Looking at Landesberg's tvography and filmography, I note that there must be an entire genre he was big in that I am utterly unaware of. But I did watch Barney Miller, and he was good in it as the Edgy Skeptic with Quirks. Was he the first intellectual cop in the modern era of US based TV crime and cop shows? Imma say he was.
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“I have signs in my kitchen to remind me not to eat breakfast and that my job is always. Most cops work only at night or at day. I am a lucky cop because I work both.
"I'll chop your head off!" -Axe Cop
And the cops cheered.
Radley Balko has a post about one of the most outrageous cases you'll ever hear about. A man is on death row in Mississippi for shooting a cop. Ordinarily, most people would think that's okay. But the facts are unreal.
Barney Miller was one of my late-night staples when I was in high school. I loved it. Dietrich (Landesberg's character) was my favorite of the bunch. Sad news.
Now there's a name I hadn't heard for a very long time. I haven't watched TV in the past 15 years except for the news now and then; maybe I should see how many of those old shows are on DVD. Mary Tyler Moore, some show with Ed Asner whose title I can't remember ... Jack Klugman and Tony Randall in the Odd Couple.
Do you have access to Hulu?
Me? No, I'm elsewhere on the planet - no Hulu for me. Which really sucks because I can't even look at that SNL piece you linked to.
Oh, boo! I used to watch Barney Miller with my parents when I was a kid, and Dietrich was our favorite character. I loved the "smart guy" character, and Landesberg was perfect in the role.
MadScientist:
Lou Grant?
Try iTunes for some of those old series.
I remember Steve Landesberg first from the Paul Sands Show, which most people probably don't remember. It was one of the shows they tried in the 8:30 slot that didn't have a winner during the otherwise killer Sat night CBS lineup of All in the Family, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newheart Show, and The Carol Burnett Show. Landesberg and Sands, both of whom were standup comedians, played symphony musicians and I liked the show because of them. Trivia note: Both Sands and Landesberg were among the older standup guys who did cameos on episodes of Seinfeld.
I have zero recollection of that show!