George Dzundza became the unlikely star of a cult favorite Eighties sitcom

Open All Night was too edgy to be embraced as “the first real comedy show of the '80s.”

In the 1970s, George Dzundza became one of the most likable character actors in Hollywood after stealing scenes in award-winning movies like The Deer Hunter and hit TV shows like The Waltons.

The "pudgy, baby-faced" actor became so popular that ABC cast Dzundza to star in Open All Night, a sitcom that co-creator Tom Patchett told United Press International in 1981 would soon become regarded as "the first real comedy show of the ‘80s."

"Our jokes are more intelligent and outrageous than some of the highly rated sitcoms on the air right now," Patchett said, proclaiming: "We’re geared to the more hip audiences."

But Open All Night, about George Feester, the dopey manager of a 24-hour convenience store in Los Angeles, was not exactly well-received.

"The network ought to shut it down before it gets any worse," wrote one critic in The Courier Journal in 1981 after it premiered.

Co-created by Patchett and Jay Tarses (who also played a cop who would stop by the store to mess with George), Open All Night drew heavy hitters for writers, coming from shows like The Bob Newhart Show, The Carol Burnett Show and M*A*S*H.

Although viewers didn’t quite enjoy Open All Night as much as those other hit shows, it did garner at least one accolade for its writing.

One episode that parodied Psycho and was penned by M*A*S*H writing duo Ken Levine and David Isaacs was nominated for a WGA award in 1982.

For the show, Dzundza’s likeability was key to making his dim-witted character endearing to audiences, and some of the show’s few fans remember the opening credits for Open All Night very fondly, as it told the story of George Feester in a sing-song, rhymey way.

"One of the best theme songs in TV history," wrote Ben, a commenter on Ken Levine’s popular blog.

Levine had written a post about his WGA-nominated episode after telling fans of his blog how he was "amazed and delighted that some of you actually remember Open All Night."

"The premise-stating theme song was one of the best ever," another commenter Rinaldo wrote. "George Dzundza was wonderful, the milieu and atmosphere were unique, the characters were endearing. The Sam Whipple character was the first representation I can recall on TV of a certain kind of airhead aimless teenager of that era."

For Patchett and Tarses, the offbeat show represented a new frontier of Eighties comedy, and when ABC requested that they tone the show down, they refused and won the battle.

But they lost the war when despite the great theme song and Dzundza’s quirky appeal, Open All Night faded into Eighties obscurity, cancelled after 13 episodes.

For Dzundza, starring in Open All Night was yet another unexpected turn in his life, and he didn’t harbor bad feelings when the show ended.

"Part of the life of an actor is not knowing what comes next," Dzundza summed up his acting ethos in The Commercial Appeal in 1979. "Except for a fortunate few who have projects booked far in advance. I’m not one of those yet, and I may never be. But that’s all right. I’m doing what I want to do."

As a kid, Dzundza didn’t want to be an actor. Growing up in Germany, it never occurred to him.

But then his parents moved him to New York, and when he started college in Brooklyn, he said, "I was literally blackmailed into the theater."

"During freshman orientation, my adviser was a young lady named Leah Ann Roazza, who was head of the drama society," Dzundza said. "She told me that if I didn’t come out for a play, she’d talk to my professors and get them to flunk me out of school. So I went out, got the part and got hooked."

He preferred doing movies to television, and though he continued acting through 2011, Open All Night was his one shot at TV stardom, and it came about in part thanks to that pushy adviser.

"I spotted her a few years ago in a bar," Dzundza said. "I went up to her and started screaming, ‘It’s your fault, you’re responsible for my life.’ She must have thought I was some nut."

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23 Comments

stagebandman 26 months ago
As I recall, this show was based on the Gene Hackman / Barbra Streisand movie, All Night Long. Why no mention of that in the article?
MaryHelen 26 months ago
i know hm from a starring law and order role, partner with chris noth and a hot dog lover like matlock on that show
ScottLong 26 months ago
This sounds like a show that might work in today's market. Someone ought to think of bringing it back
jesstin_k 26 months ago
That looks like a George Woodbridge illustration.
Mike jesstin_k 26 months ago
Not George Woodbridge, but Jack Davis, from the same MAD stable.
OldTVfanatic Mike 26 months ago
No, it’s George Woodbridge all right.
BrittReid 26 months ago
I never heard of his sitcom , but I remember him in a movie 'The Beast'.
Runeshaper 26 months ago
George Dzundza sounds like a funny guy and I'm bummed that his show didn't last more than 13 episodes.
ncadams27 26 months ago
I remember this show and the theme song being sorta interesting. His store was called the 364 Store because it was only closed in Christmas.

