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Brian Murphy, who starred as the henpecked landlord George Roper on the 1970s British sitcoms Man About the House and George and Mildred, which were adapted for Three’s Company and The Ropers in the U.S., has died. He was 92.

Murphy died Sunday of cancer at his home in Kent, England, his agent, Thomas Bowington, announced.

Murphy also starred on the short-lived comedies The Incredible Mr. Tanner in 1981, L for Lester in 1982 and Lame Ducks in 1984-85 before joining the long-running BBC sitcom Last of the Summer Wine as Alvin Smedley for an eight-season run from 2003-10.

ITV’s Man About the House, from Thames Television, starred Richard O’Sullivan as student chef Robin Tripp, who moves into a London flat shared by two young women, Chrissy (Paula Wilcox) and Jo (Sally Thomsett), to enjoy a platonic relationship. The landlords, George and his sexually frustrated wife, Mildred (Yootha Joyce), are told Robin is gay.

Actor and comedian Brian Murphy, best known for his iconic roles in groundbreaking sitcoms “Man About the House” and “George and Mildred,” passed away Sunday at his home in Kent, England. He was 92.

Murphy’s agent, Thomas Bowington, confirmed his death, noting that the actor died peacefully with his wife, actress Linda Regan, by his side. “Brian was a truly joyful and profoundly good-hearted man,” Bowington said.

A veteran of British entertainment, Murphy’s career spanned over seven decades. He began in the 1950s with Joan Littlewood’s Theatre Workshop, where he helped transform British theater and make it more accessible to wider audiences. His early stage work included Shakespearean productions and a memorable role in “Oh, What a Lovely War!”

Television brought Murphy his greatest recognition. After appearing in classic British series like “The Avengers” and “Z-Cars,” he found breakthrough success in 1973 with “Man About the House.” The sitcom,...

Brian Murphy, an English actor and comedian best known for his roles in the ’70s sitcoms “Man About the House” and “George and Mildred,” died on Sunday. He was 92.

Murphy’s agent confirmed the news to the BBC, calling him a “joyful and profoundly good-hearted man.” His wife, “Hi-de-Hi” star Linda Regan, posted a photo of them embracing on X with the caption: “My love for you will never die. Rip sweetheart.”

Born on the Isle of Wight on Sept. 25, 1932, Murphy completed military service at Raf Northwood before pursuing acting and becoming a member of Joan Littlewood’s legendary Theatre Workshop. After nabbing several guest appearances on spy series like “The Avengers” and “Callan” as well as police procedurals “Z-Cars” and “Dixon of Dock Green,” Murphy was cast in “Man About the House.”

The sitcom ran from 1973 to 1976 and starred Murphy as George Roper, a lazy landlord who allows a...

Brian Murphy, star of 1970s UK sitcoms Man About the House and George and Mildred, has died aged 92.

His wife, Hi-De-Hi! actress and crime writer Linda Regan, posted a message on social media with a picture of the two that read, “My love for you will never die. Rip sweetheart”.

He passed away at his home in Kent in England on Sunday morning with Regan by his side, according to his agent, Thomas Bowington of Bowington Management.

“It is with the greatest of sadness that we have to announce the death of our client actor Brian Murphy,” Bowington said today. “It is almost impossible to describe the depth of his talent and humanity. A truly joyful and profoundly good hearted man.”

Through Bowington, Regan added: “I was lucky to have in my lifetime found my soulmate — Brian who I will love forever.”

An actor and comedian by trade, Murphy was...

The UK and US have a symbiotic relationship with their television output. So many shows have traveled both ways across the pond, finding new homes with audiences in both these countries. With no language barrier and, therefore, no need to navigate subtitles, many shows have been hits in their original iterations on both continents, but there are certain cultural nuances that can completely change the feel of a show. The original UK version of The Office, for example, was so innately British that, as a sitcom, it was hard to make it resonate with larger audiences in its BBC format, leading to the separate U.S. and UK versions of The Office.

Then there are the classic comedies of the '70s and '80s that captured a very specific period in time for both countries. Writers were tasked with adapting the sociopolitical impacts of the time to suit a new setting.

Jason Ritter has a very specific impression of his late father’s iconic Three’s Company character in his repertoire.

Three’s Company premiered on ABC in March 1977, and ran a total of eight seasons. The sitcom’s original cast was comprised of John Ritter, Suzanne Somers, Joyce DeWitt, Norman Fell, Audra Lindley and Richard Kline, with Don Knotts, Jenilee Harrison and Priscilla Barnes joining the mix in later years.

