True Colors (TV series)

*True Colors*
True Colors
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Michael J. Weithorn
Written by	Peter Freedman; Gregory Allen Howard; Jeffrey Joseph; Michael J. Weithorn
Directed by	Peter Bonerz; Stan Lathan; Arlene Sanford; Rob Schiller; Carol Scott; John Sgueglia
Starring	Frankie Faison; (Season 1); Cleavon Little; (Season 2); Stephanie Faracy; Claude Brooks; Brigid Conley Walsh; Adam Jeffries; Nancy Walker
Theme music composer	Lennie Niehaus
Composer	Gordon Lustig
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	45
Production
Executive producer	Michael J. Weithorn
Producer	Faye Oshima Belyeu
Running time	22–24 minutes
Production companies	Hanley Productions; 20th Century Fox Television
Original release
Network	Fox
Release	September 2, 1990 –; April 12, 1992

True Colors is an American sitcom television series that aired on Fox from September 2, 1990 to April 12, 1992 for a total of 45 episodes.^[1] The series was created by Michael J. Weithorn, and featured an interracial marriage and a subsequent blended family.

Synopsis

Premise and first season

Set in Baltimore, Ronald Freeman (Frankie Faison) is a widowed African-American dentist who marries Ellen Davis (Stephanie Faracy), a divorced white kindergarten teacher who was one of his patients. Ron has two sons from his first marriage, 17-year-old earnest conservative Terry (Claude Brooks) and daydreaming 14-year-old troublemaker Lester (Adam Jeffries), while Ellen has a teenage daughter, studious, cause-driven Katie (Brigid Conley Walsh). Ellen's ex-husband, Leonard (played in guest appearances by Paul Sand), who is accepting of her second marriage, would occasionally visit her while attempting to get his life back on track. Although the series did focus on race issues, most episodes focused on the family adjusting to their new living situation and the three children going through adolescence.

Second season

In the second season of the series, Faison was replaced by Cleavon Little as Ron Freeman. Nancy Walker, who was suffering from lung cancer, continued to star on the series, but ultimately only appeared in half the season's episodes due to her treatments and compromised health. Before long, due to the sudden loss of her physical mobility, Walker went on to appear in a motorized wheelchair for the majority of her second-season episodes. Terry went off to Marshall State University that fall, not far from home. Ellen accepted a new teaching job at Cortez Junior High, and during the season, she finally realized her long-time talent as a painter. She began to showcase some of her work at local art exhibits, in hopes of launching a new side career. Early in 1992, Robert (Norman D. Golden II) was introduced. Robert, who went by the nickname "Twist", was a young neighbor boy who attached himself to the Freemans, stealing scenes and causing an uproar, usually involving Lester and Terry along the way. Meanwhile, Little's physical appearance began to look more gaunt during the course of the season, as the actor disclosed he was battling colorectal cancer.

Cancellation and cast deaths

Fox shortened the season order for True Colors by February sweeps, and kept the episode total at 21. The new episode aired on April 12, 1992 wound up being the series' last, as Fox cancelled True Colors one month later. However, Walker, who had continued working into the winter months until she could no longer do so, died on March 25, 1992, after the series had produced what would be its last episode, but less than a month before the last original episode aired. On October 22, 1992, Little died of cancer.^[2]

Cast

Frankie Faison.....Ronald Freeman (1990–1991)
Cleavon Little.....Ronald Freeman (1991–1992)
Stephanie Faracy.....Ellen Davis Freeman
Nancy Walker.....Sara Bower
Brigid Conley Walsh.....Katie Davis
Claude Brooks.....Terry Freeman
Adam Jeffries.....Lester Freeman
Norman D. Golden II....Twist (aka Robert) (1992)

