When Real-Life People Become Sitcoms
By Amy & Nancy Harrington, GetBack.com | Friday, October 30, 2009, 2:41 PM
Wilmer will play "Dog Whisperer" Cesar Millan.
Steve Granitz/WireImage.com
When we heard the news last week that Wilmer Valderrama of "That '70s
Show" fame is going to star in a new sitcom based on the life of "Dog
Whisperer" Cesar Millan we thought, "Really? Why not just watch the real
thing?" But then we started looking back at all the shows that have been
based on the lives of actual people, and we began to warm up to the idea.
While we wait to see how Wilmer handles being thrown to the dogs, here
are a few other sitcoms based on real-life people, including the biggest
hits and misses through the years.
[Photo gallery: See the sitcoms based on the lives of real people.]
"Seinfeld": Jerry Seinfeld
No one has had a more successful show based on his life than Jerry
Seinfeld. Before "The Seinfeld Chronicles" pilot was shot, the standup
comedian had little TV acting experience (just a couple of guest spots on
"Benson" and "The Ratings Game"). But Jerry was smart enough to surround
himself with a cast of more experienced and really funny costars. And
then he let them do the acting so he could just be himself. He kept it
light. He kept it simple. You can pore through all 180 shows, but you
will not find a single "very special episode" in which a tearful Jerry
deals with the loss of his father or has a drug problem. "Seinfeld" was
just good, clean fun, and a whole lot of nothing. Yada, yada, yada.
"30 Rock": Tina Fey
During her last few years as head writer for "Saturday Night Live," Tina
Fey inked a second deal with NBC. She signed on to develop a sitcom about
a head writer on a live-sketch comedy show that's filmed at 30
Rockefeller Plaza (the real-life location of the "SNL" studios). She
originally pitched the idea about a cable news channel, but NBC execs
encouraged her to write what she knew. Thanks to Fey's creative take on
her real-life experiences, as well as an insanely talented cast
(including Fey, Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski, Jack McBrayer, and Alec
Baldwin), "30 Rock" just received its third straight Emmy for Outstanding
Comedy Series.
"The Partridge Family": The Cowsills
In the late 1960s, bubblegum pop group The Cowsills were approached to
star in their own TV sitcom. The band was ready to sign on the dotted
line when they were told that their mom, Barbara, would not be allowed in
the TV band. The character of the musical mom instead would be portrayed
by Broadway star Shirley Jones. The Cowsills walked away from the
project, and Shirley headed up "The Partridge Family" the following year
alongside her stepson, David Cassidy, and child star Danny Bonaduce.
"Roseanne": Roseanne Barr
In the early 1980s Roseanne Barr morphed from working-class homemaker to
"Domestic Goddess" standup comic. Within a few years she landed a sitcom
deal and one of the most popular shows of the '90s was born.
"Roseanne" revolved around a Midwestern, blue-collar family and their
overweight, loud-mouthed, bossy matriarch. The series was wildly
successful, due mostly to the fact that so many viewers felt that they
could relate to Roseanne. For once, a character on TV sounded and looked
like a real person. "Roseanne" was also one of the first shows to portray
a family with two working parents, and it featured a main gay character
who was not a stereotypical joke. (Both of Barr's siblings are gay,
leading her to push for her TV sister, Jackie, to be a lesbian.)
"Roseanne" also paved the way for a flood of sitcoms starring standup
comics, including Tim Allen's "Home Improvement," Drew Carey's "The Drew
Carey Show," and Ellen DeGeneres' "Ellen."
"Emeril": Emeril Lagasse
We have no idea why anyone thought this was a smart move. There's no
denying that Emeril Lagasse was the first breakout star of the Food
Network. But just because he was a TV chef didn't mean he should play a
chef on a TV. NBC execs apparently didn't quite get the difference, and
they actually bought off on the idea of the sitcom "Emeril." The story
lines, of course, followed an energetic and outspoken TV chef behind the
scenes of his cooking show. A few episodes aired and then ... BAM! The
ratings came in, and Emeril's goose was cooked.
"Fat Actress": Kirstie Alley
It's a sad but true fact: There isn't a lot of work for formerly sexy,
now overweight starlets in Hollywood. So in 2005, faced with this very
dilemma, sitcom star Kirstie Alley took matters into her own hands and
created her own TV vehicle. The very bold title said it all. In "Fat
Actress" Kirstie played a fictionalized version of herself (yes, she used
her real name) as a former star who struggled with career-damaging weight
gain. That same year, Kirstie became a spokesperson for the Jenny Craig
weight-loss system, and America watched as she shed 75 pounds.
"Fat Actress" was canceled after one season, Kirstie and Jenny Craig
parted ways after three years, and Kirstie continues to struggle with her
weight.
"Curb Your Enthusiasm": Larry David
In 1999, "Seinfeld" co-creator Larry David made a one-hour, one-time
mockumentary called "Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm," about the
perils of staging a standup special. The quirky piece was met with rave
reviews, and The Hollywood Reporter called it "delicious nonsense." The
Chicago Tribune astutely pointed out that the "hilarious HBO special
should serve as a pilot for what could be a very funny ongoing
series."
And that's exactly what happened. For seven seasons, rabid "Curb" fans
have been following the fictionalized version of Larry as he insults,
offends, and apologizes over and over again. And now everything has come
full circle as the current story line focuses on Larry as he organizes a
"Seinfeld" reunion with appearances by Jason Alexander, Julia
Louis-Dreyfus, Michael Richards, and Jerry himself.
"So NoTORIous": Tori Spelling
In a bizarre meshing of reality and scripted TV, Tori Spelling of
"Beverly Hills 90210" fame starred in a short-lived sitcom called "So
NoTORIous." The show was not so loosely based on her real life and her
attempts to break away from her image as television mogul Aaron
Spelling's little girl. Along the way, she trashed her mother (for which
she has barely been forgiven) and impressed us with her overzealous love
for her pug dog, Mimi LaRue. The show only lasted 10 episodes, but Tori
jumped right into a new project, the "unscripted" reality series "Tori
& Dean: Inn Love/Home Sweet Hollywood."
"Sherri": Sherri Shepherd
This fall, Lifetime Television premiered the network's first-ever
original comedy series (typically, Lifetime is home to cheesy made-for-TV
movies and sitcom reruns). The new show stars comedian Sherri Shepherd
and is appropriately named "Sherri." It follows the daily life of a
single mom who works as a paralegal and a part-time standup comic and who
is rebounding after kicking her cheating husband to the proverbial curb.
Anyone who knows Sherri can tell you that this is more than closely
related to her life story; this is a blow-by-blow account. No news yet on
a Season 2 pickup or if the lead character will take a job cohosting a
talk show.
"It's Like, You Know...": Jennifer Grey
No one should underestimate what a little facial character can do for a
career. Are we right, Jennifer Grey? In the early '90s, Jennifer had a
botched nose job that required a second corrective surgery. The result
was a perfectly beautiful button nose. The problem? No one recognized the
once charmingly cute actress who rocketed to fame in "Dirty Dancing."
Even Jennifer admits it was a mistake that took her from stardom to
anonymity. Sure, she made some TV and movie appearances after "Dancing,"
but she just couldn't land a major role. So in 1999, she joined the cast
of "It's Like, You Know..." In the sitcom, she played herself and poked
fun at the fact that her nose job had derailed her career. The show was
in the middle of its second season when ABC decided to put Baby in the
corner and canceled the series with seven episodes left unaired.
Talk About It: What's your favorite sitcom based on the life of a real person?
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