Golden Palace

[CBSrulz]

Why did CBS cancel "Golden Palace"???And why did CBS pick up the series??? And if NBC would have picked up "Golden Palace" Would you think it would see more than just 1 season? Also what was"Golden Palace" ratings at the end of the 92-93 season?? It looked to be a funny show cause I was watching a Christmas tape of a Charlie Brown Special and on the commercial I hear the music to Golden Girls and it said "Next Week on "Golden Palace"...........I was so excited!
-Dillon

[*PinkLady*]

I think they canceled the show because it just didn't work without all four Golden Girls there. I never actually saw GP, so I don't know if that's the real reason or not.

[TALLguyinKY]

"When we began our seventh season of Girls, we were pretty much aware that it would be our last. Bea had begun to get restless the season before, and our last year was no fun for her at all. She wanted out, and she made no bones about it. She wanted to go to England; she wanted to do a musical; she wanted to do a lot of things. Our show just didn't happen to be one of them. Well, we had enjoyed a good long run and were reconciled to the fact that the time had come to move on.

None of us even considered doing Girls without Bea. It would be like taking one leg off of a table and expecting it to balance. So we had no idea what to expect when Paul Will and Tony Thomas called Rue and Estelle and me up to their office for a meeting.

After the usual amenities, Paul and Tony began to spell out their appreciation for their good fortune---they now had eight shows up and running. Great as that was, it was a very full plate, and they were tired. The last thing in the world they had in mind was to face putting together another show. However...

They then went on to say that Susan Harris Hitt had come up with an idea they couldn't resist, and they proceeded to describe it.

Dorothy, Bea's character, would get married, but not to her ex-husband, Stan, with whom she had had an on-again, off-again relationship with for seven years. No, this would be someone completely new, and the whole thing would take place, develop, and resolve in a one-hour Golden Girls episode that would close the season---and the series.

Then, the following season could begin with a new series, using our same characters but in a new environment. With Dorothy moved out, Blanche, Sophia, and Rose would sell the house and buy a small hotel in one of the reclaimed and currently popular sections of Miami.

For seven the Girls had been living together, as much as a hedge against lonliness as for economic reasons. But they had always faced life from the shelter and security of their home. Now, by leaving that familiar setting, these characters, whom the audience knew so well, would be forced to do what so many women these days were having to do in real life---meet the world as it comes through the front door and deal with it.

As well as being good writers and producers, Paul and Tony were also no slouches in the selling department. They didn't ask for an immediate reaction. They wanted us to think it over, sleep on it, discuss it among ourselves, and then we would have another meeting.

There was a lot to think about. There were some pros and there were some cons, but the idea of bringing the women out into the real world was an intriguing one. After much discussion and soul-searching, several meetings later we all agreed to have a go at Golden Palace---which was the name of our new hotel."


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"Over that summer, power meetings (as opposed to just meetings) had been going on between Witt-Thomas-Harris, NBC, CBS, and Buena Vista. When all the dust finally settled, The Golden Palace was leaving the Peacock and set to air on CBS.

The new show took a little getting used to, which was to be expected. When Golden Palace started shooting for the following season, the series opened with Blanche, Sophia, and Rose moving out of the house and into the hotel. It actually felt like we were leaving home.

There were some new cast members: the chef, who dominated the kitchen, so consequently was on a collision course with Sophia; the young black manager of the hotel; a little boy who just showed up and wouldn't leave. Also, each week there would be a guest celebrity written into the script, which was fun because we never knew who would show up for read-through on Monday morning. You can imagine how tickled I was the morning Eddie Albert walked in.

The action took place primarily moving between the big kitchen, the dining room, and the huge lobby, which were all adjoining. We did log a lot of time behind the front desk. I was right back where I started with Tom, Dick, and Harry. No feather duster this time. Once in a while we would go outside for a scene or two, or to one or another of the hotel rooms upstairs (it was the same room, redressed).

