Star of the Family

Apparently nobody else does. But the 1982 season was one where as a kid, I tried to sample every show before it got canceled. The premise of "Star of the Family" was Brian Dennehy as a kinda workaday guy, a fireman. His daughter wants to be a singer and getting some offers, and Brian is quite nonplussed. The show alternated between scenes set at their house and wacky hi-jinks at the fire department.

The episode I remember featured one of Dennehy's firemen saving a little boy's hamster by using mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. I kid you not. They didn't show this on screen, of course. The fireman who saved the hamster became the laughingstock of the firehouse. The one good gag I recall that had my dad and I laughing quite a bit was that the kid sent the fireman a rubber ball or something as a reward for saving his hamster. In his note, he wrote, "I would have sent you my bike, but it's not like you saved my mother or something." And there you have my recollections of "Star of the Family." Except to say that the lead girl was pretty cute.

I would have been 14 when this show came on. I can't say I watched all 10 episodes but I remember some highlights....

1. Advertisement introduces Dougie who eats chili dogs ....for breakfast ! 2. The dad is constantly concerned about his little girl growing up.

3. The daughter was singing on a tv show while her father is watching at the fire department with his fellow firemen when she bellows out in the chorus "Daddy I'm a woman now!". He tries to cover it up with his co workers and says "no, she said daddy I'm a Mormon now"

4. Dougie is a goof ball. He was Cody before Cody was Cody on the sitcom Step By Step (w/ Suzanne Somers and Patrick Duffy)

From what I remember I liked it. It was fresh off of watching bad guy Brian Dennehy in Rambo to soft hearted loving daddy in this show.