Four’s Company, Richard Kline’s A Scribe

[TMC]

https://jacksonupperco.com/2022/04/2...ines-a-scribe/

A “spec script” is a script written on speculation — that is, a script written by someone who’s not on staff of a TV series but is hoping that the producers of that show (or another show) will take a look at it and give him/her a job. Some of you might remember several years ago when I shared a spec Mary Tyler Moore Show written by Beverly Sanders, who’d guested a few times on that series as Rayette the waitress, a character whom she emphasized when writing her script. Well, this effort — entitled “Larry Loses His Job” and written by Kline — is similar, as it emphasizes Larry. Now, there’s no precise date on my copy, but I am confident placing it during the 1979-’80 season (Three’s Company’s fourth) for a few reasons. To begin with, it features Chrissy and includes a reference to Mr. Furley. That narrows things down considerably. Second, there are published articles from 1979 that explicitly discuss Kline’s efforts to make Larry a more regular presence on the show, and there’s even mention of him pitching ideas to the writers — including one story about the trio helping him shoot a commercial for his used car lot. And, lastly, in the Three’s Company tell-all book, it is said that when Kline approached the writers/producers to talk about his character — somewhere around “the fourth or fifth season” — they punished him with a quiet suspension. Based on the entries where he’s “credit only,” that would have occurred in… Season Four. So, using all of these clues, Four is my pick.

[thejasoomian]

This script and binder recently came up for auction on Ebay. I was one of the bidders but not the winner. This is probably the closest we will come to a unproduced script. Talking to a fellow 3's collector at the time of it's auction, we both concluded it was some sort of pitch script by Richard Kline or somebody he knew. It's nice to have confirmation . And it's nice to have a review of the actual script. You can read some of the pages as well.

I liked RK's idea about having the gang help him shoot a commercial for his used car dealership. Anytime they got out of the apartment, that was a good thing.

Thanks for post!