Episode list

Season 1 (1990–91)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	1	"Pilot"	Stan Lathan	Michael J. Weithorn	September 2, 1990 (1990-09-02)
2	2	"A Pair of Cranks"	Stan Lathan	Michael J. Weithorn	September 9, 1990 (1990-09-09)
Ron's disdain for Lester's friend JR Taylor is justified when JR shoplifts a pair of expensive athletic shoes. When Lester is accused of same, Sara bails him out by purchasing the shoes to avoid police involvement. But then Ron finds Sara's "gift", and Lester realizes he would have been better off in the County jail than in his father's jail.
3	3	"One of the Girls"	John Sgueglia	Lloyd Garver	September 16, 1990 (1990-09-16)
4	4	"A Dog's Life"	Unknown	Unknown	September 23, 1990 (1990-09-23)
5	5	"Step Lightly"	John Sgueglia	Michael J. Weithorn	September 30, 1990 (1990-09-30)
6	6	"Life with Fathers"	John Sgueglia	Anne Convy	October 7, 1990 (1990-10-07)
7	7	"What's Wrong with that Boy?"	John Sgueglia	Michael J. Weithorn	October 21, 1990 (1990-10-21)
8	8	"Tooth or Consequences"	Rob Schiller	Gregory Allen Howard	October 28, 1990 (1990-10-28)
9	9	"Soft Shell"	Arlene Sanford	Stan Seidel	November 4, 1990 (1990-11-04)
10	10	"Young at Heart"	Peter Bonerz	Peter Freedman	November 11, 1990 (1990-11-11)
11	11	"Occasional Wife"	Peter Bonerz	Anne Convy	November 18, 1990 (1990-11-18)
12	12	"High Anxiety"	Carol Scott	Peter Freedman & Regina Hicks	November 25, 1990 (1990-11-25)
Terry harbors a fear of flying due to his acrophobia. Katie tries to use a psychological method to get Terry to overcome his fear of heights on the roof, but a gust of wind causes everyone to get locked out of the building.
13	13	"Puppet Regime"	Rob Schiller	Regina Hicks	December 16, 1990 (1990-12-16)
14	14	"Christmas Show '90"	Unknown	Unknown	December 23, 1990 (1990-12-23)
15	15	"Moment of Ruth"	Rob Schiller	Lloyd Garver & Regina Hicks	January 13, 1991 (1991-01-13)
16	16	"A Real Pain"	Rob Schiller	Stan Seidel	February 3, 1991 (1991-02-03)
17	17	"The Tender Trap"	Carol Scott	Peter Freedman & Anne Convy	February 10, 1991 (1991-02-10)
18	18	"Opposites Attract"	Unknown	Unknown	February 17, 1991 (1991-02-17)
19	19	"Homies Alone"	Arlene Sanford	Teleplay by: Regina Hicks & Stan Seidel Story by: Peter Freedman	March 3, 1991 (1991-03-03)
20	20	"Daughter Dearest"	Peter Bonerz	Regina Hicks	March 24, 1991 (1991-03-24)
Katie dates a fellow activist, but Terry has an intuition the man is trying to bed her, causing Ron to show concern and protection for his stepdaughter.
21	21	"A Matter of Principal"	Peter Bonerz	William Schifrin	April 14, 1991 (1991-04-14)
22	22	"Superman, Superego"	Michael J. Weithorn	Michael J. Weithorn	April 21, 1991 (1991-04-21)
23	23	"Prisoners of Love"	Rob Schiller	Teleplay by: Peter Freedman & Stan Seidel Story by: Regina Hicks	April 28, 1991 (1991-04-28)
24	24	"Favorite Son"	Unknown	Unknown	May 12, 1991 (1991-05-12)

Season 2 (1991–92)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
25	1	"Lester X"	Rob Schiller	Linda M. Yearwood	August 22, 1991 (1991-08-22)
Nobody in the family knows what to do with Lester after he reads The Autobiography of Malcolm X...and then adopts the views therein, renaming himself "Abdul X". Ultimately, Malcolm's philosophies fail to apply in Lester's everyday life.
26	2	"Strange Bedfellows"	M.J. McDonnell	Stan Seidel	September 12, 1991 (1991-09-12)
27	3	"Splendor in the Basement"	Unknown	Unknown	September 15, 1991 (1991-09-15)
28	4	"Yo' House, Mama: Part 1"	Rob Schiller	Kim Bass & Peter Freedman	September 22, 1991 (1991-09-22)
29	5	"Yo' House, Mama: Part 2"	Rob Schiller	Kim Bass & Peter Freedman	September 29, 1991 (1991-09-29)
30	6	"Presumed Guilty"	Unknown	Unknown	October 6, 1991 (1991-10-06)
31	7	"Not My Sister, Brother"	Unknown	Unknown	October 20, 1991 (1991-10-20)
32	8	"Brotherly Love"	Unknown	Unknown	November 3, 1991 (1991-11-03)
33	9	"Three for All"	Unknown	Unknown	November 10, 1991 (1991-11-10)
34	10	"Seems Like Old Times"	Unknown	Unknown	December 8, 1991 (1991-12-08)
35	11	"Broken Home: Part 1"	Rob Schiller	Peter Freedman & Stan Seidel	December 15, 1991 (1991-12-15)
36	12	"Broken Home: Part 2"	Unknown	Unknown	December 22, 1991 (1991-12-22)
37	13	"Readin', Ritin' and Runnin"	Unknown	Unknown	December 29, 1991 (1991-12-29)
38	14	"Photo Opportunity"	Unknown	Unknown	January 5, 1992 (1992-01-05)
39	15	"Art Attack"	Unknown	Unknown	January 12, 1992 (1992-01-12)
40	16	"The Beat Goes On"	Unknown	Unknown	February 2, 1992 (1992-02-02)
41	17	"Half a Man"	Unknown	Unknown	February 9, 1992 (1992-02-09)
42	18	"In a Flash"	Unknown	Unknown	February 16, 1992 (1992-02-16)
43	19	"Affirmative Reaction"	Unknown	Unknown	March 1, 1992 (1992-03-01)
44	20	"Feelings Up"	Unknown	Unknown	March 22, 1992 (1992-03-22)
45	21	"Word to the Mother"	Unknown	Unknown	April 12, 1992 (1992-04-12)

References

^ "True Colors". TV Guide.
^ "Cleavon Little, Award-Winning Actor, Dies at 53". The New York Times. October 23, 1992. Retrieved 2010-10-28. Cleavon Little, the actor best remembered for his role as a black sheriff hired to save a redneck town in Mel Brooks's 1974 comedy Blazing Saddles, died yesterday at his home in Sherman Oaks, Calif. He was 53 years old. He died of colon cancer, said David C. Pollick, his publicity agent in Los Angeles. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

External links

[1] "True Colors". TV Guide.

[2] "Cleavon Little, Award-Winning Actor, Dies at 53". The New York Times. October 23, 1992. Retrieved 2010-10-28. Cleavon Little, the actor best remembered for his role as a black sheriff hired to save a redneck town in Mel Brooks's 1974 comedy Blazing Saddles, died yesterday at his home in Sherman Oaks, Calif. He was 53 years old. He died of colon cancer, said David C. Pollick, his publicity agent in Los Angeles. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

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