When Chico and the Man debuted on NBC in 1974, the James Komack-produced sitcom, which starred veteran actor Jack Albertson and younger comic Freddie Prinze, was an instantaneous hit, and it was straightforward to see why audiences cherished it. Along with Albertson and Prinze, the present featured showbiz veteran Scatman Crothers and Della Reese. However when tragedy struck the collection, the choice producers made to take care of it rubbed audiences the improper means.
Freddie Prinze, nicely, he was one thing else. A 2024 article on Chico and the Man by Ed Gross in Lady’s World journal quoted Freddie as describing himself when he was younger as a “fats child” who realized that he would both should be robust or humorous if he was going to outlive his Washington Heights neighborhood. Fortuitously for all of us, he opted for the latter.