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{{infoboxshort description|American television |sitcom}}
{{Infobox television
| show_name = Big Eddie
| image = Big eddie 1975.JPG
| caption = Publicity photo of Sheldon Leonard, Sheree North, and Quinn Cummings in ''Big Eddie''
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| camera = [[Multiple-camera setup|Multi-camera]]
| starring = [[Sheldon Leonard]]
| composer = [[Jonathan Wolff (musician)|Jonathan Wolff]]
| narrated =
| country = United States
| language = English
| network = [[CBS]]
| first_aired = August{{Start date|1975|08|23}}
| last_aired = November 7,{{End date|1975|11|07}}
| num_seasons = 1
| num_episodes = 10
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}}
 
'''''Big Eddie''''' is an American television [[sitcom]] that aired on [[CBS]] from August 23 until November 7, 1975.<ref name=ets/> Its first three episodes, in a Saturday night time slot, did well in the ratings, but after it was moved to Friday nights, it had little success opposite ''[[Sanford and Son]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hyatt |first1=Wesley |title=Short-Lived Television Series, 1948–1978: Thirty Years of More Than 1,000 Flops |date=2003 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=9780786414208 |page=238 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Sy1CgAAQBAJ&dq=%22Big+Eddie%22+tv&pg=PA238 |accessdate=29 March 2019 |language=en}}</ref>
 
==Premise==
Big Eddie Smith,<ref name="cd">{{cite book |last1=Brooks |first1=Tim |last2=Marsh |first2=Earle F. |title=The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present |date=2009 |publisher=Random House Publishing Group |isbn=9780307483201 |page=139 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w8KztFy6QYwC&pg=PA139&dq=%22Big+Eddie%22+tv&hlpg=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj-l96knabhAhVIiqwKHSyjDP8Q6AEIMDAB#v=onepage&q=%22Big%20Eddie%22%20tv&f=falsePA139 |accessdate=29 March 2019 |language=en}}</ref> a reformed mobster tries to go legit as the owner of the Big E Sports Arena<ref name="ets">{{cite book |last1=Terrace |first1=Vincent |title=Encyclopedia of Television Series, Pilots and Specials |date=1985 |publisher=VNR AG |isbn=9780918432612 |page=45 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AKlgjBCPPnsC&pg=PA45&dq=%22Big+Eddie%22+tv&hlpg=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj-l96knabhAhVIiqwKHSyjDP8Q6AEIKjAA#v=onepage&q=%22Big%20Eddie%22%20tv&f=falsePA45 |accessdate=29 March 2019 |language=en}}</ref> in [[New York City]].<ref>{{cite web|author=TV Guide |url=http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/big-eddie/cast/200038 |title=Big Eddie Cast and Details|publisher=TV Guide |accessdate=2013-01-16}}</ref> Smith's family included Honey, his wife; GingerHoney, his granddaughter; and JessieGinger, hisand brother Jessie.<ref name=cd/>
 
==Cast==
*[[Sheldon Leonard]] as Big Eddie Smith<ref name=slts/>
*[[Sheree North]] as Honey Smith<ref name=slts/>
*[[Quinn Cummings]] as Ginger Smith<ref name=slts/>
*[[Billy Sands]] as Bang Bang Valentine<ref name=slts/>
*[[Alan Oppenheimer]] as Jesse Smith<ref name=slts/>
*[[Ralph Wilcox (actor)|Ralph Wilcox]] as Raymond McKay<ref name=slts/>
*Lonnie Shorr as Too Late
*[[Milton Parsons]] as The Goniff
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==Episodes==
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="width:100%; background:#fff;"
|-
! style="background:#39f;"| No.
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{{Episode list
|Title=Man of the Year
|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1975|808|23}}
|EpisodeNumber=1
|DirectedBy=
|WrittenBy=
|ShortSummary= A reporter findsattempts outto aboutget Eddie'sthe low-down on the checkered past of Eddie and his retinue.
|LineColor=3399ff
}}
{{Episode list
|Title=One Nation Invisible
|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1975|808|30}}
|EpisodeNumber=2
|DirectedBy=
|WrittenBy=
|ShortSummary= To show how the law guarantees justice for everyone, Big Eddie's helps his granddaughter suessue the merchant who sold her a toydefective merchanttoy.
|LineColor=3399ff
}}
{{Episode list
|Title=Hello Poppa
|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1975|909|606}}
|EpisodeNumber=3
|DirectedBy=
|WrittenBy=
|ShortSummary= An engaging young man from Italy claims that Eddie is the long-lost GI who married his mother-- and fathered him during World War II. [[Jack Carter (comedian)|Jack Carter]], [[Cliff Norton]], [[Ed Peck]], and [[Ron Silver]] guest star.
|ShortSummary= A young man claims to be Eddie's long-lost father.
|LineColor=3399ff
}}
{{Episode list
|Title=Too Many Grandmothers (a.k.a. One Grandmother Too Many)
|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1975|909|19}}
|EpisodeNumber=4
|DirectedBy=
|WrittenBy=
|ShortSummary= Big Eddie is surprised by a visit from his first wife, a Hungarian aristocrat ([[Eva Gabor]]) who has the kind of designs not designed to please his current loving spouse.
|ShortSummary= Eddie's first wife comes for a surprise visit.
|LineColor=3399ff
}}
{{Episode list
|Title=Who Am I?
|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1975|909|26}}
|EpisodeNumber=5
|DirectedBy=
|WrittenBy=
|ShortSummary= Honey haswrestles with an identity crisis-- and by Eddie with a marital crisis-- when she writeshas to write a sociology class paper abouton "Who Am herself.I?"
|LineColor=3399ff
}}
{{Episode list
|Title=Crashing Violet
|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1975|10|303}}
|EpisodeNumber=6
|DirectedBy=
|WrittenBy=
|ShortSummary= A smitten Bang Bang persuades Eddie to hire a maid: the waitress ([[Alice Ghostley]]) who lost her job because she dropped a plate of beans on Bang Bang's head.
|ShortSummary= Eddie hires a clumsy maid.
|LineColor=3399ff
}}
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|DirectedBy=
|WrittenBy=
|ShortSummary= A chum from Eddie's isrough-and-tumble invitedschool todays speak(Ron atFeinberg) is now a high -school principal, and he'd like Eddie to say a few words to kids who are even rougher than they were.
|LineColor=3399ff
}}
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|DirectedBy=
|WrittenBy=
|ShortSummary= The Smiths hidesrisk acreating danceran frominternational theflap by harboring a [[Soviet Union]]dancer (Sandy Ignon) who wants to defect.
|LineColor=3399ff
}}
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|DirectedBy=
|WrittenBy=
|ShortSummary= With granddaughter Ginger off to a slumber party, the Smith's look forward to an undisturbed evening of champagne, caviar and romance. The only obstacle remaining is their live-in retainer Bang Bang.
|ShortSummary= Bang Bang's brother interrupts an evening of romance for The Smiths.
|LineColor=3399ff
}}
{{Episode list
|Title=A Date with Eddie
|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1975|11|707}}
|EpisodeNumber=10
|DirectedBy=
|WrittenBy=
|ShortSummary= Eddie doesn'tis showin upthe ondoghouse. After asking his granddaughter's out on her first big date, he has to stand her up. [[Ronnie Schell]] guest stars as a clown.
|LineColor=3399ff
}}
|}
 