We shot the first two episodes before the fall season started, with a highly rated comedian from England playing the role of the chef. Unfortunately, he was used to doing stand-up and couldn't get the hang of ensemble playing at all. Paul and Tony nipped the potential problem in the bud with some instant and inspired recasting. We reshot all the kitchen scenes from the first two shows with Cheech Marin (of Cheech and Chong) now playing the part, and by the time we went on the air, it was as though Cheech had been born in the part. Don Cheadle played the young manager, and Billy Sullivan was the little boy. Billy was such a nice kid and a great little actor. However, it became more and more difficult to find ways of working him into the story line each week, so after a few weeks, he was written out of the show. It was a tough pill to swallow, but Billy took it like a trouper and still visited us often. He also came to all our subsequent cast get-togethers.

The show was enjoyable, the reviewers were kind, and the ratings were satisfactory. In other words, Golden Palace was a moderately pleasing show---not a grabber.

With the number of other shows they had going, it was physically impossible for Paul and Tony to keep hands on, as they had with The Golden Girls, although one or the other usually attended Monday readh-through and dress rehearsal.

Rose Nylund's longtime love, Miles, played by the wonderful Harold Gould, came along for a couple of shows. Being an actor in great demand, Harold had another commitment he had to fulfill, so the writers had Miles marry Nanette Fabray. The cad.

Dorothy's character was kept alive by us referring to her now and then, and Bea made one guest appearance for a two-parter.

The season continued: it didn't progress. Soon a pattern began to emerge. There had been many rewrites during the week on Golden Girls, and as a rule they were improvements---just minor fixes here and there. With Palace, far too often we would start out with one script Monday, with major changes Tuesday, and several times we received a whole new, unrelated script on Wednesday. What had caught our interest originally---the idea that these three women were trying to compete in and cope with today's world, as it was happening just outside the lobby doors---somehow got lost in the shuffle. In desperation, one or another of us would be given a funny run of dialogue, not necessarily connected to the story line, and it would be like doing Golden Girls in the Lobby. There were some good shows mixed in, but not enough.

There was one show that went very well. It dealt with the rescue of racing greyhounds. In the course of the comedy we were able to get across the very serious message of how many of these fine dogs are destroyed each year when they don't win races, and to celebrate the people who work at finding good homes for them. Naturally, I would like that one, but I wasn't alone---we received more mail on that episode, by far, than on any of the rest. Marco Pennette, whose idea it was, did a good job of making his point in the script.

Once the basic problems with the show were identified, things began to improve. By the end of the season, while CBS had not given us a firm pickup yet, they were most reassuring. They told Paul and Tony they were something like 96 percent sure of renewing but had to give themselves a little leeway until all the new pilots had been seen. Not the most sanguine way to sign off for the summer, but Witt-Thomas-Harris were very optimistic.

By the end of May, the long-awaited new fall schedule was announced---and we weren't on it. Tony said he had been told, for what it was worth, that we were listed on the schedule until the night before announcements, but in countering some move by one of the other networks, we didn't make the cut. C'est la cotton-pickin' vie!

It was disappointing not to be picked up, but it was by no means the heart-wrenching loss it had been at other times. I think what I missed more than the actual show itself, aside from the people involved, of course, was the structure it afforded. Working for three weeks, then getting a week off to give the writers a chance to catch up, is, to me, the best schedule in the world. And it's a different show each week, so the routine doesn't settle into a rut. However, any habbit pattern wears off quickly, and there is always plenty to do---all those things there was no time for when the days were 'structured'. Such as beginning to make notes for a new book, for instance. I'll never learn."


---"Here We Go Again: My Life in Televsion", Betty White, 1995

[ThomasE]

I must get that book. Thanks for posting that. Estelle Getty's character became a refugee and went to Empty Nest.

[TALLguyinKY]

Thanks Thomas, I'm glad somebody enjoyed it!

And yes, it's a GREAT book.

I also have Vicki Lawrence's autobiography, and even though I love her, I was still shocked at what a passionate reading it is---I got it for Christmas once from a friend's mother (who's also a friend o' mine---kinda like my "2nd mom"), and I literally COULD NOT put it down---I read it for 6 1/2 straight hours when I got home!!

[TALLguyinKY]

COVER TO COVER!!

[TALLguyinKY]

[jayman75]

Originally posted by TALLguyinKY
Thanks Thomas, I'm glad somebody enjoyed it!

