The Montefuscos
Encyclopedia
The Montefuscos was an American
television
sitcom that was originally broadcast on Thursday
night
s at 8:00–8:30 pm (ET
) from September 4–October 23, 1975 on the National Broadcasting Company (NBC)
. Created by executive producer
s Bill Persky
and Sam Denoff
, the comedy centered on three generation
s of an Italian-American
family
that lived in Connecticut
and their regular gatherings for Sunday dinner
. It led off a Thursday prime time
schedule that completely featured brand new programs such as Fay
, Ellery Queen
and Medical Story. The series was cancelled after only nine episodes mainly because The Waltons
dominated the time slot in the Nielsen ratings
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
sitcom that was originally broadcast on Thursday
Thursday
Thursday is the fourth day of the week according to the ISO 8601 international standard adopted in most western countries. In countries that use the Sunday-first convention and in the Judeo-Christian calendar it is the fifth day of the week. It falls between Wednesday and Friday...
night
Night
Night or nighttime is the period of time when the sun is below the horizon. This occurs after dusk. The opposite of night is day...
s at 8:00–8:30 pm (ET
Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
) from September 4–October 23, 1975 on the National Broadcasting Company (NBC)
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
. Created by executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
s Bill Persky
Bill Persky
Bill Persky is an American Emmy Award-winning director, screenwriter, producer, and actor for television. With his long time late collaborator Sam Denoff he wrote and created the television show "That Girl" starring Marlo Thomas.-External links:...
and Sam Denoff
Sam Denoff
Samuel Denoff was an American Emmy Award-winning screenwriter, television producer. He was born in Brooklyn, New York. With his long time collaborator Bill Persky he wrote and created the television show "That Girl" starring Marlo Thomas.-External links:*- References :...
, the comedy centered on three generation
Generation
Generation , also known as procreation in biological sciences, is the act of producing offspring....
s of an Italian-American
Italian American
An Italian American , is an American of Italian ancestry. The designation may also refer to someone possessing Italian and American dual citizenship...
family
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
that lived in Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
and their regular gatherings for Sunday dinner
Dinner
Dinner is usually the name of the main meal of the day. Depending upon culture, dinner may be the second, third or fourth meal of the day. Originally, though, it referred to the first meal of the day, eaten around noon, and is still occasionally used for a noontime meal, if it is a large or main...
. It led off a Thursday prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
schedule that completely featured brand new programs such as Fay
Fay (TV series)
Fay was a TV series starring Lee Grant as Fay Stewart, a woman in her 40s who after 25 years of marriage to attorney Jack Stewart started a new job and begin dating....
, Ellery Queen
Ellery Queen (TV series)
Ellery Queen is an American television detective mystery series that ran for one season from 1975 to 1976 on NBC. It starred Jim Hutton as Ellery Queen, and David Wayne as his father, Inspector Richard Queen...
and Medical Story. The series was cancelled after only nine episodes mainly because The Waltons
The Waltons
The Waltons is an American television series created by Earl Hamner, Jr., based on his book Spencer's Mountain, and a 1963 film of the same name. The show centered on a family growing up in a rural Virginia community during the Great Depression and World War II. The series pilot was a television...
dominated the time slot in the Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
.
Cast
- Joseph Sirola as Tony "Papa" Montefusco, patriarch of the family.
- Naomi StevensNaomi StevensNaomi Stevens was a prolific character actress of film and television from the 1950s through the 1980s. She has appeared in almost 100 roles over the years, usually depicting someone's ethnic mother, or neighbor...
as Rose "Mama" Montefusco, Tony's wife. - Ron CareyRon Carey (actor)Ron Carey was an American film and television actor. The 5-foot 4-inch actor was best known for playing cocky Officer Carl Levitt on TV's Barney Miller, in which he was almost always surrounded by male actors who stood at least 4" taller...
as Frank Montefusco. - Phoebe Dorin as Theresa Montefusco, Frank's wife.
- Sal ViscusoSal ViscusoSal Viscuso is an American actor.His most notable role was as the uncredited, unseen P.A. system announcer in the long-running TV series M*A*S*H. He also made several one-shot appearances as other characters throughout the series, usually as a patient at the 4077th...
as Nunzio Montefusco. - John ApreaJohn ApreaJohn Aprea is an American actor, known for his role as "Young Sal Tessio" in The Godfather: Part II and on television as "Lucas Castigliano" on the soap opera Another World, from 1989 to 1992. As of 2006, he is currently filming a new soap opera in Southern California called, "The Heiress", which...
as Joseph "Joey" Montefusco. - Jeffrey Palladini as Anthony Carmine Montefusco.
- Robby Paris as Jerome Montefusco.
- Dominique Pinassi as Gina Montefusco.
- Linda DanoLinda DanoLinda Dano is an American soap opera actress. A longtime performer in daytime dramas and a bestselling author and businesswoman, Dano was married for over 20 years to advertising executive Frank Attardi....
as Angelina "Angie" Montefusco Cooney. - Bill Cort as Jim Cooney, Angelina's husband.
- Damon Raskin as Anthony Patrick Cooney, Jim & Angelina's son.
Episode list
| Ep. # | Title | Airdate | Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Behind Papa's Back" | September 4, 1975 | Rose is worried about Tony's health after hearing a rumor that he had written a will. |
| 2 | "My Son, the Actor" | September 11, 1975 | Nunzio makes it big in his family's eyes despite landing a one-line role on a religious television show. |
| 3 | "Nunzie's Girl" | September 18, 1975 | Frank is nervous about the arrival of Nunzio's girlfriend (Candice Azzara Candice Azzara Candice "Candy" Azzara is an American character actress frequently cast in Italian or Jewish roles.Azzara was born in Brooklyn, the daughter of Josephine and Samuel Azzara. She was inspired to pursue acting by the film La Strada and theatre legend Eleanora Duse... ), thinking that he secretly dated her while courting Theresa. |
| 4 | "The Last of the Red Hot Dinners" | September 25, 1975 | Jim, a Protestant, plans to attend a football game instead of Sunday dinner, much to the horror of his in-laws. |
| 5 | "Do You Take This Montefusco?" | October 2, 1975 | Tony & Rose's 40th wedding anniversary celebration is marred by an angry outburst during Mass. |
| 6 | "Too Many Cooks" | October 9, 1975 | Rose's illness brings out the worst in everyone when the rest of the family attempts to prepare dinner without her. |
| 7 | "Here Comes the Priest" | October 16, 1975 | Dinner is postponed as the family anxiously awaits the Bishop's arrival, with the hope of Joey being appointed pastor of his own parish. |
| 8 | "Filomena's Visit" | October 23, 1975 | Filomena (Kaye Ballard Kaye Ballard Kaye Ballard is an American musical theatre and television actress, comedienne, and singer.-Life and career:Ballard was born as Catherine Gloria Balotta in Cleveland, Ohio, to an Italian American family, the daughter of Lena and Vincent James Balotta.Ballard established herself as a musical... ), Tony's sister and Rose's bitter rival, visits the Montefusco household. |
| 9 | "Papa Pasta" | October 23, 1975 | |