Mannie the doorman from ep 'The Loan'

[Mace Dolex]

As a Hispanic myself I was never offended by this one off character of Mannie, to me I find it ridiculous how the show writers felt that all foreigners needed to speak with a forced accent but this guy sounded laughable speaking broken English and slipping some Spanish words to balance it out.

Another worst offender would be the backdoor pilot from season 3 'Almost American' with the teacher helping her class go through US citizenship, you had a Russian, a Mexican, an Asian, even future Ghostbuster Ernie Hudson put on some Kenyan accent.

[EccentricGenius]

Originally Posted by Mace Dolex

As a Hispanic myself I was never offended by this one off character of Mannie, to me I find it ridiculous how the show writers felt that all foreigners needed to speak with a forced accent but this guy sounded laughable speaking broken English and slipping some Spanish words to balance it out.

Another worst offender would be the backdoor pilot from season 3 'Almost American' with the teacher helping her class go through US citizenship, you had a Russian, a Mexican, an Asian, even future Ghostbuster Ernie Hudson put on some Kenyan accent.

I wasn't offended by Tommy Aguilar's portrayal of Mannie the doorman (in "The Loan"), either...in fact, Aguilar played the character fairly straight, without resorting to the usual stereotypes and cliches that had become commonplace--and still are, in some ways--in American television. Mannie was an ambitious young man who wanted to better himself by opening his own limousine service. It's a pity that Mannie never became a recurring character on "Strokes"; Aguilar's onscreen chemistry with Gary Coleman was top-notch...it's equally unfortunate that Aguilar never became a familiar face on American television. May he continue to rest in peace (Aguilar died of AIDS in 1993 at the age of 41)...he is still missed.

As for "Almost American," the less said, the better--"Almost American" is, undoubtedly, one of the worst episodes of "Diff'rent Strokes" and definitely the nadir of season three; it was a backdoor pilot for a proposed spin-off that (thankfully) never materialized. Spotting a pre-"Ghostbusters" Ernie Hudson was interesting, but Bob Ari's performance as naive Czech immigrant Milos left a whole lot to be desired (ditto for Maureen McNamara's performance as Catherine Armstrong, Milo's night school instructor).

In an interesting coincidence, Rosalind Chao (best known for her roles as Soon-Lee Klinger on "AfterMASH" and Keiko O'Brien on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine") had a supporting role in "Almost American" as Ming Li; she would later have a recurring role as Arnold's teacher, Miss Chung, during "Strokes'" fifth season.

[70s show watcher]

Originally Posted by EccentricGenius

I wasn't offended by Tommy Aguilar's portrayal of Mannie the doorman (in "The Loan"), either...in fact, Aguilar played the character fairly straight, without resorting to the usual stereotypes and cliches that had become commonplace--and still are, in some ways--in American television. Mannie was an ambitious young man who wanted to better himself by opening his own limousine service. It's a pity that Mannie never became a recurring character on "Strokes"; Aguilar's onscreen chemistry with Gary Coleman was top-notch...it's equally unfortunate that Aguilar never became a familiar face on American television. May he continue to rest in peace (Aguilar died of AIDS in 1993 at the age of 41)...he is still missed.

As for "Almost American," the less said, the better--"Almost American" is, undoubtedly, one of the worst episodes of "Diff'rent Strokes" and definitely the nadir of season three; it was a backdoor pilot for a proposed spin-off that (thankfully) never materialized. Spotting a pre-"Ghostbusters" Ernie Hudson was interesting, but Bob Ari's performance as naive Czech immigrant Milos left a whole lot to be desired (ditto for Maureen McNamara's performance as Catherine Armstrong, Milo's night school instructor).

In an interesting coincidence, Rosalind Chao (best known for her roles as Soon-Lee Klinger on "AfterMASH" and Keiko O'Brien on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine") had a supporting role in "Almost American" as Ming Li; she would later have a recurring role as Arnold's teacher, Miss Chung, during "Strokes'" fifth season.

very well said i lked manny too and i agree its a shame that they never brought him back

[EccentricGenius]

Originally Posted by 70s show watcher

very well said i lked manny too and i agree its a shame that they never brought him back

Thank you, 70s show watcher! I always wondered if Mannie ever started his limousine service!

[Edward216]

I remember that episode. And that Manny affectionately called Arnold "muchacho", I think that's little man or boy in Spanish.

Ed.