More from TVLineLittle House on the Prairie Cast Blasts Fired Event Organizer Who Continued to Market Cancelled Fan EventsSuzanne Somers, Star of Three's Company and Step by Step, Dead at 76Gen...

The premise of the 1977 sitcom "Three's Company" -- adapted from the 1973 British series "Man About the House" -- would likely never fly in 2024. Roommates Janet (Joyce DeWitt) and Chrissy (Suzanne Somers) require a third roommate to pay rent in their expensive Santa Monica apartment. They stumble across Jack Tripper (John Ritter), an aspiring culinary student whom they get along with. It so happens, though, that the building's landlord, Mr. Roper (Normal Fell), is ultra-conservative and refuses to let unmarried men and women share his apartments. To get around this contrived contingency, Janet and Chrissy tell Mr. Roper that Jack is gay. This satisfies the landlord but opens Jack up to homophobic jibes.

Fell eventually left the series and was replaced by the high-strung Mr. Furley, played by Don Knotts. Mr. Furley, it seems, required the charade to continue. Somers also left the show in its last two seasons and was...

Aaron Spelling did not try to license Degrassi Junior High before creating Beverly Hills 90210. Degrassi Junior High/Degrassi High was a popular Canadian prime time soap opera about high school students. The soap opera format of Degrassi Junior High/Degrassi High had a major influence on shows like Beverly Hills 90210, but there was no direct connection between the shows.

TV Urban Legend: Aaron Spelling tried to license Degrassi Junior High/Degrassi High for the United States television market and created Beverly Hills 90210 instead when his licensing attempt failed.

Television history is filled with examples of American producers adapting hit shows from other countries into successful shows here, like All in the Family (Till Death Us Do Part), Sanford and Son (Steptoe and Son), and Three's Company (Man About the House). That tradition continues to this day with hit shows like Ghosts (based on the British series of...

Three's Company was not an original idea, but a remake of a British series called Man About the House. The chemistry between the main cast members, Suzanne Somers, John Ritter, and Joyce DeWitt, was evident from the first day of shooting. Suzanne Somers' departure from the show due to unequal pay led to casting changes and her successful career in Hollywood.

From the iconic Three's Company cast to the theme song, there are so many unforgettable elements of the sitcom. Running for eight seasons from 1977 to 1984, Three's Company stands among the most celebrated sitcoms of the era. Featuring what was, at that time, considered to be a fairly controversial central conceit, Three's Company made for must-see television, and its impact on sitcoms to come cannot be understated. The series was about three roommates, one man and two women, living in Santa Monica, with plenty of misunderstandings and wacky hijinks fueling the comedy of the series.

One fictional apartment in Santa Monica, California is a little less funny now. Suzanne Somers passed away at the age of 76 on October 15, 2023. She was one of the main cast members in the 1970s/80s series "Three's Company" alongside John Ritter and Joyce DeWitt, playing the joyful and (as much as I hate this word) ditzy Christmas "Chrissy" Snow. As someone who watched the show as a very tiny person, I've seen most of the episodes. What I didn't know was that Somers was also playing another character, hiding in plain sight the whole time.  

"Three's Company" was based on the British show "Man About the House," and ran on ABC from 1977-1984, with Somers playing her role in seasons 1-5, leaving after contract negotiations failed. The show centered around two women, Chrissy Snow and Janet Wood (DeWitt), who lose their roommate and need someone to take over her portion of the rent.

Suzanne Somers, who became a star in the 1970s on the hit ABC comedy “Three’s Company” and later parlayed her fame into significant wealth as a health and fitness fitness guru and author, is dead. She passed away Sunday at 76.

In a statement, Somers’ longtime publicist R. Couri Hay said, “Suzanne Somers passed away peacefully at home in the early morning hours of October 15. She survived an aggressive form of breast cancer for over 23 years. Suzanne was surrounded by her loving husband Alan, her son Bruce and her immediate family. Her family was gathered to celebrate her 77th birthday on October 16. Instead, they will celebrate her extraordinary life, and want to thank her millions of fans and followers who loved her dearly.”

SEECelebrity Deaths 2023: In Memoriam Gallery

Somers first gained public attention as they hot blonde in the white Thunderbird in George Lucas’ hit “American Graffiti” in 1973. After a series of small roles,...

Suzanne Somers, who parlayed TV stardom in the sitcom hits “Three’s Company” and “Step by Step” into a personal fortune as a health and fitness pitchwoman and author, died Sunday in Palm Springs, Calif. She was 76.