==Production==
[[Bill Persky]] and [[Sam Denoff]] created the series<ref name="sss" /> and were ''Big Eddie'''s executive producers and writers. [[Hy Averback]] was the producer and director. It had three "sneak preview" broadcasts (August 23 - September 6, 1975) from 8:30 to 9 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturdays. Ratings decreased after it was moved to 8 - 8:30&nbsp;p.m. ET on Fridays beginning on September 19, 1975.<ref name="slts">{{cite book |last1=Hyatt |first1=Wesley |title=Short-Lived Television Series, 1948-1978: Thirty Years of More Than 1,000 Flops |date=January 20, 2003 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-1420-8 |page=238 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Sy1CgAAQBAJ&dq=%22Big+Eddie%22+Leonard&pg=PA238 |access-date=June 1, 2023 |language=en}}</ref>
 
Episodes were recorded on videotape in front of a live audience using facilities at [[KTLA|KTLA-TV]].<ref name="sss">{{cite book |last1=Leszczak |first1=Bob |title=Single Season Sitcoms, 1948-1979: A Complete Guide |date=November 16, 2012 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-6812-6 |page=14 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UvE6snvtSesC&dq=%22Big+Eddie%22+CBS&pg=PA14 |access-date=June 1, 2023 |language=en}}</ref>
 
==Critical response==
John J. O'Connor, in a review distributed by the New York Times Service, commented, ". . . to know ''Big Eddie'' is to loath it."<ref name="mn">{{cite news |last1=O'Connor |first1=John J. |title='Big Eddie' is depressing |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-morning-news-big-eddie-tv-show/125658682/ |access-date=June 1, 2023 |work=The Morning News |date=August 23, 1975 |location=Delaware, Wilmington |page=23|via = [[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> The review implied that Eddie married Honey as a means of obtaining custody of his granddaughter, "who, for purposes of uncomplicated plotting, is conveniently orphaned."<ref name="mn" /> O'Connor commented that Eddie often shouted and that his speech was filled with pronunciations such as "'dat' for that, or 'foist' for first" and he added, "His black assistant (Ralph Wilcox) jive talks hysterically."<ref name="mn" />
 
After watching four episodes, Lee Winfrey wrote in ''[[The Baltimore Sun|The Evening Sun]]'', "The only thing large about ''Big Eddie'' is growing wonder as to why it is still on the air."<ref name="es">{{cite news |last1=Winfrey |first1=Lee |title='Eddie': Big Or Dull? |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-evening-sun-big-eddie-tv-show/125659615/ |access-date=June 1, 2023 |work=The Evening Sun |agency=KNI |date=October 16, 1975 |location=Maryland, Baltimore |page=22|via = [[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> The review added that "each week the plots grow more surpassingly stupid, the guest stars less interesting, and the whole show steadily more arthritic in pace."<ref name="es" /> The title character was called "as dull as a reformed drunk" and the family's home life was summarized as "dull domesticity, just another unbelievable sitcom family, wrestling with piffling problems and pennywhistle crises."<ref name="es" />
 
==References==
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==External links==
*{{imdbIMDb title|0072477}}
*{{TV Guide|200038}}
*[http://www.tv.com/shows/big-eddie/ TV.com]
*{{epguides|BigEddie}}
*[http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/big-eddie/200038 TV Guide]
*[http://epguides.com/BigEddie/ epguides.com]
 
[[Category:1975 American television series debuts]]
[[Category:1975 American television series endings]]
[[Category:1970s American multi-camera sitcoms]]
[[Category:American English-language television programsshows]]
[[Category:CBS network shows]]▼
[[Category:Television shows set in New York City]]
▲[[Category:CBS network showssitcoms]]
 
 
{{US-comedy-tv-prog-stub}}
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