The Nanny (television)
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The Nanny was an American sitcom that first aired on November 3, 1993 on CBS. It starred Fran Drescher as "the nanny named Fran" (as Ann Hampton Callaway sang in the theme she wrote). Six seasons were aired; the show ended its run in 1999.
Part of the show's success and originality stems from the fact that - along with Rhoda - it is one of the only successful American comedies with an explicitly Jewish main character. Many of the characters in the series (e.g. Yetta, her grandmother) were named after Fran Drescher's real family.
The plot revolved around nasal-voiced Fran Fine (Fran Drescher) who, fresh out of her job as a bridal consultant in her boyfriend's shop, first appeared on the Manhattan doorstep of wealthy and widowed Broadway producer Maxwell Sheffield (played by former Days of our Lives star Charles Shaughnessy) peddling cosmetics. When he mistakenly believed she was there in response to his classified ad, she quickly seized upon the opportunity to become the nanny for his three children. But soon Fran, with her off-beat nurturing and no-nonsense honesty, touched Maxwell as well as the kids. It was a situation of blue collar meets blue blood, as Fran gave the prim-and-proper Maxwell and his children a dose of "Queens logic," helping them become a healthy, happy family.
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Proudly running the Sheffield household was the butler, Niles (Daniel Davis), who watched all events with a bemused eye and leveled problems with his quick wit. Niles quickly recognized Fran's gift at bringing warmth back to the family and did his best to undermine Maxwell's socialite business partner, C.C. Babcock (Lauren Lane), in their ongoing game of one-upmanship. C.C. viewed Fran with a mixture of skepticism and jealousy, as she had designs on the very available Sheffield herself.
From the outset, Mr. Sheffield clearly was smitten with Fran, even if he was too shy to admit it, and Fran was equally taken with Mr. Sheffield. For the first few years, the writers teased viewers with a series of '"will they or won't they?" situations. At the end of the fifth season, the two wed, and in the sixth - and final - year, the two welcomed twins into the family. Far more unexpected was the pairing of Niles and C.C., whose antagonism towards each other apparently had masked their true feelings.
Perpetually hovering close by were Fran's typically obsessive and food loving (who would often when hungry steal the food off the children if she deemed it "too big for them") "Jewish mother" Sylvia and her cigarette-addicted grandmother Yetta, dispensing advice while plotting to get the pair to the altar.
The Nanny was executive produced by Drescher and her then-husband Peter Mark Jacobsen, who was her high school sweetheart.
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The cast
- Fran Drescher . . . Francine "Fran" Fine (later Sheffield)
- Charles Shaughnessy . . . Maxwell Sheffield
- Daniel Davis . . . Niles
- Lauren Lane . . . Chastity Claire "C.C." Babcock
- Nicholle Tom . . . Margaret "Maggie" Sheffield
- Benjamin Salisbury . . . Brighton Sheffield
- Madeline Zima . . . Grace "Gracie" Sheffield
- Rachel Chagall . . . Valerie "Val" Toriello
- Renee Taylor . . . Sylvia Rosenburg Fine
- Ann Morgan Guilbert . . . Yetta Rosenburg
(Trivia notes: Ann Morgan Guilbert portrayed neighbor Millie Halper on The Dick Van Dyke Show. Fran Drescher's dog Chester occasionally appeared as C.C.'s pet, most notably in an episode where he destroyed Shari Lewis's sock puppet, "Lamb Chop.")
Guest appearances
Characters
- Pamela Anderson - Heather Biblow
- Scott Baio - Dr. Frankie Cresitelli
- Roseanne Barr - Fran's cousin Sheila
- Ray Charles - Yetta's Fiance
- Margaret Cho - Caryn
- Joan Collins - Maxwell's stepmother Joan
- Coolio - Irwin
- Spalding Gray - Dr. Jack Miller
- Lisa Loeb - Chloe
- Lainie Kazan - Fran's Aunt Freida
- Steve Lawrence - Fran's father Morty
- Twiggy (first appearance), Sophie Ward (later appearances) - Maxwell's sister Jocelyn
- Robert Vaughn - Maxwell's father James
- Ray Romano - Raymond Barone
- Jon Stewart - Bobby
People
- Cindy Adams - as herself
- Burt Bacharach - as himself
- Bob Barker - as himself
- Michael Bolton - as himself
- Eric Braeden and Melody Thomas Scott - as themselves
- Dr. Joyce Brothers - as herself
- Carol Channing - as herself
- Chevy Chase - as himself
- Roger Clinton - as himself
- Céline Dion - as herself
- Erik Estrada - as himself
- Elton John - as himself
- Hugh Grant - as himself
- Florence Griffith Joyner - as herself
- Whoopi Goldberg - as herself
- Bryant Gumbel - as himself
- Patti LaBelle - as herself
- Jay Leno - as himself
- David Letterman - as himself
- Shari Lewis - as herself
- Marla Maples - as herself
- Jayne Meadows - as herself
- Bette Midler - as herself
- Rosie O'Donnell - as herself
- Todd Oldham - as himself
- Sally Jessy Raphael - as herself
- Lynn Redgrave - as herself
- Monica Seles - as herself
- Jane Seymour - as herself
- Brian Setzer - as himself
- Liz Smith - as herself
- Elizabeth Taylor - as herself
- Alex Trebek - as himself
- Donald Trump - as himself
- Ben Vereen - as himself