What The Cast Of One Day At A Time Looks Like Today
Norman Lear was arguably television's biggest groundbreaker during the '70s. In 1975, Lear unveiled "One Day at a Time," a trailblazing sitcom about divorced single mother Ann Romano (Bonnie Franklin), who was raising two teenage daughters, Julie (Mackenzie Phillips) and Barbara (Valerie Bertinelli). Also part of their extended family throughout the series' run was the nosy superintendent of their apartment building, Dwayne Schneider (Pat Harrington Jr.).
Like Lear's other series — hits such as "All in the Family," "Maude," "Good Times," and "The Jeffersons" – "One Day at a Time" tackled some consequential subject matter in the midst of the sitcom shenanigans. Lear's melding of provocative, hot-button topics with laughter proved to be a successful combination, leading the series to run for nine seasons. A testament to the show's enduring relevance, a successful reboot focusing on a Latina single mom and her kids premiered in 2017.
Many decades have passed since the original show aired its final episode in 1984, and fans have no doubt wondered about the lives of the series' stars in the years that have gone by.
Bonnie Franklin starred in film, theater, stage and soaps before her death
Ann Romano proved to be a career-making role for Bonnie Franklin. While Franklin was no stranger to Broadway audiences — she earned a Tony nomination in 1970 for her performance in the musical "Applause" — she was largely unknown to TV viewers; however, she exited "One Day at a Time" a bona fide star. After the series wrapped in 1984, Franklin appeared on television sporadically, including the 1987 TV movie "Sister Margaret and the Saturday Night Ladies" and guest spots on such series as "Hearts Are Wild," "Almost Perfect," and "Touched By an Angel," in which she reunited with former TV daughter Valerie Bertinelli. She also guested on a 2011 episode of "Hot in Cleveland" (again reuniting with Bertinelli) and played a nun in several 2012 episodes of the daytime soap "The Young and the Restless."
During those years, however, Franklin's primary focus was theater, a pursuit that allowed her to showcase her talents as a singer and dancer in such musicals as "The King and I." In 2000, her love of the stage led her to co-found Bonnie Franklin's Classic and Contemporary American Plays, a Los Angeles-based organization that produced staged readings of iconic American plays performed by acclaimed actors.
Sadly, in 2013, Franklin's life was cut short at the too-young age of 69 when she died from complications of pancreatic cancer.
Pat Harrington Jr. remained a familiar face on TV for decades until his death at 86
Pat Harrington Jr. had been a staple on television screens since logging his first TV credit in 1948. Harrington first gained fame for his comedic alter-ego, Guido Panzini, a character he created that appeared in shows hosted by Steve Allen and Jack Paar, among various others. However, the nine-season popularity of "One Day at a Time" resulted in Dwayne Schneider surpassing Guido as Harrington's most beloved and memorable character. After the series' end, Harrington regularly appeared on game shows and talk shows, and he remained a sought-after guest star in numerous TV series, ranging from "Murder, She Wrote" to "The Golden Girls," and numerous others.
As Harrington told the Hamilton Spectator, "One Day at a Time" was one of numerous TV series he'd auditioned for that year, and was shocked to learn he'd been chosen out of a hundred or so other actors competing to play Schneider. "What were the odds?" Harrington recalled with a laugh. "But I got it and it ran from 1975 to 1984. And to be honest, it's really TV that I'm known for. And 'One Day at A Time,' was the big one."
Harrington died in 2016 at the age of 86, with his agent revealing his death was the result of complications from Alzheimer's disease, CBS News reported.
Mackenzie Phillips' struggle with substance abuse led her to become a drug counselor
The daughter of musician John Phillips of The Mamas and the Papas, Mackenzie Phillips played Ann Romano's eldest daughter, Julie Cooper. Phillips' time on the show was turbulent, due to her escalating substance abuse. In 1980, People reported that Phillips' issues forced her to exit the show. She eventually returned after she and her father became sober together, temporarily, anyhow.
