home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- BUSINESS, Page 81Business NotesENTERTAINMENTAfter the Star Is Gone
-
-
-
- The sudden death of raunchy raconteur Redd Foxx during a
- rehearsal for his new TV series, The Royal Family, deprived
- America of one of its most popular comedians -- and may have
- cheated CBS of a hit. Foxx's much-anticipated return to TV,
- opposite co-star Della Reese, was producing respectable ratings
- for the network in a long-lagging Wednesday-night time slot. CBS
- has only three more episodes featuring Foxx. While replacing him
- will be difficult, since the show was tailor-made for Foxx, the
- network hopes to keep the series alive. One possibility: a new
- male lead, perhaps two-time star Sherman Hemsley (The Jeffersons
- and Amen), who already has a development deal with CBS. The
- strategy is risky. After the suicide of comedian Freddie Prinze
- in 1977 NBC replaced him with a child actor in Chico and the
- Man, and the network hit swiftly became an also-ran.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-