When Every Day Was the Fourth of July
Encyclopedia
When Every Day Was the Fourth of July is a 1978
NBC
television movie about a Jewish-American family in 1937 Bridgeport, Connecticut
. Narrated in first person flashback, the story follows a 12-year-old boy and his family who find themselves defending the town "misfit" after he's accused of murder. Written, produced and directed by Dan Curtis
. Starring Dean Jones
, Geoffrey Lewis, Chris Petersen
, and Katy Kurtzman
. Followed by the 1980
ABC television movie sequel The Long Days of Summer.
and 12-year-old Daniel Cooper (Chris Petersen
) along with his 10-year-old sister Sarah (Katy Kurtzman
) are looking forward to summer vacation, most particularly, the annual 4th of July
festivities. Sarah soon befriends the town's gentle misfit, Albert Cavanaugh, known by the town's children as "Snowman" (Geoffrey Lewis), a highly decorated and now brain-damaged World War I veteran, after she defends him from the town's resident bully, "Red" Doyle (Eric Shea
). When Snowman finds himself accused of a terrible murder, Sarah, believing him to be innocent, convinces her successful attorney father, Ed Cooper (Dean Jones
) to defend him. Amid courtroom allegations of communism
and insinuations of a potentially inappropriate relationship with Sarah, Ed Cooper and the town's children must try to prove Snowman's innocence, before he can be sentenced to jail for the murder.
wrote the story based on his own childhood growing up in Bridgeport, Connecticut
, with the character of Danny representing himself as a child. Many of the characters are based on real people Curtis knew growing up, including Danny and Sarah's friends in the film, who are each named after Curtis' own childhood friends, however, Curtis did not have a sister, and instead, the role of Sarah was based on co-writer/producer Lee Hutson's sister of the same name.
Curtis had originally wanted to shoot the film in his childhood hometown of Bridgeport
, but for financial and logistical reasons, the decision was made to film in California
, using Echo Park, Los Angeles for the outdoor "neighborhood" scenes.
Just one day before principal photography
was set to begin, Curtis had still yet to find a boy who was right for the part of Harold "Red" Doyle, when veteran child actor Eric Shea
came in to read for the role and was hired on the spot. 17 years old at the time of filming, this would be Shea's
final role before leaving show business.
----
ABC television movie sequel to the 1978
NBC
television movie When Every Day Was the Fourth of July. Taking place one year later, the story follows now 13-year old Danny and the Cooper family in 1938, as they begin to experience the effects of growing anti-Semitism
in their small New England
town, parallelling what is happening overseas in Hitler's Germany. Produced and directed by Dan Curtis
. Starring Dean Jones
, Donald Moffat
, Ronnie Scribner
and Louanne
.
and Jewish 13-year-old, Daniel Cooper (now portrayed by Ronnie Scribner
) finds himself tangling with the bigoted playground bully, Freddy Landauer (David Baron). As the talk of Bridgeport centers around the pending rematch between boxing heavyweight champ Joe Louis
and his German
challenger, Danny is challenged to a boxing
match with the Landauer boy, to which he feels he has no choice but to accept. Paralleling his plight, Danny's father (Dean Jones
) also begins to experience anti-Semitism
when he takes in a Jewish boarder from Germany (Donald Moffat
) who has come to the United States
to warn of the increasing menace overseas in the form of Adolf Hitler
. As Danny and his family are faced with their own pressures from within their small-town community, they must each make difficult decisions about standing up for what is right in the face of discrimination and intimidation.
network and was intended to be a pilot
for a potential series. However, when the series was not picked up, Curtis
made The Long Days of Summer as a sequel, but this time airing on the ABC network instead.
Although a few of the original actors did return to reprise their roles, including Tiger Williams and Gloria Calomee, Dean Jones
was the only lead to reprise his role, with the rest of the Cooper family portrayed by different actors for the sequel. Veteran film and television actor, Charles Aidman
also returned to narrate as the voice of adult Danny, however he was uncredited in both films. Child actress Louanne
was cast to take over the role of Sarah for the sequel, becoming her very first role before rising to stardom in such films as Oh, God! Book II
and A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon
.
