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Steve Arino
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Hello Everyone,
I'd like to share with you folks information on one of my all-time favorite Disney Sitcoms I've been binge-watching lately.
Its name: "Blossom," the hit '90s Disney sitcom originally airing on the NBC Television Network from July 5, 1990 - May 22, 1995, spanning 4 seasons of 114 half-hour episodes.
Created by Don Reo, "Blossom" starred Mayim Bialik (futurely of CBS/Warner Bros. Television's "The Big Bang Theory") as the title character Blossom Russo, the youngest of 3 teenagers (and the only girl) in a house full of Men and Boys.
Dad Nick (Ted Wass, late of the '70s ABC/Witt Thomas Harris Productions sitcom "Soap") was a Studio Musician; eldest teenage brother Tony (Mike Stoyanov) was a Recovering Alcoholic and Drug Addict who midway through the series' 1st season in 1992 became an EMT (later Paramedic); and youngest teen brother Joey (Joey Lawrence) was the teen Dimwit Romantic at Heart.
Blossom, meanwhile, was mature beyond her teen years--ages 13-18 over the course of the series--though like her big brothers she was not immune from getting herself into Scrapes over the course of the series, including going to a Makeout Party at the suggestion of best friend Six LeMeure (Jenna Von Oy).
Other characters over the series' 4-year run on NBC included Vinnie Bonitardi (David Lascher, fresh from Nickelodeon's "Hey Dude" sitcom), Blossom's teen boyfriend during Seasons 2 and 3; the Russo family mom Maddie (Melissa Manchester, known for her big '70s hit song "Don't Cry Out Loud"), who'd left hubby Nick after the Pilot and subsequently Divorced him; and Tony's wife, Shelly (Samaria Graham), whom he'd initially met and married during a Drinking Relapse while in Vegas on a Drinking Binge--after his then-girlfriend Rhonda (Portia Dawson) left him brokenhearted.
At the start of the 4th and Final Season in September 1994, Nick fell in love again--this time with British expat Carol (British actress Finola Hughes), who subsequently joined the Russo household--as did Carol's school-age daughter, Kennedy (Courtney Chase), from her first marriage to her Scottish ex-husband.
In a case of Life Imitating Art (in a way), during Season 2 of "Blossom," Ted Wass's real-life wife, Janet Margolin (then age 50), was diagnosed with Terminal Ovarian Cancer; Janet eventually died of Cancer in December 1993, leaving Ted a real-life Widower and single parent to 2 young children: Julian, age 12 (who grew up to be a successful Film/TV Composer), and Matilda, age 3; Ted eventually found love again (like his "Blossom" character) in real life with Nina Feinberg, whom he married by the year 2000 and with whom Ted has an additional teenage daughter, 15-year-old Stella, as of this writing.
After 4 seasons, NBC cancelled "Blossom" due to poor ratings, and in the hour-long Series Finale telecast on May 22, 1995, a number of events occurred--among them Nick and Carol discovered Carol was Pregnant with their own baby, and subsequently decided to sell the house; Joey (by this time a rookie pro Baseball player fresh out of high school) got engaged to long-term girlfriend Melanie; and Blossom tried sabotaging the sale of the house she grew up in, but to no avail, eventually realizing life was all about change and moving on.
Which reminds me: shortly before "Blossom" wrapped, Mike Stoyanov left the show to write for Conan O'Brien in New York via "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," and though he's still a writer at age 52 (soon-to-be 53 next month), Mike occasionally acts, most recently in Heath Ledger's final film role in 2008's "The Dark Knight." After graduating High School in his native Chicago in 1985, Mike, age 18, began Acting via the Second City comedy Improv Troupe in Chicago; Mayim Bialik, of course, went on to greater TV success in "The Big Bang Theory," and also has a real-life Doctorate, specializing in severe OCD patients with Prater-Willi Syndrome; Ted Wass, after "Blossom" ended, became a full-time TV director, having made his Directorial TV Debut on "Blossom," directing 18 episodes over its 4-year run, which aired Monday nights on NBC at 8 P.M. ET after "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air."
The original July 5, 1990 Pilot had quite a few differences from Pilot to Series; among other things, Blossom's parents were both still married, Joey's name was Donnie Russo (presumably after a certain "Donnie" Reo), and Blossom's dad was played by Richard Masur, who portrayed Accountant Terry Russo in the said Pilot; also appearing in the 1990 Pilot was Barrie Youngfellow (fresh from the '80s Warner Bros./Witt-Thomas sitcom "It's a Living") as Blossom's mother, Barbara Russo, whose name was subsequently changed to Maddie for series and as mentioned earlier was played by Singer-Songwriter Melissa Manchester.
Oh yes: the character of Blossom's studio-musician dad, Nick (as played in the series by Ted Wass), was based on '50s teen idol Dion DiMucci, who had a number of '50s and early '60s Teen-Idol hits, such as "The Wanderer," "Runaround Sue" and his 1968 comeback "Abraham, Martin and John," written shortly after the Murders of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bobby Kennedy--and also 5 years after President John Kennedy was shot and killed, leaving behind wife Jackie and their 2 young children, including John Kennedy, Jr., who himself was tragically killed 20 years ago at age 38 in a tragic 1999 Plane Crash.
"Blossom" was A Witt-Thomas Production for Walt Disney Television.
"Blossom" is Distributed for Syndication by Buena Vista Television.
