The Broadway cast of Relatively Speaking, the trio of new one-act plays by Ethan Coen, Elaine May and Woody Allen, is filled with comedy veterans, many of whom honed their timing in film and TV. In honor of their opening night on October 20, we’ve selected some of our favorite screen moments from this illustrious ensemble, from Three Men and a Baby to Murphy Brown. Click below, and enjoy!
Marlo Thomas, That Girl
Marlo Thomas became the poster child for a new generation of independent single women back in 1966 when she landed the role of aspiring actress Ann Marie in That Girl. Though there are six awesome seasons to choose from, we thought this scene from season two, in which Ann lands a walk-on part in Ethel Merman's revival of Gypsy and gets a few stage tips from the star herself, was more than appropriate.
Steve Guttenberg, Three Men and a Baby
We’ve long asked ourselves why Steve Guttenberg hasn’t been in a Broadway musical, and that was before rewatching this clip from the biggest box office hit of 1987, Three Men and a Baby. Before signing on to play a starry-eyed stage romantic in Woody Allen’s Honeymoon Motel, Guttenberg was a single guy helping raise an infant with his bachelor roommates. As part of this trio, Guttenberg delivers an adorable lullaby, but he can sing us to sleep any day.
Grant Shaud and Richard Libertini, Murphy Brown
This one’s a two-fer! Grant Shaud starred as wunderkind TV news producer Miles Silverberg on Murphy Brown, and it turns out that the guest star who played his onscreen father, a former hippie obsessed with yoga and organic food, was none other than Shaud’s Relatively Speaking co-star Richard Libertini. And who plays his mom in this 1992 episode? Why, it's Tony-winning Chorus Line star Kelly Bishop. It’s almost too good to be true.
Mark Linn-Baker, Perfect Strangers
Sitcom fans fondly remember Mark-Linn Baker, now playing a less-than-happy husband in Woody Allen’s Honeymoon Motel, as half of the duo in Perfect Strangers. From 1986 to 1993, he starred as the cynical Chicago cousin to ebullient American transplant Balki, played by Bronson Pinchot. If their "Dance of Joy" is any indication, the man has moves.
Julie Kavner, Rhoda
Long before she went on to behind-the-scenes fame as the voice of Marge in The Simpsons, Julie Kavner nabbed her first professional acting role in Rhoda, the popular 1974 spin-off of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Check her out as Rhoda’s charmingly insecure little sister Brenda Morgenstern: it's worth it for the fashion alone.