Mr. Dugan
title: "Mr. Dugan" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["unaired-television-pilots", "television-pilots-not-picked-up-as-a-series", "fictional-american-politicians"] topic_path: "arts/film" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Dugan" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox television"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| genre | Sitcom |
| creator | Norman Lear |
| writer | Rod Parker |
| Charles Hauck | |
| director | Jeff Bleckner |
| starring | Cleavon Little |
| Barbara Rhoades | |
| Nedra Volz | |
| Dennis Burkley | |
| Sarina Grant | |
| country | United States |
| language | English |
| num_episodes | 3 (all unaired) |
| executive_producer | Norman Lear |
| producer | Charles Hauck |
| company | T.A.T. Communications Company |
| runtime | 24 minutes |
| related | {{Plainlist |
| :: |
|image = |caption = |genre = Sitcom |creator = Norman Lear |writer = Rod Parker Charles Hauck |director = Jeff Bleckner |starring = Cleavon Little Barbara Rhoades Nedra Volz Dennis Burkley Sarina Grant |country = United States |language = English |num_episodes = 3 (all unaired) |executive_producer = Norman Lear |producer = Charles Hauck |company = T.A.T. Communications Company |runtime = 24 minutes |channel = |related = {{Plainlist|
Mr. Dugan is an American sitcom about a black Congressman that was scheduled to air in March 1979 on CBS, but was pulled at the last minute and never shown.
History
In early 1978, producer Norman Lear felt his long-running comedy Maude was getting stale, so he decided to enliven things by moving the show to Washington, D.C., and making the title character a congresswoman. After two episodes in this new setting, star Beatrice Arthur decided not to continue, and the show abruptly left the air. Lear, however, still believed in the concept and filmed a new pilot titled Onward and Upward, with essentially the same script and cast—except with John Amos (as a black former professional football star running for the United States Congress) replacing Arthur. Creative differences between Amos (who had co-starred in Lear's Good Times) and the producers led to the actor bowing out; the show was renamed Mr. Dooley and finally Mr. Dugan. Cleavon Little (best known as the sheriff in the classic movie comedy Blazing Saddles) was hired as the title character, a fledgling black congressman. The supporting cast remained the same.
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Mr_Dugan_listing.jpg" caption="publisher=Johnson Publishing Company}} The sitcom was especially galling for freshman Congressman [[William Gray III]], who, like the fictional Dugan, represented a district in [[Philadelphia]]: "The impact would be disastrous, showing a congressman who was a silly, incompetent man ruled by his staff." Lear subsequently pulled the plug on ''Mr. Dugan'', saying, "We have not yet totally fulfilled our intention for the series.""] ::
The concept was eventually reworked again into the short-lived series, Hanging In, which aired on CBS in the summer of 1979.
References
References
- (2013-02-26). "Encyclopedia of Television Pilots, 1937-2012 - Vincent Terrace - Google Books". McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers.
- (March 29, 1979). "Black Caucus Strangles Mr. Dugan; Star Of Cancelled Show Steaming Mad". Johnson Publishing Company.
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