater ethnic color to programming. That trend is about more than simply doing the right thing, however. ABC's move underscores broadcasters' desire to tap into an underserved but growing niche audience -- Hispanic viewers who watch English-language programs by default because there is little to choose from in their native tongue. This is precisely the demographic Spanish-language broadcasters, such as Univision Communications Inc., have targeted as they launch new programming on U.S. airwaves. ABC has struggled with low ratings this season after failing to air any hit series recently beyond the one-time top-rated game show "Who Wants to be a Millionaire." That decline, coupled with weak ad sales due to the recession, has severely hurt the earnings of parent company Disney. Disney has said ABC needs just one or two hit shows to put it back in the ratings race, and ABC has mounted a bilingual marketing campaign for "Lopez," including buying promotional ads on U.S. Spanish-language networks, an ABC official said. The program also will be simulcast in Spanish via Secondary Audio Programming, (SAP) a supplemental broadcast signal that allows viewers with suitable TV sets to receive the show in another language. Still, white, English-speaking households account for nearly 80 percent of U.S. television viewers. So like any network show in prime time, "George Lopez" ultimately will have to cut across racial lines and find a mass audience. "They're looking for the next Cosby home run," said media professor Robert Thompson, head of the Syracuse University's Center for the Study of Popular Television, referring to the 1980s smash hit "The Cosby Show." REAL-LIFE ROOTS Lopez said he is counting on the universal appeal of his show, drawn from his real-life experiences working in an aircraft parts factory with his real-life overbearing mother, and his more recent off-stage role as a father and husband. "I think as a lead character, guys will relate to me, being caught between your wife, and your mom and your kids and doing the right thing," he said. "I'm not just targeting Latino people, or thinking, 'This is for us, and if white people like it too, then OK.' ... I want everybody to watch the show." Public television viewers familiar with the new Latino drama "American Family," which PBS launched this season after CBS passed on that series, will recognize one of its co-stars, Constance Marie, as Lopez' wife, Angie, on his show. Lopez said his series will be much less ethnically oriented than the last prime-time comedy that centered on a Latino family, "A.K.A. Pablo," which starred Paul Rodriguez as a struggling young Hispanic comedian and his large, noisy family. That show was canceled after several weeks on ABC. "They relied on a lot of images that people had become used to -- a lot of people in the family, accents, they spoke Spanish in the house," Lopez said. "What 'George Lopez' is about is they're just a family." That approach has seen success in two recently launched sitcoms about African American families, Damon Wayans' "My Wife and Kids" on ABC and "The Bernie Mac Show" on Fox. But for a hit comedy centered on a Latino character, one has to go back to the 1970s series "Chico and the Man," with the late Freddie Prinze as an enterprising young Chicano determined to form a business partnership with a cranky white garage owner played by Jack Albertson. Lopez, who hosted an English-format morning radio show in Los Angeles last year, got his TV break after Bullock caught his stand-up act at a local nightclub and decided she wanted to develop a show around him. She and Helford, executive producer of "The Drew Carey Show," later teamed up to pitch the show to ABC, which readily committed to the project, Lopez said. Bullock is slated to guest star in the show's third episode as an accident-prone employee returning to the job, Lopez said. The show premieres Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time. ABC's new "George Lopez" show straddles two worlds By Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - When describing the fictional household he leads on the new ABC sitcom that bears his name, comedian George Lopez is fond of saying, "We're just a regular American family, with great tans." That's his off-handed way of acknowledging what ABC insists is mostly incidental to the show -- that "George Lopez" is the first comedy series in prime time based on a Latino cast since Norman Lear's short-lived "A.K.A. Pablo" in 1984. Clearly reluctant to see its latest mid-season offering branded TV's "Hispanic show," the struggling network, owned by Walt Disney Co., is touting "George Lopez" as a shining example of its return to old-fashioned family-oriented programs -- in the tradition of "Roseanne" and "Home Improvement." Indeed, "George Lopez," which debuts Wednesday and is executive-produced by Bruce Helford ("The Drew Carey Show") and movie star Sandra Bullock, is fairly typical sitcom fare. Lopez, 40, stars as a middle-class man caught between the pressures of family and his factory job, with the added twist that he supervises his sharp-tongued, overbearing mother. While references to the family's ethnicity inform some of the humor -- "Why does she need to know how to swim? We're already here." -- they are hardly the program's focus. "We're just playing it straight, man," Lopez told Reuters in a recent interview. "There's no accents, no criminal background, no rooster, none of those." Actually, at least two of the characters, George's mother, Benny, played by Belita Moreno, and his buddy Ernie, portrayed by Valente Rodriguez, speak with slight Spanish inflections. BUSINESS OF DIVERSITY But ABC, singled out last year by civil rights activists as the slowest network to boost racial diversity on the airwaves, isn't running away from the show's Latino pedigree, either. Lopez will be closely watched as part of TV broadcasting's recent scramble to bring greater ethnic color to programming. That trend is about more than simply doing the right thing, however. ABC's move underscores broadcasters' desire to tap into an underserved but growing niche audience -- Hispanic viewers who watch English-language programs by default because there is little to choose from in their native tongue. This is precisely the demographic Spanish-language broadcasters, such as Univision Communications Inc., have targeted as they launch new programming on U.S. airwaves. ABC has struggled with low ratings this season after failing to air any hit shows recently beyond the one-time top-rated game show "Who Wants to be a Millionaire." The decline, coupled with weak ad sales due to the recession, has severely hurt the earnings of parent company Disney. Disney has said ABC needs just one or two hit shows to put it back in the ratings race, and ABC has mounted a bilingual marketing campaign for "Lopez," including buying promotional ads on U.S. Spanish-language networks, an ABC official said. The program will be simulcast in Spanish via Secondary Audio Programming, (SAP) a supplemental broadcast signal that allows viewers with suitable TV sets to receive the show in another language. Still, white, English-speaking households account for nearly 80 percent of U.S. television viewers. So like any network show in prime time, "George Lopez" ultimately will have to cut across racial lines and find a mass audience. "They're looking for the next Cosby home run," said media professor Robert Thompson, head of the Syracuse University's Center for the Study of Popular Television, referring to the 1980s smash hit "The Cosby Show." REAL-LIFE ROOTS Lopez said he is counting on the universal appeal of his show, drawn from his real-life experiences working in an aircraft parts factory with his real-life overbearing mother, and his more recent off-stage role as a father and husband. "I think as a lead character, guys will relate to me, being caught between your wife, and your mom and your kids and doing the right thing," he said. "I'm not just targeting Latino people, or thinking, 'This is for us, and if white people like it too, then okay.' ... I want everybody to watch the show." Lopez said the series will be much less ethnically oriented than the last prime-time comedy that centered on a Latino family, "A.K.A. Pablo," which starred Paul Rodriguez as a struggling young Hispanic comedian and his large, noisy family. That show was canceled after several weeks on ABC. "What 'George Lopez' is about is they're just a family," Lopez said. That approach has seen success in two recently launched sitcoms about African American families, Damon Wayans' "My Wife and Kids" on ABC and "The Bernie Mac Show" on Fox. But for a hit comedy centered on a Latino character, one has to go back to the 1970s series "Chico and the Man," with the late Freddie Prinze as a young Chicano determined to form a business partnership with a cranky white garage owner.