As with the first film, the decision was made to shoot "Bridgeport, Connecticut
" in California
. Curtis returned to the same neighborhood in Echo Park, Los Angeles, and shot many of the outdoor scenes for the sequel in the same locations that were used in the original film.
1978 in film
The year 1978 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 1 - Bob Dylan's film Renaldo and Clara, a documentary of the "Rolling Thunder Revue" tour premieres in Los Angeles, California....
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...
television movie about a Jewish-American family in 1937 Bridgeport, Connecticut
Bridgeport, Connecticut
Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in Fairfield County, the city had an estimated population of 144,229 at the 2010 United States Census and is the core of the Greater Bridgeport area...
. Narrated in first person flashback, the story follows a 12-year-old boy and his family who find themselves defending the town "misfit" after he's accused of murder. Written, produced and directed by Dan Curtis
Dan Curtis
Dan Curtis was an American director and producer of television and film, probably best known for his miniseries The Winds of War and War and Remembrance, his afternoon TV series Dark Shadows, and the made for TV movie, . Dark Shadows originally aired from 1966 to 1971 and has aired in syndication...
. Starring Dean Jones
Dean Jones (actor)
Dean Carroll Jones is an American actor. Jones is best known for his light-hearted leading roles in several Walt Disney movies between 1965 and 1977, most notably The Love Bug.-Early years:...
, Geoffrey Lewis, Chris Petersen
Chris Petersen (actor)
Chris Petersen is an American actor. Beginning his career as a child actor at the age of 12, he is best known for his roles in the feature films When Every Day Was the Fourth of July, The Swarm and The Little Dragons...
, and Katy Kurtzman
Katy Kurtzman
Katy Kurtzman is an American actress. She began her career as a child actress. In 1977, Michael Landon cast Katy as stuttering Anna who was abused by Nellie on Little House on the Prairie...
. Followed by the 1980
1980 in film
- Events :* May 21 - Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is released and is the biggest grosser of the year ....
ABC television movie sequel The Long Days of Summer.
Synopsis
It's the summer of 1937 in Bridgeport, ConnecticutBridgeport, Connecticut
Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in Fairfield County, the city had an estimated population of 144,229 at the 2010 United States Census and is the core of the Greater Bridgeport area...
and 12-year-old Daniel Cooper (Chris Petersen
Chris Petersen (actor)
Chris Petersen is an American actor. Beginning his career as a child actor at the age of 12, he is best known for his roles in the feature films When Every Day Was the Fourth of July, The Swarm and The Little Dragons...
) along with his 10-year-old sister Sarah (Katy Kurtzman
Katy Kurtzman
Katy Kurtzman is an American actress. She began her career as a child actress. In 1977, Michael Landon cast Katy as stuttering Anna who was abused by Nellie on Little House on the Prairie...
) are looking forward to summer vacation, most particularly, the annual 4th of July
Independence Day (United States)
Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain...
festivities. Sarah soon befriends the town's gentle misfit, Albert Cavanaugh, known by the town's children as "Snowman" (Geoffrey Lewis), a highly decorated and now brain-damaged World War I veteran, after she defends him from the town's resident bully, "Red" Doyle (Eric Shea
Eric Shea
Eric Shea , is an American actor. A professional child actor since the age of six, he is best known for his roles in the feature films Yours, Mine and Ours, The Poseidon Adventure, Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies, and The Castaway Cowboy, as well as for his numerous guest-starring appearances...
). When Snowman finds himself accused of a terrible murder, Sarah, believing him to be innocent, convinces her successful attorney father, Ed Cooper (Dean Jones
Dean Jones (actor)
Dean Carroll Jones is an American actor. Jones is best known for his light-hearted leading roles in several Walt Disney movies between 1965 and 1977, most notably The Love Bug.-Early years:...
) to defend him. Amid courtroom allegations of communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
and insinuations of a potentially inappropriate relationship with Sarah, Ed Cooper and the town's children must try to prove Snowman's innocence, before he can be sentenced to jail for the murder.
Cast
- Dean JonesDean Jones (actor)Dean Carroll Jones is an American actor. Jones is best known for his light-hearted leading roles in several Walt Disney movies between 1965 and 1977, most notably The Love Bug.-Early years:...
