Mr. Dugan is an American sitcom about a blackCongressman that was scheduled to air in March 1979 on CBS, but was pulled at the last minute and never shown.[1]
In early 1978, producer Norman Lear felt his long-running comedy Maude was getting stale, so he decided to enliven things by moving the show to Washington, D.C., and making the title character a congresswoman. After two episodes in this new setting, star Beatrice Arthur decided not to continue, and the show abruptly left the air. Lear, however, still believed in the concept and filmed a new pilot titled Onward and Upward, with essentially the same script and cast—except with John Amos (as a black former professional football star running for the United States Congress) replacing Arthur. Creative differences between Amos (who had co-starred in Lear's Good Times) and the producers led to the actor bowing out; the show was renamed Mr. Dooley and finally Mr. Dugan. Cleavon Little (best known as the sheriff in the classic movie comedy Blazing Saddles) was hired as the title character, a fledgling black congressman. The supporting cast remained the same.
Mr Dugan was seen in newspaper TV listings nationwide just a few days before it was pulled by CBS
Mr. Dugan had been scheduled for a March 11, 1979, premiere, and was heavily promoted by CBS, complete with ads and listings in TV Guide and other publications. However, a special screening for real black members of Congress proved to be an unmitigated disaster, as several members of the Congressional Black Caucus criticized the show.[2] The sitcom was especially galling for freshman Congressman William Gray III, who, like the fictional Dugan, represented a district in Philadelphia: "The impact would be disastrous, showing a congressman who was a silly, incompetent man ruled by his staff."[2] Lear subsequently pulled the plug on Mr. Dugan, saying, "We have not yet totally fulfilled our intention for the series."
The concept was eventually reworked again into the short-lived series, Hanging In, which aired on CBS in the summer of 1979.
^Terrace, Vincent (2013-02-26). Encyclopedia of Television Pilots, 1937-2012 - Vincent Terrace - Google Books. ISBN9781476602493. Retrieved 2016-09-13.
^ ab"Black Caucus Strangles Mr. Dugan; Star Of Cancelled Show Steaming Mad". Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. March 29, 1979. pp. 58–59.
External linksedit
Programs Cancelled Before They Premiered, 1963-1988 at Television Obscurities
January 01, 1970
dugan, american, sitcom, about, black, congressman, that, scheduled, march, 1979, pulled, last, minute, never, shown, genresitcomcreated, bynorman, learwritten, byrod, parkercharles, hauckdirected, byjeff, blecknerstarringcleavon, littlebarbara, rhoadesnedra, . Mr Dugan is an American sitcom about a black Congressman that was scheduled to air in March 1979 on CBS but was pulled at the last minute and never shown 1 Mr DuganGenreSitcomCreated byNorman LearWritten byRod ParkerCharles HauckDirected byJeff BlecknerStarringCleavon LittleBarbara RhoadesNedra VolzDennis BurkleySarina GrantCountry of originUnited StatesOriginal languageEnglishNo of episodes3 all unaired ProductionExecutive producerNorman LearProducerCharles HauckRunning time24 minutesProduction companyT A T Communications CompanyRelatedMaude Hanging In Contents 1 History 2 See also 3 References 4 External linksHistory editIn early 1978 producer Norman Lear felt his long running comedy Maude was getting stale so he decided to enliven things by moving the show to Washington D C and making the title character a congresswoman After two episodes in this new setting star Beatrice Arthur decided not to continue and the show abruptly left the air Lear however still believed in the concept and filmed a new pilot titled Onward and Upward with essentially the same script and cast except with John Amos as a black former professional football star running for the United States Congress replacing Arthur Creative differences between Amos who had co starred in Lear s Good Times and the producers led to the actor bowing out the show was renamed Mr Dooley and finally Mr Dugan Cleavon Little best known as the sheriff in the classic movie comedy Blazing Saddles was hired as the title character a fledgling black congressman The supporting cast remained the same nbsp Mr Dugan was seen in newspaper TV listings nationwide just a few days before it was pulled by CBSMr Dugan had been scheduled for a March 11 1979 premiere and was heavily promoted by CBS complete with ads and listings in TV Guide and other publications However a special screening for real black members of Congress proved to be an unmitigated disaster as several members of the Congressional Black Caucus criticized the show 2 The sitcom was especially galling for freshman Congressman William Gray III who like the fictional Dugan represented a district in Philadelphia The impact would be disastrous showing a congressman who was a silly incompetent man ruled by his staff 2 Lear subsequently pulled the plug on Mr Dugan saying We have not yet totally fulfilled our intention for the series The concept was eventually reworked again into the short lived series Hanging In which aired on CBS in the summer of 1979 See also editList of television series cancelled before airing an episodeReferences edit Terrace Vincent 2013 02 26 Encyclopedia of Television Pilots 1937 2012 Vincent Terrace Google Books ISBN 9781476602493 Retrieved 2016 09 13 a b Black Caucus Strangles Mr Dugan Star Of Cancelled Show Steaming Mad Jet Johnson Publishing Company March 29 1979 pp 58 59 External links editPrograms Cancelled Before They Premiered 1963 1988 at Television Obscurities Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mr Dugan amp oldid 1149838253, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
