In 1971, "All in the Family" quietly made its
television debut, bringing Queens’ biggest boob onto millions of our nation’s
tubes. It became a landmark series that not only reflected the social upheaval of the time
and tackled bigotry with an outer-borough backdrop, but it was funny too. In TV-land the
show is considered sacred ground — on which most producers fear to tread.
Almost three
decades later, working-class Queens is returning to prime time in new series called
"That’s Life," which premiers on March 10 at 9:30 p.m. on ABC. Created by
the producers and writers of "Roseanne," the show had been tentatively called
"These Are the Days," paying homage to the Bunkers.
The show has survived long enough to make it on the air, but that name didn’t.
Outer-borough Butcher
Now being filmed off-location in Los Angeles, "That’s Life" takes place
in the Middle Village home of Mike and Patty. Mike, portrayed by Sunnyside native Gerry
Red Wilson, is a butcher at the local supermarket. Having just been promoted to "head
of meat," (Archie would no doubt call him a meat-head) and now that his upstairs
tenants have moved out, Mike plans to turn the second floor of his duplex into "Guy
Town," a den for beer, sports, and snacks.
His plan is foiled by the unfortunate circumstances of Patty’s sister Catherine,
whose husband leaves her without funds, furniture, or future in Manhattan. So she and her
10-year old son are forced to come to Queens and move in with Mike and Patty. Needless to
say, the snooty Manhattanites find the adjustment to Queens a difficult one. And Mike is
disturbed that his in-laws have brought — of all places — "The City"
into his neighborhood.
It seems that despite tunnels, bridges, and the subway, the East River remains an
impassable psychological barrier for these New Yorkers.
Mr. Queens Goes To Hollywood
Nadja Dajani, Gerry Red Wilson, and Kellie Overbey, stars of "That’s
Life." |
Wilson, the only member of the cast actually from Queens, has crossed that
psychological barrier more than once. In fact, even though he currently resides in
Manhattan, he regularly takes friends and visitors on a grand tour of Queens, from The
Lemon Ice King of Corona, to Harry Houdini’s grave, to the Glendale Bakeshop.
This unique expertise has earned him an additional role on the show: Queens consultant.
"In one of the scripts a character says she is going to the Flushing mall,"
Wilson laughed. "There is no Flushing mall, I told them, there is only the Queens
Center Mall. So now they all come to me with Queens questions."
Wilson’s qualifications for the part of Mike go beyond being an Irish boy from
Queens. He briefly worked as a butcher’s apprentice at Ben’s Meat-o-Mat in Long
Island City. "I couldn’t cut it," said Wilson. "So they fired
me."
While attending Queens College, he worked for friend/Assemblyman Joe Crowley as a
spokesperson. In an effort to make Crowley’s press releases stand out from the rest
of the pack, Wilson began printing them on multi-colored paper.
"He has always been into trying different things," said Crowley. "I
always knew he had ‘it’ in him, but I used to joke that I didn’t know what
he was going to do with ‘it.’ Maybe he’ll be the Irish Seinfeld."
After his brief stint in politics, Wilson became a social studies teacher and handball
coach at a high school in Brooklyn. It was there that his career took a comic twist.
Encouraged by his students and friends, he entered the Funniest Teacher contest at
Standup New York. Soon after winning the contest, he left teaching and became a full time
stand-up comic. His first performances were at Jimmy’s Comedy Alley in Bayside.
Wilson, like Seinfeld, is a Queens College alum — and proud of it. After much
nagging, he convinced the show’s producers to allow him to wear his alma mater’s
T-shirt on the air.
When ABC was casting their new, Queens show, they were in search of the quintessential
Queens guy. But Wilson is no Nanny, he takes on the persona of the gruff and tough
"Queens guy."
Having lived in Sunnyside, Woodhaven, Bayside, Kew Gardens, and Middle Village, Wilson
has a clear definition of the Queens guy.
"You need the accent, the twang, the mannerisms, and the ability to yell out the
window for no particular reason," said Wilson.
Wilson, is extremely wary of comparisons between "That’s Life" and
"All in the Family," and between his character and Archie Bunker.
"I am not the bastard son of Carrol O’Connor and Jackie Gleason," said
Wilson.
Must-see Queens TV
Six episodes of "That’s Life" will appear on Channel 7 this spring. If
the show is successful it may be picked up next season. In the show’s favor is its
time-slot — right after the extremely popular "Home Improvement."
These
Are The Days
Despite the name change, The Tribune took the time to adapt "All in the
Family’s" theme for the new series. Royalty checks are welcome, but not
necessary.
Boy the way Bill Clinton plays… from Iraq into his own forays… Guys like
us eat off microwavable trays… These are the days…
And do you know on what planet you reside… women on Venus, men on the Martian
side… So let’s send a man like John Glenn into space again…
The Internet can find your mate… we no longer need to date… Just stay out of
Heaven’s Gate… These are the days. |
| Also In The Family "That’s Life" is
only the latest entertainment offering with a Queens focus; it joins a long line of movies
and television programs which have been set – and for some, actually filmed – in
the borough.
The most notorious, of course, is "All in Family," which presented America
with a particular slant on life in Queens – even though it, too, was filmed in
California.
Other programs have presented different visions of the borough. Both of comedian Bill
Cosby’s recent sitcoms ("The Cosby Show" and the current "Cosby")
were filmed at the Kaufman-Astoria Studios, and the current show is set a few blocks away,
at 33rd Avenue and 29th Street. "Dear John," a late ‘80s program featuring
Judd Hirsch, was mostly set in a Rego Park community center.
Two short-lived shows set in Queens were "You Again?" with Jack Klugman and
John Stamos, which lasted a few months in 1986, and a show titled "The Dictator"
starring Christopher Lloyd as a Queens laundromat manager, which never even made it on the
air. Last year, a show titled "Queens," featuring a down-and-out Manhattan
couple who take jobs as supers in a Queens duplex, lasted only briefly.
Recent movies set – and filmed — in Queens have included "Radio
Days" (Woody Allen, 1987), "Cadillac Man" (Robin Williams, 1989), "The
Brothers McMullen" (1995), and last year’s "Men In Black."
But Kaufman-Astoria and the Silvercup Studios nearby have also been home to numeous TV
shows and movies set elsewhere. Shows shot at Kaufmann-Astoria include "Sesame
Street," ABC’s "Soul Man," and numerous shows for Lifetime, HBO, MTV
and Henson Productions. Recent films shot at the studios or elsewhere in Queens include
"Do The Right Thing" (Spike Lee, 1989), "Goodfellas" (Robert DeNiro,
1990), "Ransom" (Mel Gibson, 1996), and "Eraser" (Arnold
Schwarzenegger, 1996).
– Charley Benson |