... Ed Cooper - Louise Sorel ... Millie Cooper
- Chris PetersenChris Petersen (actor)Chris Petersen is an American actor. Beginning his career as a child actor at the age of 12, he is best known for his roles in the feature films When Every Day Was the Fourth of July, The Swarm and The Little Dragons...
... Daniel Cooper - Katy KurtzmanKaty KurtzmanKaty Kurtzman is an American actress. She began her career as a child actress. In 1977, Michael Landon cast Katy as stuttering Anna who was abused by Nellie on Little House on the Prairie...
... Sarah Cooper - Harris YulinHarris YulinHarris Yulin is an American actor who has appeared in dozens of Hollywood and television films.-Life and career:Yulin was born in...
... Prosecutor Joseph Antonelli - Geoffrey Lewis ... Albert Cavanaugh, the "Snowman"
- Scott BradyScott BradyScott Brady was an American film and television actor.Born as Gerard Kenneth Tierney, he was the younger brother of fellow actor Lawrence Tierney. Brady served in the Navy during World War II, where he was a boxing champ...
... Officer Michael Doyle - Ronnie Claire EdwardsRonnie Claire Edwards-Biography:Edwards was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. She has been acting professionally since 1963 and is best known for the role of the bossy "Corabeth Walton Godsey", wife of storekeeper Ike Godsey played by Joe Conley, in the CBS television series The Waltons, created by Earl Hamner, Jr...
... Mrs. Najarian - Ben Piazza ... Herman Grasser
- Henry WilcoxonHenry WilcoxonHenry Wilcoxon was an actor born in Roseau, Dominica, British West Indies, and best known as a leading man in many of Cecil B. DeMille's films, also serving as DeMille's associate producer on his later films....
... Judge Henry J. Wheeler - Moosie DrierMoosie DrierMoosie Drier is an American television and film actor known for his voice that sounded like someone with a head cold. His career began as a child actor...
... Howie Martin - Scott Kimble ... Dave Zimmer
- Johnny Timko ... Marty Albert
- Tiger Williams ... Charlie Wilson
- Eric SheaEric SheaEric Shea , is an American actor. A professional child actor since the age of six, he is best known for his roles in the feature films Yours, Mine and Ours, The Poseidon Adventure, Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies, and The Castaway Cowboy, as well as for his numerous guest-starring appearances...
... Harold J. "Red" Doyle - Michael DurrellMichael DurrellMichael Durrell is an American actor.He began his career in the role of attorney Peter Wexler on CBS in the soap opera The Guiding Light. In 1969 he appeared on stage in "Cock-A-Doodle-Dandy" at the Lyceum Theatre in New York City...
... Assistant District Attorney - Bruce FrenchBruce French (actor)Bruce French is an American actor who has more than 30 years of acting credits to his name.French attended the University of Iowa and majored in speech and theatre...
... Court Clerk - Woodrow ParfreyWoodrow ParfreyWoodrow Parfrey was an American film and television actor from the 1950s to the early 1980s. e appeared on Broadway in Advise and Consent .-Biography:...
... Dr. Moss - Michael PatakiMichael PatakiMichael Pataki was an American character actor.-Early life:Pataki born in Youngstown, Ohio. He attended the University of Southern California with a double major in Political Science and Drama...
... Robert Najarian - Gloria Calomee ... Clementine
- Chris Charney ... Miriam Grasser
- George Janek ... Bobby Najarian
- John Clavin ... Sergeant Fitzgerald
- H.B. Haggerty ... Casey
- Ray Nadeau ... Reporter
- Charles AidmanCharles AidmanCharles Aidman was an American film scenarist and television actor.-Career:Among his many television credits include appearances on NBC's western series The Road West in the 1966 episode "The Lean Years"...
... Narrator (uncredited)
Production
Although fictionalized, Dan CurtisDan Curtis
Dan Curtis was an American director and producer of television and film, probably best known for his miniseries The Winds of War and War and Remembrance, his afternoon TV series Dark Shadows, and the made for TV movie, . Dark Shadows originally aired from 1966 to 1971 and has aired in syndication...
wrote the story based on his own childhood growing up in Bridgeport, Connecticut
Bridgeport, Connecticut
Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in Fairfield County, the city had an estimated population of 144,229 at the 2010 United States Census and is the core of the Greater Bridgeport area...