07-26-2002, 06:46 AM	#7
Cheryl Harrell I Love You Mike 4-Ever Forum Veteran Join Date: Mar 23, 2001 Location: Pixley!!!! Actually VA--USA LOL! Posts: 6,192	I read on a website that the GEORGE LOPEZ SHOW will be back on ABC in the fall. It'll be on Wed nites at 8:30PM est. This is part of some new family hour programming ABC is trying out... Cool! Freddie is smiling down from heaven over this I'm sure. Freddie was the first...

07-26-2002, 08:19 AM	#8
Joy Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: May 10, 2001 Location: In Mn lovin my DVD and the Prinze of comedy!!! Posts: 3,247	I bet you Freddie would even do a couple guest appearances on the show! I think we should think of a charecter he could play and a storyline for it

07-26-2002, 02:48 PM	#9
Cheryl Harrell I Love You Mike 4-Ever Forum Veteran Join Date: Mar 23, 2001 Location: Pixley!!!! Actually VA--USA LOL! Posts: 6,192	That's a neat idea! A George Lopez show/Freddie fan fiction! I think Freddie would've made a better friend for George than the guy who plays his best friend on there...

07-26-2002, 09:18 PM	#10
Pitooey Member Forum Star Join Date: Feb 15, 2001 Location: Rocking in Transylvania. Posts: 15,042	Hey wouldn't it be nice if Issac (Mando) would play a friend of George's just like he was a friend of Chico's. Wouldn't that be great??? I would love him to be on the George Lopez Show. If anyone gets in touch with Issac maybe you can pitch him that idea!!!

07-27-2002, 05:02 AM	#11
Cheryl Harrell I Love You Mike 4-Ever Forum Veteran Join Date: Mar 23, 2001 Location: Pixley!!!! Actually VA--USA LOL! Posts: 6,192	Mando would be prefect for this show! They ought to get him to be on there. I'm sure selling stuff for the dental company can be put on hold while being on this show!

01-16-2003, 07:58 AM	#12
Cheryl Harrell I Love You Mike 4-Ever Forum Veteran Join Date: Mar 23, 2001 Location: Pixley!!!! Actually VA--USA LOL! Posts: 6,192	I found some Articles on George Lopez online that mention Freddie. & He also has out a comedy album. Sounds like Freddie doesn't it only he's happier than Freddie was. When we watched George Lopez last nite Mike pointed out to me that his hair was sort of similar to Freddies & we both agreed that that episode is something Freddie would have doneL Here are the Urrls: http://www.georgelopez.com/news/01_07.html http://www.georgelopez.com/news/02_11.html http://www.georgelopez.com/news/02_17.html http://www.georgelopez.com/news/02_18.html http://www.georgelopez.com/news/02_19.html http://www.georgelopez.com/retail/retail.html

01-17-2003, 05:23 AM	#13
Danisel331 Kisses for my fans! Senior Member Join Date: Jan 11, 2002 Posts: 1,475	OK, it took some thinking on my part, but here's my way of getting from Freddie to G.Lo! LOL Freddie was on Chico and the Man with Issac Ruiz (Mando). Issac did a guest spot on The Rockford Files, which of course starred James Garner. James Garner was in a movie, Murphy's Romance with the ever bubbly Sally Field. Sally Field was in another movie, Steel Magnolias(filmed in my homestate!) with Shirley McLaine. Shirley McLaine was in the movie Terms Of Endearment with Jack Nicholson. Jack Nicholson was in the movie Blood and Wine with Jennifer Lopez (before she hit it really big!). Jennifer Lopez was, of course. in the movie, Selena, with Constance Marie. And Constance Marie playes George Lopez wife on the George Lopez Show! Yay! I got it all there!

01-17-2003, 10:31 AM	#15
Joy Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: May 10, 2001 Location: In Mn lovin my DVD and the Prinze of comedy!!! Posts: 3,247	Sandra Bullock admired Freddie? Well now I thought she was a great actress I loved her in while you were sleeping and I am looking forward to seeing two weeks notice. Now I can enjoy it even more knowing that