Good Grief

My brothers, sisters and I used to watch this, then get together and discuss it and laugh all over again. When my son passed away in 1991, we all met at the funeral home for the family viewing. I will never forget all of us standing in the lobby, most of us crying, when the funeral director and his assistant came to serve us. The assistant held out his hand and said "I am Ernie. I will be serving you this evening." The next thing you know, we were all laughing hysterically, and poor Ernie was standing there looking confused and shocked. Of course we explained it to him, and all was well after that. Still love Howie and would love a chance to see this short-lived show again.

This show was a precursor to "Six Feet Under" and never really got it's due. Honestly, our world wasn't quite ready to laugh at death and the funeral industry in 1990, and those of us that did couldn't keep this show from dying...pun intended. Howie Mendell was cast perfectly as the 'intruder' to the family business. And how I've remembered his line, "I'm going to put the FUN back in FUNERAL". Gosh, aren't we all trying to do that today with all the videos, photos, music, displays and other gimmicks used at viewings and visitation? If anyone reading this knows how to purchase this series on DVD, I'd love to find out how! I can remember true belly laughs watching several episodes.

I LOVED this show while it aired. Raoul I think only ever talked once. If i remember correctly the conversation went as follows: Ernie Lapidus "Better Raoul?" Raoul "Better!". I think stupid humor peaked in the late 80's, early 90's, and this show by far would fit that category. If I am also not mistaken, this show aired on the Fox network, which could be another reason for it's early demise. Being that it was on so long ago, and didn't hardly last at all, it is hard to say much else about it, other then it is dearly missed. I think in this time period, the only show that was on the air for a less amount of time was the Chevy Chase show. Again, if I am not mistaken, also a sadly produced result of the Fox network.