“Suzanne Somers passed away peacefully at home in the early morning hours of October 15th. She survived an aggressive form of breast cancer for over 23 years,” Somers’ longtime publicist R. Couri Hay wrote in a statement on behalf of the actress’ family.

“Suzanne was surrounded by her loving husband Alan, her son Bruce, and her immediate family,” the statement continued. “Her family was gathered to celebrate her 77th birthday on October 16th. Instead, they will celebrate her extraordinary life, and want to thank her millions of fans and followers who loved her dearly.”

The leggy blonde first attracted attention with a small but eye-catching role on the big screen, as the nameless beauty in...

Over the years the U.S. has produced many remakes to put their own spin on international content, but there are quite a few long-running or popular classic U.S. TV shows that audiences had no idea were remakes. As soon as a television series reaches international acclaim or becomes exceedingly successful in its home country, chances are another country will give the premise a try in the form of a remake. On occasion, remakes will end up becoming more beloved than the original series. One of the most famous cases of this is with the American version of The Office.

Usually, remakes will keep the original series' basic narrative and a similar cast of characters, but tweak the dialogue, situations, and general aesthetic to fit the adapted story into a different culture. Another trend that seems to happen with remakes is that the first season will generally stick pretty...

The television landscape has spanned just about every genre and idea one could possibly think of. So, when a sitcom with an original concept debuts, fans are especially excited - it's not easy to be unique these days.

Many of the most popular sitcoms that have aired over the last few decades have been based on sitcoms that existed in other countries. Three's Company, for example, was modeled after a British sitcom called Man About the House. In other cases it has been the reverse, and other countries have taken American sitcom ideas and made their own versions. The Theorists, for example, is an obvious knock-off of The Big Bang Theory that airs in Belarus.

Related: 9 Sitcom Clichés The Big Bang Theory Avoided (Mostly) 

There are other instances, however, that involve two shows with very similar, though not identical, storylines. Or, it might be the approach, style, or format of...

Back in the late 1970s and early '80s, sitcoms like M*A*S*H and All in the Family ruled television. They were funny, entertaining, and loved by audiences, but they also covered issues previously considered taboo for broadcast television, helping people discuss and better understand those issues. The fact that television was evolving in the '70s directly led to Three's Company, one of the first American sitcoms to utilize double entendres and innuendo as a direct source for comedy. Based on the British series Man About the House, Three's Company follows three roommates: klutzy but clever Jack, level-headed and confident Janet, and ditzy blonde Chrissy.

Related: 10 '80s Sitcoms That Deserve A Reboot

In the show's pilot, Jack pretends to be gay so that he can move in with Chrissy and Janet without upsetting their strict landlord, Mr. Roper. He isn't interested in his roommates particularly; he just needs a place to live.

As Americans, we like to think we're the best at everything, but that's not always the case. With television, some of our favorite and most popular shows didn't originate here in the U.S.

We've adopted lots of British television, but other countries are represented as well.

You might be surprised where some of these shows came from. 

Click through our list to see which shows weren't born in the U.S.A.

1. Shameless This dark comedy has it's origins in Britain where it was a solid hit. Not all version of British shows are successful in the U.S., but Shameless is one of the lucky ones. 2. Three's Company Three's Company was based on the British hit series, Man About the House. It followed Jack, Chrissy and Janet who lived together on the falsity that Jack was gay, because their landlord, Mr. Roper would never allow such living arrangements otherwise.

Beloved British comedy Peep Show ended its nine-season Channel 4 run in December, but the sitcom will enjoy a second life as an American adaptation. The series' producers agreed to a development deal with Starz to bring Peep Show stateside, Variety reports.

The dark comedy starred comedy team David Mitchell and Robert Webb as roommates/social misfits navigating everyday life. The show was presented in a first-person perspective, with viewers assuming the gaze of either Mitchell's Mark or Webb's Jeremy while the respective comedian provided his dialogue in voiceover.

Peep...

The Regal Beagle is back in business, baby! Yes, New Line Cinema has come knocking on the door of an ancient sitcom, hoping to revive it to box office success. The studio is ready to bring Three's Company to the big screen. And this TV-to-movie adaptation will be set in the original's 1970s timeline. New Line is currently in negotiations to pick up the rights to the slapstick feature film, which originally aired on ABC.

Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein are writing the screenplay for Three's Company. The duo is best known for their work on the 2009 hit romantic comedy, He's Just Not That Into You. According to THR, Veteran producer Robert Cort is shepherding the project forward. He's known for such blockbuster comedy hits as Tom Cruise's Cocktail and Julia Roberts' Runaway Bride.