, with the character of Danny representing himself as a child. Many of the characters are based on real people Curtis knew growing up, including Danny and Sarah's friends in the film, who are each named after Curtis' own childhood friends, however, Curtis did not have a sister, and instead, the role of Sarah was based on co-writer/producer Lee Hutson's sister of the same name.
Curtis had originally wanted to shoot the film in his childhood hometown of Bridgeport
Bridgeport, Connecticut
Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in Fairfield County, the city had an estimated population of 144,229 at the 2010 United States Census and is the core of the Greater Bridgeport area...
, but for financial and logistical reasons, the decision was made to film in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, using Echo Park, Los Angeles for the outdoor "neighborhood" scenes.
Just one day before principal photography
Principal photography
thumb|300px|Film production on location in [[Newark, New Jersey]].Principal photography is the phase of film production in which the movie is filmed, with actors on set and cameras rolling, as distinct from pre-production and post-production....
was set to begin, Curtis had still yet to find a boy who was right for the part of Harold "Red" Doyle, when veteran child actor Eric Shea
Eric Shea
Eric Shea , is an American actor. A professional child actor since the age of six, he is best known for his roles in the feature films Yours, Mine and Ours, The Poseidon Adventure, Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies, and The Castaway Cowboy, as well as for his numerous guest-starring appearances...
came in to read for the role and was hired on the spot. 17 years old at the time of filming, this would be Shea's
Eric Shea
Eric Shea , is an American actor. A professional child actor since the age of six, he is best known for his roles in the feature films Yours, Mine and Ours, The Poseidon Adventure, Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies, and The Castaway Cowboy, as well as for his numerous guest-starring appearances...
final role before leaving show business.
Awards
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Edgar Allen Poe Award | Best Television Feature or Miniseries | Lee Hutson (writer) |
----
The Long Days of Summer
The Long Days of Summer is a 19801980 in film
- Events :* May 21 - Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is released and is the biggest grosser of the year ....
ABC television movie sequel to the 1978
1978 in film
The year 1978 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 1 - Bob Dylan's film Renaldo and Clara, a documentary of the "Rolling Thunder Revue" tour premieres in Los Angeles, California....
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...
television movie When Every Day Was the Fourth of July. Taking place one year later, the story follows now 13-year old Danny and the Cooper family in 1938, as they begin to experience the effects of growing anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
in their small New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
town, parallelling what is happening overseas in Hitler's Germany. Produced and directed by Dan Curtis
Dan Curtis
Dan Curtis was an American director and producer of television and film, probably best known for his miniseries The Winds of War and War and Remembrance, his afternoon TV series Dark Shadows, and the made for TV movie, . Dark Shadows originally aired from 1966 to 1971 and has aired in syndication...
. Starring Dean Jones
Dean Jones (actor)
Dean Carroll Jones is an American actor. Jones is best known for his light-hearted leading roles in several Walt Disney movies between 1965 and 1977, most notably The Love Bug.-Early years:...
, Donald Moffat
Donald Moffat
Donald Moffat is an English-born actor, now a naturalized American citizen.-Early life:Moffat was born in Plymouth, Devon, the only child of Kathleen Mary and Walter George Moffat, who was an insurance agent. His parents ran a boarding house in Totnes...
, Ronnie Scribner
Ronnie Scribner
Ronnie Scribner is an American actor. A professional child actor and model since the age of 11, Scribner is best known for his iconic role as the child vampire, Ralphie Glick in the 1979 CBS mini-series Salem's Lot...
and Louanne
Louanne Sirota
Louanne Sirota is an American actress. She played the title role in Annie in the 2nd National Company in Los Angeles in 1979. After her breakthrough in the film Oh, God! Book II, she was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Actress in 1981. She went on to play Annie again in the 1st National...
.
