Barney Miller was a long-running sitcom set in a New York City police station, focusing on the detective squad and their patient captain, Barney Miller (played by Hal Linden). The 12th Precinct played host to a parade of eccentric criminals, victims, officers, and average citizenry driven to the brink by life's petty frustrations. The series aired on ABC from 1975 through 1982 and spawned a spin-off, Fish (starring Abe Vigoda as broken-down Detective Fish). The character of Barney Miller was named number 58 in Bravo's 100 Greatest TV Characters.
References[]
- When Hal Linden guest starred on The Muppet Show episode 517, Pops asks him if he's a cop. Linden clarifies that he merely plays a cop on TV, Barney Miller. Pops says that as soon as he said the name, it hit him like a ton of bricks. "What name?" "Barney Miller!" (cue ton of bricks landing on Pops).
Muppet Mentions[]
- In the episode "Vandal" (1979), the detectives arrest Mr. Adelson, a man who attacked a TV programming executive. The man insists that TV will always be trash. Detective Dietrich quotes Newton Minow, famous for referring to television as a "vast wasteland." Adelson's confused response: "He one of those little puppets on Sesame Street?" Dietrich, deadpan, replies yeah.
Connections[]
In addition to Hal Linden, other Barney Miller actors and crew worked on Muppet/Henson productions.
- Luis Avalos played Antonio Mione in "Chase" (1977) and Jorge Sanchez in "Bones" (1982)
- Herbert Baker co-wrote the episode "Fish" (1975)
- Bruce Bilson directed ten episodes (1976-1981)
- Roscoe Lee Browne played Charlie Jeffers in "Escape Artist" (1975)
- Mark Brull wrote the story for "Fog" (1980)
- Rosalind Cash played Carolyn Slade in "Dog Days" (1978)
- James Cromwell played Sgt. Wilkinson in "Group Home" (1977), Neil Spencer in "Strip Joint" (1979), Jason Parrish in "Liquidation," and Dr. Edmund Danworth in "Stress Analyzer" (both 1981)
- Linda Dano played Leslie Dornan in "Rape" (1978)
- Bill Davis directed the first episode "Ramon" (1975)
- Susan Davis played Miss Krewson in "Thanksgiving Story" (1977) and Linda Lovell in "Counterfeiter" (1979)
- Bob Dishy played Mr. Shine in "Layoff" (1975) and Richard Milford in "The Delegate" (1980)
- Jack Dodson played Mr. Franklin in "Horse Thief" (1975), Mr. Vogel in "Guns" (1980) and Henry St. Martin in the two-part "Homicide" (1980)
- Jack Elliott composed the theme song
- Charles Fleischer played a junkie in "Hair" (1975)
- Panchito Gómez played Gilbert Pedroso in "Bones" (1982)
- Bruce Kirby played Lt. Rossmore in "Eviction, Part Two" (1978), Frank Claymore in "The Search" (1978), and Frank Rossman in "Vacation" (1979)
- Steve Landesberg played Detective Arthur Dietrich (1976-1982) and Father Paul in "Doomsday" (1975)
- Stan Lathan directed "The Kid" (1976)
- Linda Lavin played Detective Janice Wentworth (1975-1976)
- Richard Libertini played 1223 in "Evaluation" (1978), Richard Perito in "Middle Age" (1979), and Adam Boyer in "Child Stealers" (1980)
- Christopher Lloyd played Arnold Scully in "The Vandal" and Vincent Carew in "Open House" (both 1979)
- Robert Mandan played Charlie Huntsinger in "Grand Hotel" (1975)
- James Murtaugh played Ron Giles in "Lady and the Bomb" (1980), Vincent Bondell in "Stress Analyzer" (1981), and Joseph Saxon in "Landmark" pt. 1 (1982)
- Jenny O'Hara played Teresa Schnabel in "The Search" (1978) and Sgt. Holly Scofield in "The Dentist" (1979)
- Stuart Pankin played Anthony Morola in "The Radical" (1978) and Alex Fleischer in "Uniform Day" (1981)
- Charlotte Rae played Mrs. Sobel in "The Sniper" (1976)
- Doris Roberts played Louise Kaufmann in "Sex Surrogate" (1977) and Harriet Brower in "The Sighting" (1978), "Wojo's Girl" (1979), and "Agent Orange" (1980)
- Jerry Ross wrote the episodes "Hair" (1975), "Bus Stop" (1976) and "Sex Surrogate" (1977)
- Richard Schaal played Mr. Dunnagan in the Fish episode "Fish's Job" (1975)
- Marilyn Sokol played Dr. Lorraine Dooley in "Sex Surrogate" (1977)
- Florence Stanley played Bernice Fish (1975-1977) and on the spin-off Fish
- Paul Stolarsky played Joseph Kellogg in "Homeless" (1981)
- Jeffrey Tambor played William Klein in "Field Associate" (1981)