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Hanging In
Genre Sitcom
Written byBill Davenport
Charlie Hauck
Arthur Julian
Sy Rosen
Directed by Walter C. Miller
Alan Rafkin (series finale)
Starring Bill Macy
Barbara Rhoades
Dennis Burkley
Nedra Volz
Theme music composer Billy Byers
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes4
Production
Executive producers Norman Lear
Sy Rosen
ProducerKen Stump
Running time22–24 minutes
Original release
Network CBS
ReleaseAugust 8 (1979-08-08) –
August 29, 1979 (1979-08-29)
Related
Mr. Dugan

Hanging In is an American sitcom television series that aired for four episodes on CBS on Wednesday nights from August 8, 1979, to August 29, 1979.

Summary

After his failed attempt to launch the sitcom Mr. Dugan, Norman Lear reworked the project, finally coming up with Hanging In, the story of Lou Harper, a former professional football star who becomes president of fictional Braddock University. Bill Macy (who had played Maude's husband, Walter Findlay, in Maude) resurfaced as the star of the version that finally did air, in August 1979.

Most of the supporting cast of Mr. Dugan and its several different incarnations (including the final three episodes of Maude and the unsold pilot Onward and Upward, which featured Good Times star John Amos) also appeared in Hanging In. As The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows: 1946-Present by Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh dryly put it, "the actors must have known their lines pretty well by this point", as the scripts on each project were nearly identical. [1]

In the end, Hanging In lasted just four weeks on CBS, leaving the air after its August 29, 1979 broadcast.

Cast

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
1"New Man on Campus" Alan Rafkin Charlie Hauck, Bill Davenport & Arthur JulianAugust 8, 1979 (1979-08-08)
A new university president has inherited an office from his predecessor and waiting for him is Maggie Gallagher, the high pressured Dean of Faculty; Sam Dickey, the glib Director of Development; and Pinky, a wise-cracking housekeeper—all itching to give this idealistic greenhorn the benefit of their academic savvy.
2"Old Girlfriend"Alan Rafkin Sy RosenAugust 15, 1979 (1979-08-15)
The unexpected visit of an ex-girlfriend drives Sam to an attack of compulsive eating.
3"Lou's Little Problem"Alan RafkinBill DavenportAugust 22, 1979 (1979-08-22)
Lou pays a pretty price for his snobbish attitude about women while at a gala fund-raising dinner—as TV-news cameras roll.
4"Sleep with the Fishes" Walter C. MillerArthur Julian & Sy RosenAugust 29, 1979 (1979-08-29)
Menacing phone calls on a dark and stormy night suggest to Lou and staff that a mob boss wants revenge because his son was refused admission to the school.

References

External links