What started this: McLean Stevenson was on one of the “Match Game” reruns last night.
I got to wondering: what was the motivating concept behind “Hello, Larry”? I knew he was a single dad raising two daughters, but was he a widower, or divorced?
(I also knew that this is more thought than my entire readership combined has put into “Hello, Larry” since I started this blog. Onward!)
Answer: he was divorced, and his ex-wife (played by Shelly Fabares, who is still alive, and a “Mannix” alumnae) shows up in season 2.
But that’s not the dumb trivia. Here’s the dumb trivia: “Hello, Larry” was not a “Diff’rent Strokes.” spinoff.
Even though there were “Diff’rent Strokes”/”Hello, Larry” crossover episodes, “Hello, Larry” was not conceived of as a spinoff. The crossover episodes were intended to increase “Larry”‘s ratings, so the showrunners decided that Larry Alder and Mr. Drummond were…
…wait for it…
…Yes! “old Army buddies”! (“with Drummond’s company becoming the new owners of Larry’s radio station”).
I wonder if they got the idea from Shelly Fabares.