Synopsis
It's the summer of 1938 in Bridgeport, ConnecticutBridgeport, Connecticut
Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in Fairfield County, the city had an estimated population of 144,229 at the 2010 United States Census and is the core of the Greater Bridgeport area...
and Jewish 13-year-old, Daniel Cooper (now portrayed by Ronnie Scribner
Ronnie Scribner
Ronnie Scribner is an American actor. A professional child actor and model since the age of 11, Scribner is best known for his iconic role as the child vampire, Ralphie Glick in the 1979 CBS mini-series Salem's Lot...
) finds himself tangling with the bigoted playground bully, Freddy Landauer (David Baron). As the talk of Bridgeport centers around the pending rematch between boxing heavyweight champ Joe Louis
Joe Louis
Joseph Louis Barrow , better known as Joe Louis, was the world heavyweight boxing champion from 1937 to 1949. He is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweights of all time...
and his German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
challenger, Danny is challenged to a boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
match with the Landauer boy, to which he feels he has no choice but to accept. Paralleling his plight, Danny's father (Dean Jones
Dean Jones (actor)
Dean Carroll Jones is an American actor. Jones is best known for his light-hearted leading roles in several Walt Disney movies between 1965 and 1977, most notably The Love Bug.-Early years:...
) also begins to experience anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
when he takes in a Jewish boarder from Germany (Donald Moffat
Donald Moffat
Donald Moffat is an English-born actor, now a naturalized American citizen.-Early life:Moffat was born in Plymouth, Devon, the only child of Kathleen Mary and Walter George Moffat, who was an insurance agent. His parents ran a boarding house in Totnes...
) who has come to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to warn of the increasing menace overseas in the form of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
. As Danny and his family are faced with their own pressures from within their small-town community, they must each make difficult decisions about standing up for what is right in the face of discrimination and intimidation.
Cast
- Dean JonesDean Jones (actor)Dean Carroll Jones is an American actor. Jones is best known for his light-hearted leading roles in several Walt Disney movies between 1965 and 1977, most notably The Love Bug.-Early years:...
... Ed Cooper - Joan HackettJoan HackettJoan Ann Hackett was an American actress who appeared on stage, in films, and on television.- Early life :She was born in New York City of Irish and Italian extraction...
... Millie Cooper - Ronnie ScribnerRonnie ScribnerRonnie Scribner is an American actor. A professional child actor and model since the age of 11, Scribner is best known for his iconic role as the child vampire, Ralphie Glick in the 1979 CBS mini-series Salem's Lot...
... Daniel Cooper - LouanneLouanne SirotaLouanne Sirota is an American actress. She played the title role in Annie in the 2nd National Company in Los Angeles in 1979. After her breakthrough in the film Oh, God! Book II, she was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Actress in 1981. She went on to play Annie again in the 1st National...
... Sarah Cooper - Donald MoffatDonald MoffatDonald Moffat is an English-born actor, now a naturalized American citizen.-Early life:Moffat was born in Plymouth, Devon, the only child of Kathleen Mary and Walter George Moffat, who was an insurance agent. His parents ran a boarding house in Totnes...
... Josef Kaplan - Andrew DugganAndrew Duggan-Career:During World War II, Duggan was in the 40th Special Services Company, led by actor Melvyn Douglas in the China Burma India Theater of World War II. His contact with Douglas later led to his performing with Lucille Ball in the play Dreamgirl. He developed a friendship with Broadway...
... Sam Wiggins - David Baron ... Freddy Landauer Jr.
- Michael McGuire ... Lieutenant O'Hare
- Lee de Broux ... Fred Landauer Sr.
- Baruch LumetBaruch LumetBaruch Lumet was a Jewish actor best known for his work in the Yiddish theater.Lumet was born in Warsaw, Russian Empire, and immigrated to the United States with his wife Eugenia Gitl Lumet and daughter Feiga in 1922, where his son, film director Sidney Lumet was born.Although he appeared...
... Rabbi - Gloria Calomee ... Clementine
- Leigh FrenchLeigh French-External links:...
... Frances Haley - John KarlenJohn KarlenJohn Karlen is a character actor best known for playing Willie Loomis, Carl Collins, William H. Loomis, Desmond Collins, and Kendrick Young on the ABC serial Dark Shadows, in various episodes between 206 and 1245, which aired from 1966-1971. In 1971 Karlen starred as the male lead in "Daughters...