The years after "One Day at a Time" were difficult for Phillips — a series of relapses and rehabs while her acting career floundered. In 2014, Phillips finally turned her life around after her 11th trip to rehab. In 2014, 55-year-old Phillips told the Desert Sun that she was now interning in a rehab center while working toward becoming a certified drug and alcohol counselor. "I'm doing a lot of grunt work," she said at the time. "I'm filing papers. I'm scanning charts. You got to pay your dues before you sit in the big chair."
After becoming sober, Phillips' acting career came full circle when she was cast in a recurring role as a therapist in the "One Day at a Time" reboot. In a 2018 interview with Variety, Phillips recalled telling her agent to turn down offers while she took a break from acting — until receiving a call from Norman Lear. "And of course, when Norman Lear calls, you say yes because he's Norman," Phillips said. "And I've loved him my whole life."
Valerie Bertinelli joined Touched By an Angel and invited TV viewers into her kitchen
For Valerie Bertinelli, playing Barbara Cooper on "One Day at a Time" proved to be a launching pad to a successful Hollywood career. After starring in a string of made-for-TV movies, she headlined her own sitcom "Sydney." After the series' cancellation after one season, Bertinelli returned to doing TV movies until joining the cast of "Touched By an Angel" in 2001. That same year, Bertinelli and husband Eddie Van Halen split (they wed in 1981 while she was still starring on "One Day at a Time," with their divorce finalized in 2007). She remarried in 2011, ultimately divorcing second husband Tom Vitale.
Bertinelli's acting career picked up in 2010 when she was cast in "Hot in Cleveland," a hit sitcom that ran until 2015. That same year, she launched "Valerie's Home Cooking," a successful cooking show for the Food Network that ran for 14 seasons until its 2023 cancellation.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly in 2020, Bertinelli — who was just 15 when "One Day at a Time" debuted — looked back at her experience on the show with fondness. "I have such wonderful memories from those days," Bertinelli said. "I was learning from the best. Bonnie was like a second mother to me, I absolutely adored her. And Pat Harrington just made me laugh so hard! Mackenzie really was like my sister. It was wonderful to grow up on that set. I learned so much."
Former teen idol Glenn Scarpelli made a cameo in the rebooted series
Over the course of nine seasons of "One Day at a Time," Bonnie Franklin's Ann Romano had lots of boyfriends. One of these was Nick Handris, played by Ron Rifkin. When Rifkin exited the show after one season, the show's writers killed off the character, leaving behind his orphaned son, Alex (played by child actor Glenn Scarpelli), who moved in with Ann in the series' sixth season. Alex was written out at the end of season eight when Scarpelli exited to star in a different sitcom. That series, "Jennifer Slept Here," was axed after its first season, after which Scarpelli's acting career began to stall.
When Scarpelli was approached to be part of a VH1 special counting down the top 100 teen stars of the 1980s, he used the opportunity to publicly come out as gay. Interviewed by Out in 2006, Scarpelli was then living in Sedona, Arizona, where he and his husband Jude Belanger owned a television station; they later divorced. In 2019, Scarpelli delighted OG fans of "One Day at a Time" when he made a cameo on the rebooted series – this time as a clerk named Chad.
"When I was cast on 'One Day at a Time' it felt like I won the lottery," Scarpelli recalled to Movie Dearest. "Being able to go to work day in and day out on the set of such a great sitcom was a dream! Yes, there were the teen mags and teen idol stuff that came with it but as girls 'swooned' all I could think was: 'Do any of you have cute brothers?'"
