The Corner Bar

The Corner Bar
Gabriel Dell as Harry Grant, 1972
Genre	Sitcom
Written by	Norman Barasch
Directed by	Peter Baldwin Rick Edelstein
Starring	Gabriel Dell Anne Meara Eugene Roche J. J. Barry Shimen Ruskin Bill Fiore
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	16
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Production company	Alan King Productions
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	June 21, 1972 (1972-06-21) – September 7, 1973 (1973-09-07)

The Corner Bar is an American television sitcom that aired as a summer-replacement series on ABC from June 21, 1972, to September 7, 1973.

The show, created by comedian Alan King and veteran comedy writer Herb Sargent, was co-produced by King and comedian Howard Morris. The center of activity is a New York City tavern called Grant's Toomb [sic]. The series is notable for its inclusion of the first recurring gay character on American television.

The show's producer, comedian Alan King, videotaped 10 half-hour episodes before live audiences, to be aired as a Wednesday-night summer-replacement series in 1972. Customarily, a summer series would return the following January as a mid-season replacement, but The Corner Bar did not return until the following summer, and then as a Friday-night miniseries.

Gabriel Dell, originally a member of the Dead End Kids, starred as affable New York bartender Harry Grant. Grant presided over a motley crew of staff members and regular customers: sad-sack 65-year-old waiter Meyer Shapiro (Shimen Ruskin), cook Joe (Joe Keyes, Jr.), kooky waitress Mary Ann (Langhorne Scruggs), tipsy executive Phil Bracken (Bill Fiore), roughneck cab driver Fred Costello (J.J. Barry), and flamboyantly gay designer Pete Panama (Vincent Schiavelli), "a dead ringer for Tiny Tim in manner and dress," according to columnist Kay Gardella. The building was owned by landlady Jennifer Bradley (Anne Meara).

The show was taped in New York City, much to native New Yorker Gabe Dell's regret: his dressing room was robbed while the cast was before the cameras. "We're off to a good start," grumbled Dell. "I'm missing my address book and wallet. If we were making the series in Hollywood this would never have happened. Why we're making the series here I don't know. I was a dedicated New Yorker once myself." Dell remarked that the name of the corner bar was supposed to be Grant's Tomb, but the sign painter misspelled it "Toomb." Dell offered to "let it ride", reasoning that a small businessman in the same position would just shrug it off.

Blue-collar comedy

Producer Alan King gave out advance publicity that the show would make humorous observations about politics and current events, much as the current hit All in the Family was doing. The Corner Bar was actually more like radio's Duffy's Tavern, with its back-and-forth banter and blue-collar bartender. When owner Harry is resentful of celebrities patronizing a rival tavern, a radical suggests bringing in the Harrisburg Eight or the Chicago Nine. "No," says Harry, "I don't want no rock groups here."

As the series progressed, the scripts and the ensemble cast settled into a broadly comic groove. Dell's former colleague and close friend Huntz Hall appeared in "The Navy Reunion" as a con man. Another episode, "Harry and the Hoods", had Alan King (as himself) masterminding a scheme to scare off two extortionists. King masqueraded in slouch hat and pinstriped suit as Harry's ominous "godfather", with the regulars in costume as his mob:

Alan King: Right, boys?
Phil the cabbie: Yes, papa.
Fred the executive: Yes, papa.
Pete the designer: You're so right, daddy!

Variety commented, "There was no message or pauses for sentiment, with everybody a character with eccentric flaws, and it worked quite well in broad comedy terms. [The] series utilized only one set, and it's a good one." Another critic agreed: "It's a light piece of nonsense but Gabriel Dell as Harry and the expert cast of farceurs carry it off." Despite good reviews, the series was not picked up for additional mid-season episodes.

Encore

The Corner Bar returned the following summer, but producer Alan King had to scramble to assemble a handful of new episodes. ABC needed an emergency fill-in to replace a failed summer series, Love Thy Neighbor. Thus the second season of The Corner Bar made its debut in midsummer (August 3, 1973) and ran for only six episodes.

