A NEW PERSPECTIVE
ON TIME.
Bobby Hosea (from left), Harold Gould and Tommy Ford star in "Singer
& Sons." In Michael Jacobs' latest producing effort, a Jewish widower
hires his housekeeper's two sons to help run the family deli.
Friday evenings, the tradi-
tional Tinseltown format for
most half-hour shows, so
that he can observe Shabbat.
Instead, the hard-working
producer recalibrates the
schedule, so his programs
tape before a live-studio au-
dience during the Monday-
Thursday cycle.
"There was a time when I
used to be able to daven each
and every morning," Jacobs
said. "But as my respon-
sibilities increased, I was
just happy to sneak away in
the afternoon for a few
minutes to daven Mincha.
Even that is becoming more
difficult, and it really
bothers me."
Success in television has
not come to Jacobs without a
price.
"TV producing is really
grueling," he said. "The
nights aren't my own
anymore because that is
when I write scripts. And,
during the day I have to ad-
ministrate responsibility. It
is very time consuming."
Jacobs cited the show "My
Two Dads" as an example.
He called it "three seasons
of torture, even though it's
not a hit, because NBC kept
taking it off and putting it
back on.
"Even if it's cancelled, it
could continue with original
episodes in syndication like
`Charles in Charge,' "
Jacobs said.
"All of this pressure has
made me think about my life
and the children [a 2
1/2-year-old boy and a 6-
month-old girl] my wife and I
are trying to raise," Jacobs
added. "I don't want it eaten
away by my work."
Michael Jacobs was raised
in a traditional Conser-
vative home and almost
always had a "strong spiri-
tual attachment to
Judaism."
"To me it was a logical and
symmetrical part of my be-
ing," he explained. "These
precepts had to be primary
in my life because I have a
strong belief in God."
In a way, Jacobs yearns for
the days when he was an up-
and-coming New York
playwright when "the hours
were my own, and I was able
to daven three times a day."
Jacob's latest work is the
CBS-TV show "Singer &
Son," — a half-hour televi-
sion comedy which can best
be described as Do The Right
Thing meets Driving Miss
Daisy.
The show tells the story of
an aging-kosher delicatessen
owner, played by Harold
("Maude") Gould, who'd like
to pass on the ownership to
his heirs. But he has four
daughters who, "don't want
to cut pastrami . . . They
want to marry orthodontists
and move to Scarsdale."
While considering selling
the joint and moving to
Florida, his Afro-American
friend, played by Esther
("Good Times") Rolle, tells
him to stop being bitter and
take her and her sons into
the business.
"It's reminiscent of
`Sanford & Son' and 'Chico
& the Man' — two 70's sit-
corns that NBC prime-time
chief Brandon Tartikoff
happened to like," Jacobs
said.
"And while this show only
has a four-episode commit-
ment, with a 50/50 chance of
succeeding, Brandon likes
this kind of off-the-beaten
track material, so hopefully
he'll give us a good time
slot."
And if the show doesn't
sell?
Jacobs already has a corn-
mitment to do another show
for NBC and one for ABC
next year. ❑
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THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 11