The Tortellis
Encyclopedia
The Tortellis is an American sitcom
that aired from January to May 1987 on NBC
. A spin-off
of the hit series Cheers
, The Tortellis stars Dan Hedaya
and Jean Kasem
.
Hedaya and Kasem had been seen on Cheers on a couple of occasions as Nick and Loretta, who were (respectively) Carla's loutish ex-husband and Nick's cheerful, bubble-headed new 'trophy' wife. The show co-starred Timothy Williams as Anthony Tortelli, Nick and Carla's teenage son, and Mandy Ingber as Annie Tortelli, Anthony's young bride. Williams and Ingber had also been seen as Anthony and Annie on Cheers.
At the beginning of the series Loretta had left Nick and moved to Las Vegas to live with her sensible, divorced sister Charlotte (played by Carlene Watkins), and Charlotte's young son Mark (Aaron Moffat). The series followed Nick as he moved to Las Vegas to try to reconcile with Loretta, vowing to change his sleazy, conniving ways in the process. Nick and Loretta tentatively got back together, and Nick set up a TV repair business and tried to reform -- not always successfully. Anthony and Annie followed Nick to Las Vegas, and all six characters lived in the same house.
All 4 Tortelli characters made return appearances on Cheers, where it was revealed that Nick's TV repair business went under, but that Nick and Loretta were still together (albeit somewhat shakily) and had presumably moved back to Boston.
The characters of Charlotte and Mark Cooper were never seen or even referred to on any episode of Cheers, either before or after The Tortellis run.
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
that aired from January to May 1987 on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
. A spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
of the hit series Cheers
Cheers
Cheers is an American situation comedy television series that ran for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993. It was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television for NBC, and was created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles...
, The Tortellis stars Dan Hedaya
Dan Hedaya
Daniel G. “Dan” Hedaya is an American character actor. He often plays sleazy villains or uptight, wisecracking individuals; three of his best-known roles are as Italian Mafia boss Tony Costello in Wise Guys, a cuckolded husband in the Coen brothers' crime thriller Blood Simple, and the scheming...
and Jean Kasem
Jean Kasem
Jean Kasem is an American actress. She is best known for playing Loretta Tortelli, the dim-witted wife of Nick Tortelli on Cheers and the short-lived spinoff The Tortellis...
.
Hedaya and Kasem had been seen on Cheers on a couple of occasions as Nick and Loretta, who were (respectively) Carla's loutish ex-husband and Nick's cheerful, bubble-headed new 'trophy' wife. The show co-starred Timothy Williams as Anthony Tortelli, Nick and Carla's teenage son, and Mandy Ingber as Annie Tortelli, Anthony's young bride. Williams and Ingber had also been seen as Anthony and Annie on Cheers.
At the beginning of the series Loretta had left Nick and moved to Las Vegas to live with her sensible, divorced sister Charlotte (played by Carlene Watkins), and Charlotte's young son Mark (Aaron Moffat). The series followed Nick as he moved to Las Vegas to try to reconcile with Loretta, vowing to change his sleazy, conniving ways in the process. Nick and Loretta tentatively got back together, and Nick set up a TV repair business and tried to reform -- not always successfully. Anthony and Annie followed Nick to Las Vegas, and all six characters lived in the same house.
Cast
- Dan Hedaya as Nick TortelliNick TortelliNick Tortelli, was a recurring character on the American television show Cheers, portrayed by Dan Hedaya. Nick was Carla's sleazy first husband who occasionally stopped by Cheers for one reason or another. Nick married his second wife, Loretta, in the second season episode "Battle of the Exes"...
(ex-husband of Carla TortelliCarla TortelliCarla Maria Victoria Angelina Teresa Apollonia Lozupone Tortelli LeBec, known as Carla Tortelli, is a waitress on the American television show Cheers, portrayed by Rhea Perlman. Outwardly, at least, Carla is a mean-spirited woman who expresses disdain for many people...
on Cheers) - Jean KasemJean KasemJean Kasem is an American actress. She is best known for playing Loretta Tortelli, the dim-witted wife of Nick Tortelli on Cheers and the short-lived spinoff The Tortellis...
as Loretta TortelliLoretta TortelliLoretta Tortelli is a character on the American television show Cheers, portrayed by Jean Kasem. Loretta was Nick Tortelli's ditzy blonde trophy second wife who occasionally stopped by Cheers with Nick... - Timothy Williams as Anthony Tortelli
- Mandy Ingber as Annie Tortelli
- Carlene Watkins as Charlotte Cooper
- Aaron Moffatt as Mark Cooper
Guest stars
- Rhea Perlman appeared as her Cheers character Carla in the pilot, in a dream sequence.
- George WendtGeorge WendtGeorge Robert Wendt III is an American actor, best known for the roles of Norm Peterson and Tug Clarke on the television shows Cheers and Modern Men.-Early life:...
(Norm PetersonNorm PetersonHillary Norman "Norm" Peterson is a character on the American television show Cheers, portrayed by George Wendt. Norm's real first name was revealed to be Hillary, named after his grandfather....
) and John RatzenbergerJohn RatzenbergerJohn Deszo Ratzenberger is an American actor, voice actor, and entrepreneur. He is best known for his role as Cliff Clavin in Cheers.-Early life:...
(Cliff ClavinCliff ClavinClifford C. Clavin, Jr. is a character on the American television show Cheers, co-created and portrayed by John Ratzenberger.- Character history :...
) also appeared in episode 3, paying a visit o Las Vegas and meeting up with Nick.
- Mitchell Laurance was seen in a recurring role as Pete Bruno, Charlotte's untrustworthy boyfriend.
Reception and cancellation
The series drew in low ratings, ranking 50th out of 79 shows with an average rating/share of 13.3/20. NBC canceled The Tortellis after 13 episodes.All 4 Tortelli characters made return appearances on Cheers, where it was revealed that Nick's TV repair business went under, but that Nick and Loretta were still together (albeit somewhat shakily) and had presumably moved back to Boston.
The characters of Charlotte and Mark Cooper were never seen or even referred to on any episode of Cheers, either before or after The Tortellis run.
Episodes
| Episode # | Episode title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1-1 | Pilot | January 21, 1987 |
| 1-2 | "An Affair to Remember" | January 28, 1987 |
| 1-3 | "Frankie Comes to Dinner" | February 4, 1987 |
| 1-4 | "Svengali" | February 11, 1987 |
| 1-5 | "The Ad Game" | February 18, 1987 |
| 1-6 | "Viva Las Vegas" | February 25, 1987 |
| 1-7 | "Coochie, Coochie" | March 18, 1987 |
| 1-8 | "Man of the Year" | March 25, 1987 |
| 1-9 | "The Good Life" | April 1, 1987 |
| 1-10 | "Father Knows Best" | April 21, 1987 |
| 1-11 | "The Customer's Always Right" | April 28, 1987 |
| 1-12 | "Innocent as Charged" | May 5, 1987 |
| 1-13 | "His Girl Friday" | May 12, 1987 |