I'd like to share with you folks information on one of my all-time favorite Disney Sitcoms I've been binge-watching lately.
Its name: "Blossom," the hit '90s Disney sitcom originally airing on the NBC Television Network from July 5, 1990 - May 22, 1995, spanning 4 seasons of 114 half-hour episodes.
Created by Don Reo, "Blossom" starred Mayim Bialik (futurely of CBS/Warner Bros. Television's "The Big Bang Theory") as the title character Blossom Russo, the youngest of 3 teenagers (and the only girl) in a house full of Men and Boys.
Dad Nick (Ted Wass, late of the '70s ABC/Witt Thomas Harris Productions sitcom "Soap") was a Studio Musician; eldest teenage brother Tony (Mike Stoyanov) was a Recovering Alcoholic and Drug Addict who midway through the series' 1st season in 1992 became an EMT (later Paramedic); and youngest teen brother Joey (Joey Lawrence) was the teen Dimwit Romantic at Heart.
Blossom, meanwhile, was mature beyond her teen years--ages 13-18 over the course of the series--though like her big brothers she was not immune from getting herself into Scrapes over the course of the series, including going to a Makeout Party at the suggestion of best friend Six LeMeure (Jenna Von Oy).
Other characters over the series' 4-year run on NBC included Vinnie Bonitardi (David Lascher, fresh from Nickelodeon's "Hey Dude" sitcom), Blossom's teen boyfriend during Seasons 2 and 3; the Russo family mom Maddie (Melissa Manchester, known for her big '70s hit song "Don't Cry Out Loud"), who'd left hubby Nick after the Pilot and subsequently Divorced him; and Tony's wife, Shelly (Samaria Graham), whom he'd initially met and married during a Drinking Relapse while in Vegas on a Drinking Binge--after his then-girlfriend Rhonda (Portia Dawson) left him brokenhearted.
At the start of the 4th and Final Season in September 1994, Nick fell in love again--this time with British expat Carol (British actress Finola Hughes), who subsequently joined the Russo household--as did Carol's school-age daughter, Kennedy (Courtney Chase), from her first marriage to her Scottish ex-husband.
In a case of Life Imitating Art (in a way), during Season 2 of "Blossom," Ted Wass's real-life wife, Janet Margolin (then age 50), was diagnosed with Terminal Ovarian Cancer; Janet eventually died of Cancer in December 1993, leaving Ted a real-life Widower and single parent to 2 young children: Julian, age 12 (who grew up to be a successful Film/TV Composer), and Matilda, age 3; Ted eventually found love again (like his "Blossom" character) in real life with Nina Feinberg, whom he married by the year 2000 and with whom Ted has an additional teenage daughter, 15-year-old Stella, as of this writing.
After 4 seasons, NBC cancelled "Blossom" due to poor ratings, and in the hour-long Series Finale telecast on May 22, 1995, a number of events occurred--among them Nick and Carol discovered Carol was Pregnant with their own baby, and subsequently decided to sell the house; Joey (by this time a rookie pro Baseball player fresh out of high school) got engaged to long-term girlfriend Melanie; and Blossom tried sabotaging the sale of the house she grew up in, but to no avail, eventually realizing life was all about change and moving on.
Which reminds me: shortly before "Blossom" wrapped, Mike Stoyanov left the show to write for Conan O'Brien in New York via "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," and though he's still a writer at age 52 (soon-to-be 53 next month), Mike occasionally acts, most recently in Heath Ledger's final film role in 2008's "The Dark Knight." After graduating High School in his native Chicago in 1985, Mike, age 18, began Acting via the Second City comedy Improv Troupe in Chicago; Mayim Bialik, of course, went on to greater TV success in "The Big Bang Theory," and also has a real-life Doctorate, specializing in severe OCD patients with Prater-Willi Syndrome; Ted Wass, after "Blossom" ended, became a full-time TV director, having made his Directorial TV Debut on "Blossom," directing 18 episodes over its 4-year run, which aired Monday nights on NBC at 8 P.M. ET after "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air."
The original July 5, 1990 Pilot had quite a few differences from Pilot to Series; among other things, Blossom's parents were both still married, Joey's name was Donnie Russo (presumably after a certain "Donnie" Reo), and Blossom's dad was played by Richard Masur, who portrayed Accountant Terry Russo in the said Pilot; also appearing in the 1990 Pilot was Barrie Youngfellow (fresh from the '80s Warner Bros./Witt-Thomas sitcom "It's a Living") as Blossom's mother, Barbara Russo, whose name was subsequently changed to Maddie for series and as mentioned earlier was played by Singer-Songwriter Melissa Manchester.
Oh yes: the character of Blossom's studio-musician dad, Nick (as played in the series by Ted Wass), was based on '50s teen idol Dion DiMucci, who had a number of '50s and early '60s Teen-Idol hits, such as "The Wanderer," "Runaround Sue" and his 1968 comeback "Abraham, Martin and John," written shortly after the Murders of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bobby Kennedy--and also 5 years after President John Kennedy was shot and killed, leaving behind wife Jackie and their 2 young children, including John Kennedy, Jr., who himself was tragically killed 20 years ago at age 38 in a tragic 1999 Plane Crash.
"Blossom" was A Witt-Thomas Production for Walt Disney Television.
"Blossom" is Distributed for Syndication by Buena Vista Television.