Three's Company first debuted in 1977 and was an instant hit, staying in the top...

New Line Cinema is in negotiations to acquire the rights to classic sitcom Three's Company and has hired screenwriters Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein (He's Just Not That Into You) to author the script for a film adaptation. Robert Cort (Cocktail, Runaway Bride) will produce the project, which will be set in the 1970s, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Three's Company, which aired from 1977 to 1984 on ABC, focused on an unlikely trio of Santa Monica roommates: two single women and a man pretending to be gay in order to circumvent the era's narrower housing norms.

New Line Cinema is in talks to pick up the film rights to classic late 1970s sitcom "Three's Company".

The original, a remake British sitcom "Man About the House," starred John Ritter, Joyce De Witt and Suzanne Somers. The trio played roommates who pretended that Ritter's character was gay in order to placate their hard-nosed landlord (Norman Fell).

"Valentine's Day" and "The Vow" scribes Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein have been hired to pen the script for the film which will retain the 1970s setting of the original. Robert Cort will produce.

Source: THR...

This story first appeared in the May 15 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe. ITV, Britain's largest commercial television group, always has offered schlock TV — the precursor to Three's Company, called Man About the House, for instance, originated there. Vast, popular, lowest-common-denominator shows earned ITV big ad dollars and, for nearly half a century, Britain's biggest audience. Now, more aggressively than many of its broadcast competitors, ITV seems to be either a shrewd market leader or an out-of-control spender in an effort to outrun the end of

read more...

Whether you’re into Doctor Who and Star Wars or The Wire and Sherlock, there’s a great line-up of special guests coming to the NEC on 22-23 March for McM Birmingham Comic Con and Memorabilia. Here are just a few of them!

British actor, writer and director Phil Davis has appeared in a host of top TV shows including Whitechapel; Sherlock, Being Human, Merlin and Doctor Who, while his movie credits include Alien 3, Quadrophenia, Notes On A Scandal, Secrets & Lies and Vera Drake, for which he was BAFTA-nominated. Paul McGann – Famous for playing the Eighth Doctor in the 1996 Doctor Who television film – a role he reprised in 72 audio dramas and the 2013 mini-episode ‘The Night of the Doctor’ – and for starring alongside Richard E. Grant in much-loved 1987 black comedy Withnail And I. Clarke Peters – Best known as detective Lester Freamon in acclaimed crime drama The Wire, as well as...

From Johnny Cash to Angela Lansbury, expect to see some familiar faces in the coming year

Pop

The lost Johnny Cash gets released

According to Cash's son John, the country legend was a prolific hoarder, hanging on to everything from original audio tapes for The Johnny Cash Show to "a camel saddle gift from the prince of Saudi Arabia". That explains why it's taken several years since his death in 2003 for anyone to find Out Among the Stars, an album he recorded in the early 1980s. Columbia dismissed the album as not worth releasing, but John Cash describes the 12 tracks – which include a duet with Johnny's wife, June Carter – as "beautiful". 24 March.

Theatre

Hairspray

Barely has the set for a blistering revival of Chicago been cleared away than director Paul Kerryson sets about reinventing this joyous musical, inspired by John Waters's cult movie. It's a show that mixes the heart-rending and the hair-curling,...

Three’s Company was the ‘Friends’ of its day; a sit-com about three twenty-somethings sharing an apartment in Santa Monica California going through the ups and downs of life for the singles set of the late 70s. The American version of the UK show ‘Man About the House’, Tc was considered a groundbreaking show. Hard to believe just over 30 years ago men and women living under one roof as platonic friends was not only a novel idea for television, but a shocking and controversial premise. Juvenile jokes, double-entendres, and ridiculous plot-lines were all part of the fun, but Tc was also a true reflection of the shifting morals and values of young America arriving in the last days of disco and jiggle TV.

Several pilots were made with different actors before John Ritter, Joyce Dewitt and Suzanne Somers were selected to play the roommates we came to know and love.

Three’s Company, “A Man About the House”

Written by Johnnie Mortimer, Brian Cooke, Don Nicholl, Michael Ross, Bernard West,

Directed by Bill Hobin

Aired March 15th, 1977 on ABC

Three’s Company was the ‘Friends’ of its day; a sit-com about three twenty-somethings sharing an apartment in Santa Monica California going through the ups and downs of life for the singles set of the late 70s. The American version of the UK show ‘Man About the House’, Tc was considered a groundbreaking show. Hard to believe just over 30 years ago men and women living under one roof as platonic friends was not only a novel idea for television, but a shocking and controversial premise. Juvenile jokes, double-entendres, and ridiculous plotlines were all part of the fun, but Tc was also a true reflection of the shifting morals and values of young America arriving in the last days of disco and jiggle TV.

