Not too long ago, for some reason or other, I found myself stumbling down an Internet rabbit hole of 80s and 90s television sitcoms. Whatever writing project I’d been working was cast aside, abandoned, as I clicked my way through a never-ending series of clips from “Perfect Strangers”, my absolute favorite show from that era.
The basic premise of this long-running sitcom was that an immigrant from Mypos, some remote island country in Eastern Europe, had traveled to the USA and ended up sharing an apartment in downtown Chicago with his uptight cousin. With the “odd couple” pairing of mismatched roommates and a massive cultural gap, the stage was set for eight full seasons of non-stop laughter.
And even with Hollywood’s habit of remaking classic shows, I’m not quite sure this one would fly today. Would Bronson Pinchot still want to portray Balki Bartokomous as a naive, fun-loving tourist? Or would a fresh-off-the-boat immigrant have his sense of humor worn down from working multiple off-the-books jobs to support his family back home? And what about Cousin Larry Appleton? In the original series, Mark Linn-Baker played a man who quickly opened his doors to a (very) distant relative, but would a middle-class white male be so trusting in 2022? And what views might Cousin Larry have on politics, or immigration, during such a tight job market?
Obviously, this classic show could be just as relevant today as when it first aired. The show eventually launched a spin-off, “Family Matters”, a series so well-received that it actually lasted a season longer than its predecessor. In fact, “Perfect Strangers” was such a success that the network executives at ABC kept moving the show around in its prime time lineup, hoping to steal ratings away from the most popular shows on other broadcast networks. But all good things must come to an end, and in 1993, Balki and Larry walked offstage for the last time, causing the live studio audience to tear up during the final Dance of Joy.
And even though Balki Bartokomous had a knack for stealing scenes, I always found myself siding with the straitlaced Cousin Larry. As the man’s neat and orderly world was upended in episode after episode, actor Mark Linn-Baker never failed to evoke my sympathy. Now of course I didn’t know this back in the day, but the long-suffering straight man was actually a classically-trained stage actor, having graduated from Yale University’s School of Drama with a Master’s in Fine Arts. And even as he carried the weight of ABC’s weeknight schedule, this consummate professional somehow found time to serve as the face of Peter Pan brand peanut butter:
But after “Perfect Strangers” ended, I guess I kind of lost touch with Mark-Linn Baker. Between school, and later, work, I just didn’t have as much time to watch television anymore. Despite my inattention, though, Mr. Linn-Baker never stopped creating quality art. His place in the pantheon of prime-time television secured, this legend of the silver screen moved on to a number of other projects. So it was an absolute joy when I recently discovered his later acting successes, all of which were entirely new to me:
For example, in 2002 he led a barbershop quartet of aardvarks in an intermission track on Sandra Boynton’s seminal album, “Philadelphia Chickens”;
And then later, Linn-Baker put his stage experience to good use as the producer and co-star of the Tony-award winning musical, “A Year With Frog and Toad”;
But even after conquering Broadway, Linn-Baker still made time for a countless number of cameo appearances on a range of television shows, as well as recurring roles on hits like “The Electric Company”, “Blue Bloods”, and “Succession”.
Clearly, there’s no challenge too big for this talented singer-actor-producer. And even though I’m coming fresh off a binge of old “Perfect Strangers” episodes, I’m keeping the remote close at hand while I get reacquainted with all of Mark Linn-Baker’s work.
