The CBS sitcom Friends and Lovers was another show from producer/writers James Brooks and Allan Burns and aimed to do for the bachelors of the world what their Mary Tyler Moore Showhad donefor bachelor girls.
The bachelor in question here was Robert Dreyfuss, portrayed by actor-comedian Paul Sand. Dreyfuss was the bass violinist for the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
When he wasn’t busy fiddling, he was likely to be found sorting out his romantic entanglements, refereeing disputes between his brother Charlie (Michael Pataki) and sister-in-law Janice (Penny Marshall), sparring with a hostile orchestra manager (Dick Wesson) and trying to overcome his habit of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time to the wrong people.
One brief affair with an airline stewardess ended with Robert telling her, “Lovers come and go, Maggie, but friends go on forever.”
The official title of the series was Paul Sand in Friends and Lovers. It debuted on CBS on 14 September 1974 and ran for 13 episodes.
Robert Dreyfuss
Paul Sand Charlie Dreyfuss
Michael Pataki Janice Dreyfuss
Penny Marshall Mason Woodruff
Craig Richard Nelson Fred Meyerbach
Steve Landesberg Jack Reardon
Dick Wesson Ben Dreyfuss
Jack Gilford Marge Dreyfuss
Jan Miner