And yes, it's a GREAT book.

I also have Vicki Lawrence's autobiography, and even though I love her, I was still shocked at what a passionate reading it is---I got it for Christmas once from a friend's mother (who's also a friend o' mine---kinda like my "2nd mom"), and I literally COULD NOT put it down---I read it for 6 1/2 straight hours when I got home!!

What's the name of that book, and when did it come out? Does it have info on the "Vicki!" show? I always wondered what happened with that. I remember Iman (the model) guest-hosting once. Weird...

[TALLguyinKY]

Originally posted by jayman75
What's the name of that book, and when did it come out? Does it have info on the "Vicki!" show? I always wondered what happened with that. I remember Iman (the model) guest-hosting once. Weird...

The full workin' title is, "Vicki! The True-Life Adventures of Miss Fireball" (Vicki Lawrence with Marc Eliot), 1995. I actually wrote a review for a site once a few years ago, so here's that for ya:


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To read a book about Vicki Lawrence, you wouldn't think it would have many surprises or thrilling passages.

You could not be more wrong.

I was given a copy of "Vicki!" for Christmas by a dear friend of mine last year. She knows I am a big fan of Lawrence's popular '80s sitcom "Mama's Family". I initially wanted the book to read more inside things about that show---forget one TV show, I was totally shocked at what the lady's real life has been like.



CONTENT
------------

Like most autobiographies, Lawrence begins with her childhood. She reveals a strained relationship with an overbearing mother, which plays a big part in Lawrence's life over the years. It is delightful to discover how when in high school she met Carol Burnett, and the process by which Lawrence eventually got the role of Burnett's younger sister on the famous comedienne's variety show. For "The Carol Burnett Show" Lawrence won an Emmy award---for which she had been nominated several times.

In this fascinating book, subjects are covered from college struggles and family dilemmas to a first love which led to a gold record---"The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia"---and a bitter divorce. Lawrence's progressive relationship with her second husband (makeup artist Al Schulz) is quite inspiring to read about. It shows how strong love can indeed carry you through some of your hardest times.

I had thought of Vicki Lawrence as merely being a television actress (albeit one of my most favorites). Yet through reading her autobiography I learned that, against the wishes of her friends and family, she went to Vietnam during the war to help entertain troops in their time of hardship. The book gets understandably emotional when Lawrence recounts her experiences with the men, and of making telephone calls for two straight weeks to uninformed parents for hundreds of lonely soldiers. This is a fact about her life of which most people are unaware. Lawrence is a woman who truly cares for people.

For TV fans, it is fascinating to get behind-the-scenes scoops on shows like "The Carol Burnett Show", "Mama's Family", "Win, Lose, or Draw", and "Vicki!", her personal talk show. It becomes clear just how good a show she had in "Vicki!"---she was nominated for an Emmy in her debut year (a RARE feat)---yet the undesirable elements of her production team were the downfall for her cancellation. These behind-the-scenes stories of causes for both failure and success are things the public rarely gets a look at, but Lawrence tells it all like it is.


PICTURES
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There is also a great visual element to this book. Lawrence has been extremely gracious in her sharing of photographs, as a rather thick mid-section is devoted to nothing but pictures upon pictures. These cover everything from her personal life---from childhood to marriage---to her professional life---every major show she was a part of. It's an impressive library.


OTHER COMMENTS
------------------------

For nostalgic fans of television, "Vicki!" tells the life of an Emmy-winning actress in her own words. Literally filled with fascinating events from someone in the television business, it is an extraordinary read. I myself read it all in one sitting in approximately six and a half hours---that's how compelling her life is (good thing I had no plans that night). The writing itself is also outstanding. She is frequently witty in her light-hearted humor, yet the deeper parts are shown to have emotion and concern, sometimes with a bit of sarcasm to show how some people try to conquer tough times with their unique personalities.

For a great read that won't let you down, "Vicki!" is one of the top autobiographies there is. You may think you know everything there is to know about this actress who had a few shows, but trust me---you don't know the half of it.


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Try ebay or online used bookstores, jayman! And yes, some good stuff on the "Vicki!" show--I mean, this book really opens your eyes!!