Blog Spotlight: FORGOTTEN TV: HELLO LARRY (1979-1980)

HELLO LARRY had one of my favorite theme songs in TV history.

Well, Hello Larry
Hello Larry
You talk to people all day for a living
Hello Larry
But all those easy answers you are giving
Are you really living your life that way?
Portland is a long way from L.A.
A long way

I never saw the show other than when it aired, for two seasons from January 1979 to April 1980. Yet, throughout the 80's, into the 90's, I found myself singing it.

The show starred McLean Stevenson. He left M*A*S*H to star. He played Larry Adler, a radio talk show host who moves to Portland from L.A. with his two daughters after being divorced. At the radio station, his producer was Joanna Gleason and the station's engineer was George Memmoli.

The reason I watched was because one of his daughters, Ruthie, was played by Kim Richards. I think I saw her in this before any of her Disney films. Because of LARRY, she became one of my favorite actresses. (You can read more about Kim here in my "What Ever Happened To" story.) Read more