Michael Lembeck shifted from acting to directing
Michael Lembeck joined "One Day at a Time" in the series' fifth season. He played the role of Max Horvath, husband of Mackenzie Phillips' character, Julie Cooper, and remained a part of the show until its end. After that, Lembeck continued acting, appearing in numerous TV series in the ensuing decades, while also embarking on a parallel career as a director. After making his directorial debut in a 1989 episode of TV series "Doctor Doctor," Lembeck went on to direct a vast array of hit shows, including 67 episodes of "Major Dad," 24 episodes of "Friends," 23 episodes of "Mad About You," and all 97 episodes of the sitcom "Baby Daddy." He's also directed movies, including "The Tooth Fairy" (starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson), "Connie and Carla," and "The Santa Clause 2" and "3." Lembeck came full circle when he directed a 2017 episode of Norman Lear's "One Day at a Time" reboot.
Interviewed by Pop Goes the Culture, Lembeck reminisced about his years on "One Day at a Time." "One of the truly great things about that core group of us that was on for so many years is how much fun we had," he recalled. "That show was a sheer joy, every single day," he added, crediting co-star Pat Harrington Jr. for keeping the cast in stitches constantly.
Boyd Gaines maintained a thriving acting career in both screen and stage
Joining "One Day at a Time" in the series' seventh season, Boyd Gaines played Mark Royer, boyfriend and later husband of Valerie Bertinelli's Barbara Cooper. In his post-"One Day at a Time" career, Gaines has split his time between television, film, and theater. On the small screen, he's had roles in "The Good Wife," "Law & Order," and "Frasier," while his film credits included "Heartbreak Ridge," "The Goldfinch," and "The Sure Thing." He's also appeared in 12 Broadway productions since 1989, including "Company," "Cabaret," "Gypsy," and "Enemy of the People," winning four Tony Awards along the way.
In "Enemy of the People," Gaines co-starred with his real-life wife Kathleen McNenny. "You always want to work with people that are better than you," McNenny told the Daily Mail. "Not only do I get to work with someone who is better — who's really, really great to be onstage with — but I also feel safe. I don't feel intimidated by it because it's my husband.'"
When Gaines spoke with Broadway World, the star of film, television, and theater was asked which of the three mediums was his favorite. "I just like to work," he replied.
Nanette Fabray retired in the 1990s
Nanette Fabray had already enjoyed a long and successful acting career — which began in Vaudeville when she was just an infant, known as "Baby Nanette" — when she was cast as Ann Romano's mother, Katherine Romano, in "One Day at a Time." After the show ended, Fabray continued to add to a roster of screen credits that extended back to 1925. Following "One Day at a Time," she appeared in a few more TV series, including "Murder, She Wrote," the short-lived "Golden Girls" spinoff, "The Golden Palace," and "Coach," appearing in few episodes between 1990 and 1994. The 1994 episode of "Coach" was, in fact, her final credit before she retired, spending the rest of her life out of the spotlight.
Interviewed by the Television Academy Foundation, Fabray revealed that she landed her "One Day at a Time" gig because she and star Bonnie Franklin had become friends after previously working together onstage. "When she got her series, she called and she said, 'Nan, would you be embarrassed if I asked you to play my mother?' And I said, 'No, I would love to,'" Fabray recalled, explaining that the warmness that viewers saw between their characters was simply a reflection of their real-life relationship. "All of the love and affection that I had for Bonnie showed up on the screen when we were doing the show," she said.
Fabray died in 2018 at the age of 97.
Shelley Fabares spent nearly a decade on Coach
Shelley Fabares had been a TV and film star since the 1950s when she was a child. She was a teen when she was cast in "The Donna Reed Show." As a young woman, she starred alongside Elvis Presley — twice, in both "Clambake" and "Spinout."
Fabares first appeared on "One Day at a Time" in its third season as Ann Romano's co-worker and rival, Francine Webster. Fabares eventually became a series regular, ultimately appearing in 38 episodes of the series. When she was initially cast in the role, her aunt, Nanette Fabray, was already an established part of the show.