By Rachel Bennett

Television Editor & Columnist

***

Sunday night was the season two premiere of Showtime’s Homeland, and among my 12 reasons why you should tune in to the political drama, one is because it’s a foreign remake that works.

In case you missed it, Homeland is an American adaptation of the 2010 Israeli series Hatufim (Prisoners of War). “Both shows are very similar in the fact that they raise very relevant and timely questions in their societies,” says Homeland executive producer Gideon Raff, who also created Prisoners of War. Prisoners of War is a drama that follows soldiers as they readjust to their society in addition to the people who question the truth of their service.

However, Homeland is not an exact copy of Prisoners of War. The Showtime series features the overhanging threat of terrorism after 9/11, personified in character Sgt. Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis). This change in crafting Homeland...

While not all of the American populace purports to always understand British humor, it’s been an indelible part of the cultural landscape for decades. Whether the sophisticated stylings of Noel Coward or the outrageous offerings of French & Saunders, British television comedies (aka Britcoms) have provided countless hours of entertainment to legions of fans, and have even occasionally been adapted into historic mega-smashes (without ‘Til Death Us Do Part and Man About the House, we’d never have seen the likes of All in the Family and Three’s Company, after all). Fifteen of those shows will always immediately spring to mind and provide copious memories of cherished moments in front of the tube (or the telly, as it were).

15. To the Manor Born (1979-81)

Formulaic though it may have been (widowed aristocrat gives up ancestral estate after purchase by a supermarket magnate of Bratislavic descent, and moves with butler...

You may find the new Ben Stiller movie The Watch strangely familiar. But that's not necessarily a good thing

You might be forgiven for thinking that you've seen The Watch before. Not because Ben Stiller's character is the same uptight blowhard that he has played in everything for the past 15 years, or because Richard Ayoade is basically just Moss from The It Crowd again, or because Vince Vaughn remains content to sit back and bibble out the same directionless patter that has been his stock in trade for what seems like centuries.

No. The reason is because, once you've scraped away all the sex jokes and clanging Costco product placement, you're basically left with Dad's Army. Both are essentially stories about a group of ill-prepared middle-aged incompetents trying to escape the monotony of their day-to-day lives by fudging together a defence against an enemy they don't fully understand. With The Watch,...

In 1985, things were not looking so good for Doctor Who. The show was to be put on ice for 18 months in the wake of controversial storylines and supposedly poor viewing figures – all tosh of course, especially when you think that the programme was still pulling viewing figures of about seven million – a perfectly respectable number.

So The Doctor doesn't get to take Peri to Blackpool – well, on screen, at least. And unlike previous years, there were no more customary Who repeats in the summer to mollify the fans. 18 months, as I've said, isn't such a long time by today's standards, but back in 1985, you can understand why fans were weeping into their scarves. The crisis was so bad that the infamously bad 'Doctor In Distress' record was hastily assembled. The so-called supergroup of Who Cares actually comprised Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant, Nicholas Courtney and Anthony Ainley, along with Faith Brown,...

The full line-up of guests has been announced for the Winter Memorabilia Show 2010, to be held at the NEC, Birmingham, this coming weekend (November 20-21)

They include Angel Coulby (above) and Rupert Young from the BBC series Merlin and Tommy Knight and Anjili Mohindra from Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures.

Hollywood actors coming to the event include David Warner (pictured below left) - whose five decades in the industry have seen him in films such as Time Bandits, Tron, The Omen, Titanic and Planet of the Apes - and David Bradley, best known for playing cantankerous caretaker Argus Filch (below right) in the Harry Potter movies. Also attending is Warwick Davis, who plays Professor Filius Flitwick in the Potter films and whose other credits include Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, Willow and the Leprechaun series.

TV stars making the trip to Birmingham include Richard Herd and Andrew Prine,...

NBC's "The Office" is a remake of BBC's "The Office." It feels howlingly stupid to write this because it is assumed (rightly) that everyone knows this already. The reason everyone knows this has a lot to do with things that would probably take too much time to unpack in a Seriously Random List, like the heightened awareness among today's TV watchers of how their sausage is made as well as the surge in popularity and accessibility of foreign television thanks to DVDs and online streaming. But the takeaway is that there are and have been plenty of series that have found success here in the U.S. that were based on British shows, which is how this list came together. If you never knew that some of these shows were remakes, now you can impress and potentially bore people at parties. (If you already knew that each of these was a remake,...