I remember a specific joke involving the Sam Whipple character. He demanded to know why two cans of tuna fish had different prices. Gordon Feester replied, pointing to the first can, “This one is cat food…”

That’s all I remember. I think the characters were somewhat one dimensional and not very likable. The 1981 season was delayed by a writers strike and a lot of shows were either delayed or moved to time slots where the viewers never quite picked up on them.
justjeff 26 months ago
This show deserves a comment utilizing the title of one of Elvis Presley's early Sun recordings: "I Forgot to Remember to Forget"... Now that I know of this show, I'm none the better for learning about it...
Andybandit 26 months ago
I never heard of George. I never saw his show, or heard of it.
I don't remember this show either. I know him from the movie Dangerous Minds, and from a couple of seasons of Law and Order. And from a guest appearance on Matlock.
MrsPhilHarris 26 months ago
Not sure how much creating was done by Patchett and Tarses since it was a British show with the same name and same premise created about 8 years prior.
rhindle MrsPhilHarris 26 months ago
It's an industry term. I mean, did David Benioff and D. B. Weiss actually "create" Game of Thrones? No, they adapted it. I've always disliked the term because of that kind of thing, but that's the way it is.
Barry22 26 months ago
Never heard of the show, but as I have said before, would be nice if Me TV once a week (Sunday) would show a two hour block of shows like this. It would be interesting.
justjeff Barry22 26 months ago
Usually failed shows are not made available for syndication packages... but who knows... perhaps you have stumbed onto something... How to lose even more viewership by airing things for a second time that should have been forgotten the first time around...
Mike 26 months ago
(1) The lead character in Open All Night was GORDON Feester:
"This is the story of Gordon Feester
Born in Ohio the day before Easter ...".

(2) In 1990, George Dzundza was the original cop star of Law And Order; he left after one season, replaced by Paul Sorvino (Jerry Orbach came in midway through Season 3).
In 2002, Dzundza took a supporting role in Hack, as a priest who befriended an ex-cop turned cabbie, played by David Morse (Dzundza left this show after one season as well).

Look Things Up.
justjeff Mike 26 months ago
..still never heard of him...
Moverfan Mike 26 months ago
Didn't know he was in Hack (of course, I never watched it either), but I've seen most if not all of his Law & Order episodes. A question for the L&O historians--in the episode where Sergeant Greevey is shot and killed, is that future DA Fred Dalton Thompson playing the shooter's lawyer? I've only seen the episode once and they didn't list him in the credits (that I could see, anyway), but I could've sworn...
Pacificsun 26 months ago
Hard to believe that as much time as the length of this article suggests, was spent on an 80's show. That is, if there is supposed to be some interest in drawing 80's TV fans to MeTV. This, was probably not the way to go.

Not only are all the real images copyrighted (like, why) but the theme song is (to be polite) dismal.

You be the judge.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydaeFhx-M4A&ab_channel=brilton1

Seems like a substitute was found for the office water cooler, once again.
justjeff Pacificsun 26 months ago
Perhaps MeTV has exhausted it's supply of tiresome TAGS, Gomer, Brady, Gilligan and Monk articles...
Pacificsun justjeff 26 months ago
The are 2 ways to tackle the subject of television in the '80's (if the goal here is to speak to viewers whose nostalgia includes 80's television programing).

One, is to remind them of the failures and as a result why (perhaps) that generation of viewers might've gotten turned off to TV entertainment.

Two, is to remind them as to why the decade meant something of importance to them.

In terms of writing today, the internet is a valuable resource tool. The trick is asking the question of it, in just the right way. And even while picking out something "quirky" (or novel) to write about in order to catch the viewer's attention (like this one-season non-wonder mentioned above) it does help to understand the context behind the show. Because it just adds a little more depth as to why a subject has been chosen. Meaning "Open All Night" turned out to be the polar opposite of some otherwise notable new ideas in TV viewing. Whether it was (or is) truly a cult favorite, I wonder. However, it kind of provides the point behind featuring the story, doesn't it.

Here are the examples through 3 links being offered. Anyone of them can provide a longer term source of stories, since we're now including a younger set of classic TV viewers. Like, we might as well get to know them, right. And why certain kinds of new shows were being developed.

https://reelrundown.com/tv/Forgotten-TV-Series

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top-rated_United_States_television_programs_of_1980%E2%80%9381

https://www.explorepopculture.com/unit-6-1980s/1980s-television From this link is the following quote:

"The big three NBC, CBS and ABC had to create new compelling content to draw in viewers that had more options and more diverse programming. Shows like COPS that followed police in real life situations emerge and game shows start to expand to include families, children and potential mates.
At the same time sitcoms had reached the beginning of their "golden age" with family based shows for families to watch together. Shows like Family Matters, Full House and The Cosby Show tackled real issues facing families and provided comedic relief to the daily grind.

By the end of the 1980's, there was no turning back, television was at the center of American Pop Culture." (End quote).

justjeff Pacificsun 26 months ago
Very well said. No puns, wisecracks or silly retorts from me... You've made an interesting and compelling argument for that decade...
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