After the show's end, Fabares — who is married to "M*A*S*H" alum Mike Farrell — guest-starred in various series before being cast as Christine Armstrong, a TV news anchor who's the love interest of Craig T. Nelson's character in "Coach." That series wound up running for nine successful seasons, ensuring Fabares remained a familiar face on TV screens well into the late 1990s. In 2000, Fabares experienced a serious health scare when she was diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis and underwent liver transplant surgery. The operation was a success, and Fabares made a full recovery.
Richard Masur became president of the Screen Actors Guild
Richard Masur was an OG member of the cast of "One Day at a Time," beginning in its first season as Ann Romano's boyfriend, David Kane. Masur exited partway through the second season, his character written out of the show. Masur explained his character's disappearance in a discussion with The A.V. Club, revealing that he wasn't happy with the trajectory the show's writers had given his character, having him continually propose to Ann only to be continually rebuffed. "So finally one day I said to Norman [Lear], 'You're painting this character into a corner. There's no place to go with this guy. He's a loser,'" Masur recalled. A subsequent storyline in which his character had an affair with another woman in Ann's building was the final straw, and Lear agreed to let him out of his contract. Masur made a one-time return in the sixth season, but that was it.
After "One Day at a Time," Masur continued his career as a character actor, spanning film, TV, and theater. In 1995 he was elected president of the SAG-AFTRA union, serving in that capacity until 1999.
In the years since, Masur has remained a familiar fixture on TV screens, appearing in dozens of series, ranging from "Girls," to "Orange Is the New Black," to a 2023 episode of "The Equalizer." Masur has remained active with the union and was frequently seen on the picket line during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.
Mary Louise Wilson won a Tony and became the subject of a documentary
Mary Louise Wilson had already enjoyed a long and successful career on Broadway when she was cast in "One Day at a Time," playing Ann Romano's neighbor and new bestie, cocktail waitress Ginny Wrobliki. Wilson only appeared in 18 episodes during the series' second season, exiting the show at her own request. In Wilson's memoir, "My First Hundred Years in Show Business," she recalled jumping at the job offer based solely on the success of producer Norman Lear's other shows. Once she began working on the series, however, it became clear that she and star Bonnie Franklin did not get along, leaving Wilson feeling miserable during her time on the show. Expressing her frustrations to Lear, he agreed to let her out of her contract.
Wilson immediately returned to the stage, starring in a 1977 Broadway revival of "The Importance of Being Earnest," one of numerous Broadway productions she headlined over the years (most notably her Tony-winning turn as Edith Bouvier Beale in "Grey Gardens"). During those years, she also continued to appear in film and television, a lengthy list ranging from HBO's "The Sopranos" to the 2013 feature "Nebraska."
In addition to writing her biography, Wilson has also been the subject of a 2015 documentary about her life and extraordinary theatrical career, titled "She's the Best Thing In It."
Howard Hesseman headlined Head of the Class
Howard Hesseman had just wrapped a four-season run as radio DJ Dr. Johnny Fever on "WKRP in Cincinnati" when he joined "One Day at a Time" in the recurring role of Sam Royer, the father of Boyd Gaines' character. He became Ann Romano's boyfriend and, quite quickly, her husband.
Following his 16 episodes of "One Day at a Time," Hesseman maintained a busy schedule of film and TV roles until 1986, when he was cast in the leading role as teacher Charlie Moore in the hit sitcom "Head of the Class." Hesseman remained with the show for four seasons before opting to exit, replaced by Scottish comedian Billy Connolly for the series' remaining seasons. Apart from reviving Johnny Fever for "The New WKRP" in 1991, Hesseman was never again a series regular on TV. Instead, he guest-starred in various series, ranging from "ER" in 2007 to "Fresh Off the Boat" in 2017.
In 2022, Hesseman died at the age of 81. "He was a groundbreaking talent and lifelong friend and longtime client whose kindness and generosity was equaled by his influence and admiration to generations of actors and improvisational comedy throughout the world," Hesseman's longtime manager, Robbie Kass, told Entertainment Weekly. "He will be sorely missed and always treasured."