M: Marblehead Manor

 

Marblehead Manor

In 1987, NBC attempted to create a block of programming to lead into their 8-11 pm (ET) evening block, five sitcoms on five different nights. This was known as "Prime Time Begins at 7:30", or "Checkerboard Sitcoms." Stations not affiliated with NBC were able to acquire these shows as well. Three of the shows, including Marblehead Manor, were cancelled after one season along with the experiment itself. The two shows that survived, She's the Sheriff (with Suzanne Somers) and Out of this World (starring Donna Pescow of the previously mentioned Angie), moved to weekend syndication, with Sheriff lasting until 1989, and World until 1991. The other two shows in the block were a revival of an NBC comedy from 1983 called We Got It Made, and a TV adaptation of the hit play You Can't Take It With You. A compilation of each show's intros can be seen here. In my area, Marblehead Manor was carried by my local NBC station, but on Saturday nights, since the said station carried Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy on weeknights in the 7PM hour. I watched this one several times.

The series revolved around Marblehead Manor, the estate of corn-oil heir Randolph Stonehill (Bob Fraser) and his wife Hillary (Linda Thorson, Diana Rigg's replacement on The Avengers--the 1960s adventure series, not those Avengers!). The staff included the butler Albert Dudley (Paxton Whitehead, later the British neighbor on Mad About You), the maid Lupe (Dyana Ortelli) and her son Elvis (Humberto Ortiz, Ortelli's real-life son), handyman Dwayne (Rodney Scott Hudson). But the two most famous cast members to come out this little-remembered show were Michael Richards (formerly of the sketch-comedy series Fridays) as Rick, the klutzy gardener, and Phil Morris as Jerry the chauffeur (Dwayne's brother). Richards, of course, played Kramer on Seinfeld three years later, and Morris appeared in several episodes as lawyer Jackie Chiles. Prior to playing Chiles, Morris had starred in the Mission Impossible reboot of 1988-90, playing the son of the character his real-life father Greg Morris had played on the original series from 1966 to 1973. 

From what I remember of watching this series, it seemed reminiscent of British comedies set in manors, though it was set in the US. Below is the show's intro, plus some episodes discovered on Youtube (more can be found here):