The Royal Family (TV series)

This article is about the American sitcom. For the South Korean television series, see Royal Family (TV series). For the British sitcom, see The Royle Family.

The Royal Family
File:The Royal Family (TV series).jpg Redd Foxx and Della Reese, stars of The Royal Family
Also known as	''Chest Pains''
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Eddie Murphy
Written by	Greg Antonacci Mark E. Corry Rob Dames David Garber Mark McClafferty Mike Milligan Jay Moriarty Eddie Murphy Leonard Ripps B. Mark Seabrooks Clint Smith
Directed by	Shelley Jensen Jack Shea
Starring	Redd Foxx Della Reese Mariann Aalda Sylver Gregory Jackée Harry Barry Shabaka Henley Naya Rivera Larenz Tate
Theme music composer	David Allen Jones
Composer(s)	Dan Foliart
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	15 (2 unaired)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Eddie Murphy Mark McClafferty Greg Antonacci
Producer(s)	David Garber Shelley Jensen Deborah Leschin Leslie Ray David Steven Simon
Cinematography	Mikel Neiers
Editor(s)	Richard Russel
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	22–24 minutes
Production company(s)	Eddie Murphy Productions Paramount Network Television
Distributor	CBS Television Distribution
Release
Original network	CBS
Original release	September 18, 1991 (1991-09-18) – May 13, 1992 (1992-05-13)
External links
[{{#property:P856}} Website]

The Royal Family is an American sitcom starring Redd Foxx and Della Reese. The series was created and executive produced by Eddie Murphy, as part of a development deal Murphy had with CBS, and produced by Paramount Television, the television arm of Paramount Pictures, with which Murphy had long been associated.

Murphy had previously worked with Redd Foxx and Della Reese in the 1989 film Harlem Nights, which Murphy wrote and directed. The Royal Family ran for one season on CBS from 1991-1992. The working title for the series was Chest Pains.

Premise

The series chronicled the lives of Atlanta mail-carrier Alexander Alphonso "Al" Royal (Redd Foxx) and his wife Victoria (Della Reese), who were anticipating peaceful retirement years until marital problems brought an extended visit from their daughter Elizabeth (Mariann Aalda) and her three children: Kim (Sylver Gregory), Curtis (Larenz Tate), and Hillary (Naya Rivera).

Redd Foxx's death and aftermath

The series was intended to be a comeback vehicle for Foxx, who had not had a successful television series since the cancellation of Sanford and Son in 1977. CBS, banking on the potential success of Foxx's series, put in an order for 15 episodes to begin the year and could have ordered more if the series turned out to be a hit. In fact, the ratings for early episodes were high.

Then, on October 11, 1991 Foxx suffered a massive heart attack while rehearsing. Joshua Rich of Entertainment Weekly later wrote, "It was an end so ironic that for a brief moment cast mates figured Foxx — whose 70s TV character often faked heart attacks — was kidding when he grabbed a chair and fell to the floor." Foxx was taken to Queen Of Angels Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center where he died that evening.

Since only 7 episodes were finished by then and the series had just lost one of its stars, the producers of The Royal Family decided not to continue with the remaining episodes out of respect for Foxx. But later they decided to continue, running commercials in Foxx's memory and saying "Like any family, The Royal Family will go on." The producers immediately added Jackée Harry to the show as Victoria's younger sister Ruth, who moved in to help the family cope with the sudden loss of Al, and she was introduced in the series' eighth episode which was written to deal with Al Royal's passing. After that episode, The Royal Family was placed on hiatus so the writers could rework the series.

When it returned in April 1992, Harry's role had been reworked: instead of Victoria's sister, she was now the Royals' eldest daughter of the Royals and known as "CoCo." The ratings of the revived Royal Family did not measure up to what they had been when Foxx was on the series, and CBS was left with little choice but to cancel the series a week before the season was supposed to end, leaving two episodes unaired.

