Mr. Dugan was a projected American sitcom about a black congressman that was cancelled before its scheduled airdate in March 1979 on CBS.
In early 1978, producer Norman Lear felt his long-running comedy Maude was getting stale, so he decided to enliven things by moving the show to Washington, D.C. and making the title character a congresswoman. After two episodes in this new setting, star Beatrice Arthur decided not to continue, and the show abru...
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Mr. Dugan was a projected American sitcom about a black congressman that was cancelled before its scheduled airdate in March 1979 on CBS.
In early 1978, producer Norman Lear felt his long-running comedy Maude was getting stale, so he decided to enliven things by moving the show to Washington, D.C. and making the title character a congresswoman. After two episodes in this new setting, star Beatrice Arthur decided not to continue, and the show abruptly left the air. Lear, however, still believed in the concept, and filmed a new pilot tilted Onward and Upward, with essentially the same script and cast -- except with John Amos (as a black former pro football star running for the United States Congress) replacing Arthur. Creative differences between Amos (who had co-starred in Lear's Good Times) and the producers led to Amos bowing out; the show was renamed Mr. Dooley and finally Mr. Dugan. Cleavon Little (best known as the sheriff in the classic movie comedy Blazing Saddles) was hired as...
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