... Duane Haley - Tiger Williams ... Charlie Wilson
- Adam Gunn ... Howie Martin
- Brian AndrewsBrian Andrews (actor)Brian Andrews is an American actor who has starred in movies and on television. He is best known for his role as Tommy Doyle in the classic John Carpenter horror movie Halloween, and reprised this role in Halloween II in a small appearance...
... Marty Albert - Dan Appel ... Dave Zimmer (as Danny Appel)
- Dave Shelley ... Tom Wade
- Joseph G. Medalis ... Coach Dowd (as Joe Medalis)
- Stephen Roberts ... Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Richard Reicheg ... Bill Elliott
- Paula Brook ... June Riley
- Steve WayneSteve WayneSteve Wayne was a film and television actor appearing in movies and commercials for products such as Alka-Seltzer, Wheaties and Ocean Spray.Wayne was born Norman Weinberger. He had two brothers...
... Butler - Charles AidmanCharles AidmanCharles Aidman was an American film scenarist and television actor.-Career:Among his many television credits include appearances on NBC's western series The Road West in the 1966 episode "The Lean Years"...
... Narrator (uncredited)
Production
When Every Day Was the Fourth of July originally aired on the NBCNBC
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...
network and was intended to be a pilot
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
for a potential series. However, when the series was not picked up, Curtis
Dan Curtis
Dan Curtis was an American director and producer of television and film, probably best known for his miniseries The Winds of War and War and Remembrance, his afternoon TV series Dark Shadows, and the made for TV movie, . Dark Shadows originally aired from 1966 to 1971 and has aired in syndication...
made The Long Days of Summer as a sequel, but this time airing on the ABC network instead.
Although a few of the original actors did return to reprise their roles, including Tiger Williams and Gloria Calomee, Dean Jones
Dean Jones (actor)
Dean Carroll Jones is an American actor. Jones is best known for his light-hearted leading roles in several Walt Disney movies between 1965 and 1977, most notably The Love Bug.-Early years:...
was the only lead to reprise his role, with the rest of the Cooper family portrayed by different actors for the sequel. Veteran film and television actor, Charles Aidman
Charles Aidman
Charles Aidman was an American film scenarist and television actor.-Career:Among his many television credits include appearances on NBC's western series The Road West in the 1966 episode "The Lean Years"...
also returned to narrate as the voice of adult Danny, however he was uncredited in both films. Child actress Louanne
Louanne Sirota
Louanne Sirota is an American actress. She played the title role in Annie in the 2nd National Company in Los Angeles in 1979. After her breakthrough in the film Oh, God! Book II, she was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Actress in 1981. She went on to play Annie again in the 1st National...
was cast to take over the role of Sarah for the sequel, becoming her very first role before rising to stardom in such films as Oh, God! Book II
Oh, God! Book II
Oh, God! Book II is a 1980 comedy film which is a sequel to the 1977 film, Oh, God!. It stars George Burns, Suzanne Pleshette, David Birney and Louanne Sirota.-Synopsis:...
and A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon
A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon
A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon is a 1988 film about a high school graduate who must find out if he wants to go to business school at the request of his father or go his own way and get a full time job. He shows he's rebellious throughout the film but eventually comes to understand what his...
.
As with the first film, the decision was made to shoot "Bridgeport, Connecticut
Bridgeport, Connecticut
Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in Fairfield County, the city had an estimated population of 144,229 at the 2010 United States Census and is the core of the Greater Bridgeport area...
" in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Curtis returned to the same neighborhood in Echo Park, Los Angeles, and shot many of the outdoor scenes for the sequel in the same locations that were used in the original film.
Awards
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Youth In Film Award Young Artist Award The Young Artist Award is an accolade bestowed by the Young Artist Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in 1978 to recognize and award excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young artists who may be physically and/or financially challenged.The Young Artist... (now known as the Young Artist Award Young Artist Award The Young Artist Award is an accolade bestowed by the Young Artist Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in 1978 to recognize and award excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young artists who may be physically and/or financially challenged.The Young Artist... ) |
Best TV Special for Family Entertainment | – |