Retro TV

I know I promised this for Monday but I had to have a wisdom tooth pulled and the recovery was longer than I expected. My apologies!

The current Classic TV Spotlight is shining on “Barney Miller” the critically acclaimed and still beloved ABC sitcom about a group of detectives at the NYPD’s 12th Precinct. The show ran from 1975-1982. What is the cast up to these days? Let’s take a look:

Hal Linden After “Barney Miller” made him a household name, Hal went on to host the award winning “FYI” daytime series and star in to other short-lived series, “Blacke’s Magic” and “Jack’s Place”. In 1984 he held the Olympic Torch and ran a portion of the Los Angeles route. He has guest starred in a long list of shows and most recently has been a semi regular on the daytime soap “The Bold and the Beautiful”. Now 76, he recently appeared in the play “Love Letters” with “I Dream of Jeannie” star Barbara Eden.

Ron Glass Ron rode his “Barney Miller” fame right into another series, 1982’s “The New Odd Couple”. He starred as Felix alongside Demond Wilson’s Oscar. The series was short lived but his acting career kept going. He appeared in several episodes of the hit sitcom “Amen, and has made guest appearances in everything from “Friends” to “Star Trek Voyager”. He also lent his voice to the popular cartoon “Rugrats” as the character Randy Carmichael. Most recently he gained a whole new legion of fans as Shepard Book in the cult sci-fi hit “Firefly”. He reprised his role for the popular motion picture based on the series. Now 62, he was mostly recently seen on the television series “Shark” as Judge Fenton.

Max Gail After the show ended, Max appeared on Broadway in a one man show about baseball legend Babe Ruth and in the motion picture comedy “DC Cab”. However, tragedy struck in 1986 when his wife died of cancer, leaving him to raise their then 18 month old daughter. He took time off to raise his daughter but still made guest appearances in many shows and even starred in the NBC series “Whiz Kids” as what else? A police detective! He got married again in 1989 and had two more children. Most recently he has been seen on short lived series “Sons and Daughters”, on the daytime soap “Days of Our Lives” and on the series “Dexter”. Now 64, Max is a dedicated community activist who works with organizations like Habitat for Humanity and has his own production company, Full Circle, that produces documentaries on social issues such as nuclear power, the environment, and native american affairs.

Abe Vigoda Despite rumors to the contrary, Abe is alive and well and lives here in New York City. In the mid 1980’s a magazine erronously referred to him as the “late” Abe Vigoda. It quickly became a running joke that lives to this day. Abe makes regular appearances on the Conan O’Brien show to poke fun at himself and the rumor. Despite his appearance as Fish (thanks to a creative wardrobe and the slouch he adopted) the 6′4 inch Vigoda was actually quite an athlete who ran 5 miles a day and played tennis and handball regularly. Now 86, he continues to be active and most recently has lent his voice to the recent “Godfather” series of video games.

Gregory Sierra Greg left the show after its second season to take the starring role in “AES Hudson Street” which was hyped to be “Barney Miller but with doctors”. It quickly bombed. He continued to act however, appearing in many television shows and movies until 1999 when he dropped out of sight. He resurfaced in 2006 as a member of the cast of an independent film called “Vic”. Now 66, he appears to have no current projects in the works.

Steve Landesburg Steve joined the cast as Dietrich late in the first season. He went on to have an active career as a guest star in many shows and movies. He’ll turn 63 next month and can now be seen on the series “Head Case” as Dr. Myron Finklestein.

Ron Carey After the show, Ron appeared in guest roles in various movies and shows, here and in Italy, including the movies “Johnmy Dangerously”. Sadly, Ron passed away in January as the result of a stroke. He was 71.

Barbara BarrieAlthough the character of Liz Miller was drastically cut after the first season and all but written out after the fourth, the character continued to be a popular part of the show. Barney was often seen speaking to her on the phone and she was still mentioned in conversation. In fact, when the writers decided to have Lix and Barney seperate and eventually divorce as a way to write the character off, the fans protested so vigorously that the couple was reunited-even though Liz never showed up at the station again. Barbara went on have a busy career in tv and films. She is perhaps best known for her role as Nana on “Suddenly Susan”. Now 76, she recently completed filming a movie called “Frame of Mind” about the Kennedy Assassination.

Linda Lavin Linda played Detective Janice Wentworth in the show’s first two seasons. The character was Wojo’s love interest and fit in well with the rest of the cast. So why was she written off? She was offered the lead role in another sitcom. You may have heard of it. Yes, she is best known for her role on the hit sitcom “Alice”. It ran from 1976 to 1985 and made her a household name. Since then, she’s gone on to win a Tony Award for Best Actress (for 1987’s “Broadway Bound”) and was nominated again in 1988 for “Diary of Anne Frank” and once again in 2000 for “Tales of the Allergist Wife”. Now 70, she teaches at New York University’s Undergraduate Performing Arts Division.

James Gregory After the show ended, he appeared in a handful of guest starring roles before retiring from acting and settling down in Arizona. His last TV appearance was on an episode of “Mr. Belvedere” in 1986. He passed away of natural causes the ripe old age of 91 in 2002. When asked to sum up his life’s work he simply said “I am an actor”. To quote another beloved cast member no longer with us “Very well put!”.

George Murdock A popular character actor, he has continued acting regularly. Although beloved by “Barney Miller” fans for his role as the fantastically sleazy Lt. Scanlon, He’s appeared in hundreds of other shows and movies, from “Battlestar Galactica” to CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” Now 77, his recent projects include the films “Man in the Chair” and “Say It in Russian”.

Florence Stanley Although well known for her role as Bernice Fish, Florence went on semi regular roles in the tv series “My Two Dads” and “House of Mouse” Sadly, she passed away in 2003 from a stroke. She was 79. Her last project was voice work for the “Law and Order” series of video games.

classic sitcoms, classic television, barney miller, where are they now?, Battlestar Galactica