Hooperman

Synopsis

John Ritter stars as Inspector Harry Hooperman, a San Francisco police officer. After his elderly landlady is killed during a robbery in the first episode, he inherits both her dilapidated apartment building and her feisty Jack Russell Terrier, Bijoux. To manage the property while he works, he hires Susan Smith, played by Debrah Farentino, and they develop a romantic relationship over the first season. The supporting cast includes Alix Elias as cheerful dispatcher Betty Bushkin, Barbara Bosson as Hooperman’s divorced boss Captain Celeste “C.Z.” Stern, Felton Perry as his partner Inspector Clarence McNeil, Clarence Felder as redneck Inspector Boris “Bobo” Pritzger, Joseph Gian as gay cop Rick Silardi, and Sydney Walsh as Officer Maureen “Mo” DeMott, who makes unwanted advances on him.

Dan Lauria appears as Celeste’s ex-husband Lou Stern. Mike Post composed the theme music. Guest stars across the 42 episodes include Don Cheadle, Kim Delaney, Dennis Dugan, Norman Fell, Miguel Ferrer, Jack Gilford, Mark Hamill, Joanna Kerns, Richard Kind, Dan Lauria, Jane Leeves, Lorna Luft, David Paymer, Barbara Rush, and Shannon Tweed. Aside from a brief FX Network run in the mid-1990s and a 2003 pilot rebroadcast on TV Land after Ritter’s death, the series has not been rerun.