Eugene Roche and Anne Meara in The Corner Bar, 1973

Gabe Dell wasn't available for the rush assignment, so the tavern was taken over by the building's landlady, now named Mae (Anne Meara) and her late husband's business partner Frank Flynn (Eugene Roche). Regulars Phil and Fred were still on hand but now the only staff member was Meyer, and the gay designer was replaced by self-promoting actor Donald Hooten (Ron Carey). Like the previous year's series, the mini-series was taped in New York.

Alan King and Howard Morris continued as producers; Anne Meara's husband and comedy-team partner Jerry Stiller was now the associate producer. Meara was optimistic that the show would have a longer run: "Sure, we want it to go, and be picked up for the winter, but who knows, dat's-a-da show biz, right?" But the series ended after its six-episode encore. The Corner Bar has not been seen since its original runs in 1972 and 1973.

Cast

• Gabriel Dell as Harry Grant, owner and bartender (Season 1)
• J.J. Barry as Fred Costello, cab driver
• Bill Fiore as Phil Bracken, executive
• Vincent Schiavelli as Peter Panama, designer (Season 1)
• Shimen Ruskin as Meyer Shapiro, waiter
• Joe Keyes, Jr. as Joe, cook (Season 1)
• Langhorne Scruggs as Mary Ann, waitress (Season 1)
• Anne Meara as Mae, landlady (Season 2)
• Eugene Roche as Frank Flynn, Mae's business partner (Season 2)
• Ron Carey as Donald Hooten, actor (Season 2)

Episodes

Season 1: 1972

Nº	Ep	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	1	"Politics"	Dave Wilson	Norman Barasch & Carroll Moore	June 21, 1972 (1972-06-21)
Harry tries to "class up" his tavern by throwing a political campaign party. When a noisy challenger shows up, TV newscasters report the chaos.
2	2	"Flanagan's Wake"	Unknown	Unknown	June 28, 1972 (1972-06-28)
An elderly patron's last request is to have his wake held in Grant's Toomb.
3	3	"Quarantine"	Unknown	Unknown	July 5, 1972 (1972-07-05)
Nobody can leave the bar when a health official quarantines it.
4	4	"Harry and the Hoods"	Dave Wilson	Norman Barasch & Carroll Moore	July 12, 1972 (1972-07-12)
Alan King helps the gang foil two shakedown artists.
5	5	"Cook's Night Out"	Unknown	Unknown	July 19, 1972 (1972-07-19)
To impress his prospective mother-in-law, Joe the cook tells her he owns the tavern.
6	6	"Bonnie's Bundle"	Unknown	Unknown	July 26, 1972 (1972-07-26)
Substitute waitress Bonnie is pregnant but won't identify the father. The gang finds him, a TV weatherman.
7	7	"The Generation Canyon"	Unknown	Unknown	August 2, 1972 (1972-08-02)
Meyer and Fred are unnerved when their respective children plan to drop out of college.
8	8	"The Sexy Landlady"	Unknown	Unknown	August 9, 1972 (1972-08-09)
Harry's lease is about to expire, and the widowed landlady Jennifer Bradley (Anne Meara) wants to tear down the building.
9	9	"The Navy Reunion"	Unknown	Unknown	August 16, 1972 (1972-08-16)
Harry's old shipmate Sparky Schnauzer (Huntz Hall) drops in for a visit, and tries to con Harry into buying real estate in New Mexico.
10	10	"The Strike"	Unknown	Unknown	August 23, 1972 (1972-08-23)
Meyer, Joe, and Mary Ann go on strike, leaving the regulars to substitute for them.

Season 2: 1973

Nº	Ep	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
11	1	"Father's Day"	Unknown	Unknown	August 3, 1973 (1973-08-03)
12	2	"To Your Good Health"	Unknown	Unknown	August 10, 1973 (1973-08-10)
13	3	"Mixed Doubles"	Peter Baldwin	Unknown	August 17, 1973 (1973-08-17)
14	4	"Fifty Grand"	Unknown	Unknown	August 24, 1973 (1973-08-24)
15	5	"The Space on the Barroom Floor"	Unknown	Unknown	August 31, 1973 (1973-08-31)
16	6	"Aunt Blanche"	Unknown	Unknown	September 7, 1973 (1973-09-07)

External links

• The Corner Bar at IMDb