Cast

• Redd Foxx as Alexander Alfonso Royal (September–October 1991)
• Della Reese as Victoria Royal
• Mariann Aalda as Elizabeth Royal Winston
• Sylver Gregory as Kim Winston
• Jackée Harry as Ruth "CoCo" Royal (November 1991–May 1992)
• Barry Shabaka Henley as Willis Tillis
• Naya Rivera as Hillary Winston
• Larenz Tate as Curtis Winston

Episodes

Nº	Title	Directed by:	Written by:	Air date
1	"Pilot"	Shelley Jensen	Greg Antonacci, Eddie Murphy	September 18, 1991
Atlanta mail-carrier Al Royal and wife Victoria are anticipating peaceful retirement years, until their daughter moves in with her children. In the opener, 15-year-old Curtis borrows Grandpa's truck.
2	"Homework Bound"	Shelley Jensen	Mark E. Corry, Mark McClafferty, Clint Smith	September 25, 1991
Thanks to, or in spite of, Al's history tutelage (at the bowling alley), Curtis scores an A on a test, but not without having something up his sleeve.
3	"Me and My Stuff"	Greg Antonacci	Mike Milligan, Jay Moriarty	October 2, 1991
4	"Talkin' Baseball"	Shelley Jensen	Greg Antonacci	October 9, 1991
Kim's knuckleball success against Curtis and a friend inspires her to try out for varsity baseball, starting a rhubarb with Al about a woman's place in a man's game.
5	"A Mid-Summer Night's Barbeque"	Jack Shea	Lisa A. Bannick	October 30, 1991
The Royals have a neighborhood barbecue in their backyard. Al is upset to find out that his old rival, Langston White (Robert Hooks), is coming to the barbecue. Note: This is the first show that aired after Redd Foxx's death. The show starts with a brief tribute to Redd by Della Reese.
6	"What's Love Got to Do with It?"	Neema Barnette	Leslie Ray, David Steven Simon	November 13, 1991
The budding relationship between Elizabeth and a doctor thrills Al, but Victoria notices that something's missing--and something's missing between her and Al.
7	"Educating Al"	Shelley Jensen	David Garber	November 20, 1991
Victoria turns the house into a preschool, but the flu makes her hand the reins to Al for "a day of fun and accomplishment."
8	"New Beginnings"	Jack Shea	Rob Dames, Leonard Ripps	November 27, 1991
The passing of Al Royal is marked by warm goodbyes from friends and family, including sister-in-law Ruth, whose arrival at a time of need may be as much for her own need as for Victoria's.
9	"The Sneakin' Deacon"	Jack Shea	Rob Dames, Leonard Ripps	April 8, 1992
Victoria sees a match with Elizabeth and the new church deacon, but the deacon makes a play for Ruth, who doesn't like his game plan.
10	"Status, Bro"	Gerren Keith	Fred Johnson	April 15, 1992
Ruth regrets being cool towards Willis, while Curtis is anything but cool after being gifted with a discount version of an expensive jacket.
11	"Hello, I Must Be Going"	Jack Shea	David Garber, Michael Poryes	April 22, 1992
Ruth takes off after Victoria takes her to task for being a poor influence on Kim and Curtis.
12	"The Frame Game"	Shelley Jensen	David Garber,	May 6, 1992
Curtis gets a swelled head after being chosen to appear with Dr. Dre and Ed Lover of Yo! MTV raps.
13	"Mo' Money"	Shelley Jensen	Mark E. Corry, Mark McClafferty, Clint Smith	May 13, 1992
Curtis finds his part-time job taxing timewise when he has to work extra hours to cover the taxman's share, previously earmarked for other expenses.
14	"Cocoa in Charge"	Jack Shea	Brian Scully, Mike Scully	N/A
15	"The Big Stink"	Rob Dames	Mike Milligan, Jay Moriarty	N/A

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Result	Category	Recipient
1992	Young Artist Awards	Nominated	Exceptional Performance by a Young Actress Under Ten	Naya Rivera
			Best Young Actor Starring in a New Television Series	Larenz Tate
			Best Young Actress Starring in a New Television Series	Sylver Gregory

External links

• The Royal Family at IMDb
• The Royal Family at TV.com
• The Royal Family at epguides.com
• The Ironic Death of Redd Foxx Part Three