Hot l Baltimore

Lanford Wilson 1973

Opening in February 1973, Hot L Baltimore was the first major success for Wilson and his theater company, the Circle Repertory Company. Critics and audiences loved Wilson’s play, and it set an Off-Broadway record of 1,166 performances after playing Off-Off-Broadway for a month.

In the play, the actors mill about in the lobby of a dilapidated old hotel, from which the “e” in the hotel sign is missing — hence the name, Hot L Baltimore. The play is comprised of a series of conversations between the residents of the hotel, who are contemplating an uncertain future after the hotel is condemned and scheduled for demolition.

Wilson’s play won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for the Best American Play of 1972 – 73. It also won an Obie Award for best Off-Broadway play, an Outer Critics Award, and the John Gassner Playwriting award. The play was also sold to ABC and adapted as a situation comedy.

For the 1973 play, see The Hot l Baltimore.

Hot l Baltimore
Created by	Lanford Wilson
Written by	Ron Clark[disambiguation needed] Woody King Lanford Wilson
Directed by	Bob LaHendro
Starring	Richard Masur Conchata Ferrell James Cromwell Al Freeman, Jr. Jeannie Linero Gloria LeRoy Robin Wilson Stan Gottlieb Lee Bergere Henry Calvert Charlotte Rae
Composer(s)	Marvin Hamlisch
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	13
Production
Executive producer(s)	Norman Lear
Producer(s)	Rod Parker
Editor(s)	Terry M. Pickford
Running time	22 minutes
Production company(s)	TAT Communications
Distributor	Columbia TriStar Television
Broadcast
Original channel	ABC
Original run	24 January 1975 – 25 April 1975

Hot l Baltimore is a 1975 television situation comedy adapted from the Lanford Wilson play of a similar title. The show takes place in the Hotel Baltimore and draws its title from the cheap hotel's neon marquis with a burned-out letter "e" that was never replaced. The short-lived half-hour series premiered January 24, 1975^[1] and was produced by Norman Lear for ABC. The cast included Conchata Ferrell, James Cromwell, Richard Masur, Al Freeman, Jr., Gloria LeRoy, Jeannie Linero, and Charlotte Rae. The series had several controversial elements, including two primary characters who were prostitutes (one of whom was an illegal immigrant) and one of the first gay couples to be depicted on an American television series. The network supported the show and gave it a full publicity campaign, but it failed to win an audience and was canceled after thirteen episodes; its last telecast was June 6, 1975.^[1]

This series is notable as the first failure for producer Norman Lear after a very successful streak of mega-hit TV series beginning with All in the Family (1971) and continuing with Sanford and Son, Maude, Good Times and The Jeffersons, among others.

External links

• Hot l Baltimore at the Internet Movie Database
• Hot l Baltimore at the Internet Movie Database
• Hot l Baltimore at TV.com

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (Oct. 1995) [1979] (trade paperback). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows: 1946-Present (Sixth ed.). New York: Ballantine Books, a Division of Random House, Inc.. ISBN 0-345-39736-3. 

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