Joe & Valerie

Joe & Valerie is a short-lived American sitcom starring Paul Regina and Char Fontane as the title characters that aired on NBC in two parts: four half-hour segments from April 24 to May 10, 1978, and three half-hour segments from January 5 to January 19, 1979 (with one episode remaining unaired). The series was produced by Bob Hope's production company, Hope Enterprises, and his daughter, Linda, served as executive producer.

Joe & Valerie
Created byBernie Kahn
Ronald Rubin
Written byHoward Albrecht
Hal Dresner
Bernie Kahn
Sol Weinstein
Directed byBill Persky (1978)
Bob Claver (1978–79)
StarringPaul Regina
Char Fontane
Music byJack Elliott, Allyn Ferguson (1978)
Joe Raposo, Patti Brooks (1979)
Opening themeChar Fontane, Randy Winburn (1978)
Patti Brooks, Jean Raposo (1979)
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes8 (1 unaired)
Production
Executive producerLinda Hope
ProducersBernie Kahn (1978)
Frank Badami (1979)
Running time30 minutes
Production companyHope Enterprises
Release
Original networkNBC
Original releaseApril 24–May 10, 1978
January 5–19, 1979

Synopsis and changing formats

The first season, set in 1978 Brooklyn, follows the romantic misadventures of a teenage couple – Joe Pizo, an apprentice plumber, and Valerie Sweetzer, a cosmetics salesgirl – who meet and fall in love at a New York City disco. Joe shares an apartment with his roommates Frank and Paulie (who call themselves "The Big Three") while Valerie lives at home with her divorced mother, Stella.

The second season in early 1979 centers on the courtship, marriage and efforts of Joe and Valerie as they begin a married life together in Brooklyn. This new updated version of the series also saw cast changes as the role of Valerie's mother Stella was recast with Arlene Golonka and Lloyd Alan replaced Bill Beyers as Joe's chauvinist friend Frank; Donna Ponterotto returned as Valerie's friend, but her character name was changed from Thelma to Rita.

The show was highly influenced by the disco craze of the late 1970s and the movie Saturday Night Fever specifically.[1]

Cast

Season 1
  • Paul Regina as Joe Pizo (Valerie's boyfriend, an apprentice plumber)
  • Char Fontane as Valerie Sweetzer (Joe's girlfriend, a cosmetics salesgirl)
  • Bill Beyers as Frank Berganski (Joe's friend/roommate, a chauvinist)
  • David Elliott as Paulie Barone (Joe's friend/roommate, a hearse driver)
  • Donna Ponterotto as Thelma Medina (Valerie's friend)
  • Pat Benson as Stella Sweetzer (Valerie's mother)
  • Robert Costanzo as Vincent Pizo (Joe's father, a plumber)

Season 2
  • Paul Regina as Joe Pizo (Valerie's husband, an apprentice plumber)
  • Char Fontane as Valerie Sweetzer-Pizo (Joe's wife, a cosmetics salesgirl)
  • Lloyd Alan as Frank Berganski (Joe's friend, a chauvinist)
  • David Elliott as Paulie Barone (Joe's friend, a hearse driver)
  • Donna Ponterotto as Rita (Valerie's friend)
  • Arlene Golonka as Stella Sweetzer (Valerie's mother)
  • Robert Costanzo as Vincent Pizo (Joe's father, a plumber)
  • Jack Riley as Ed Sweetzer (Valerie's father, Stella's ex-husband)

Episodes

Season 1 (1978)
Nº Title Directed by Written by Airdate
1"The Meeting"TBABernie KahnApril 24, 1978 (1978-04-24)
Joe and Valerie, two young teenagers from blue-collar families, meet at a New York disco and fall in love when Joe bets his roommates, Frank and Paulie, that he can take Valerie away from her dancing partner.
2"The Perfect Night"TBAHoward Albrecht and Sol WeinsteinMay 1, 1978 (1978-05-01)
Valerie arranges a disastrous date between Frank and her best friend Thelma and when she fixes up Paulie with a co-worker who gets married the night before the date, she must come up with a last minute substitute.
3"Valerie's Wild Oat"TBATBAMay 3, 1978 (1978-05-03)
Joe and Valerie's romance hits a potential roadblock when Valerie finds out that her new boss at the department store is her ex-boyfriend Ernie (Marcus Smythe).
4"The Commitment"TBATBAMay 10, 1978 (1978-05-10)
When Valerie's mother is unexpectedly called away for the weekend, Joe and Valerie face the prospect of spending their first night together; Joe's dilemma is that he loves Valerie too much to stay and he's afraid of what the guys will think if he doesn't.

Season 2 (1979)
Nº Title Directed by Written by Airdate
5"The Engagement"Bob ClaverTBAJanuary 5, 1979 (1979-01-05)
Joe and Valerie break the news to their respective parents that they have decided to live together which causes an uproar and the subsequent search for a place to live through a rental service causes even more havoc.
6"The Wedding Guest"Bob ClaverTBAJanuary 12, 1979 (1979-01-12)
Joe and Valerie learn that a gangster's funeral is scheduled at the same time and in the same church as their wedding.
7"The Wedding"Bob ClaverTBAJanuary 19, 1979 (1979-01-19)
The newly-married Joe and Valerie take a flashback look at the hilarious events that occurred before their wedding: Frank and Paulie feuding over who will be the best man and Stella threatening to boycott the wedding if her ex-husband (Valerie's father) shows up.
8"Paulie's First Love"Bob ClaverTBAUNAIRED

References
  1. Terrace, Vincent. Encyclopedia of Television Series, Pilots and Specials, Volume 2, retrieved August 17, 2015.
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