Sitcoms Online Photo Galleries - Eisenhower & Lutz: Cast Photo

Pictured ( beginning in the back L-R) are DeLane Matthews, Scott Bakula, Patricia Richardson, Rose Portillo, Henderson Forsythe, and Leo Geter

Eisenhower And Lutz aired from March until June 1988 on CBS.

Bud Lutz ( Scott Bakula), had barely made it through law school and, after failing to establish a practice in Las Vegas, had returned home to Palm Springs, California, to open a law office there. The office, located in a former hot-tub showroom ( with a leftover sample in his reception area), in a mini-mall on the outskirts of town, did not attract a high-class clientile-mostly whiplash victims and illegal aliens. Bud's girlfriend Megan ( DeLane Matthews), who had returned with him from Vegas, was a cocktail waitress at the nearby Kon Tiki Lounge. Her relationship with Bud was threatened by his highschool sweetheart Kay ( Patricia Richardson), a partner in the high-powered local law firm of Grifin, McKendrick & Dunne, who still had the hots for him. Other's in the cast were Millie ( Rose Portillo), the secretary who Bud never seemed to pay; Dwayne ( Leo Geter), the eager young law student who did odd jobs for free in order to watch a real lawyer at work ( Some Example, lol); and Bud's free spirited father, Big Bud ( Henderson Forsythe), an eccentric sign painter. It was Big Bud's idea to call his son's firm, Eisenhower & Lutz, because the Eisenhower name was well respected in the desert. Unfortunately too many prospective clients asked for the nonexistant Mr. Eisenhower and not enough for Mr. Lutz.

Although this series was unsuccessful, the 3 leads eventually hit it big; Scott Bakula would star in the cult classic Quantum Leap ( 1989-1993); Patricia Richardson would star in the smash hit sitcom Home Improvement ( 1991-1999); and DeLane Matthews would star in the CBS hit sitcom Dave's World ( 1993-1997).

A Review From The New York Times

Review/Television; 'Eisenhower and Lutz,' A New Comedy on Law

By JOHN J. O'CONNOR
Published: March 14, 1988

It is not the world's most inviting title. ''Eisenhower and Lutz'' sounds suspiciously like still another police romp. But the new series, having an unusual debut on CBS this evening, is a comedy, and it turns out that the title is part of the joke. Created by Allan Burns for MTM Productions, ''Eisenhower and Lutz'' is an offbeat sitcom. What's more, it's very funny.

The show will be seen Mondays at 9:30 P.M. Tonight, though, it is being given two premieres. The first episode is at 8:30, following ''Kate and Allie''; the second at 9:30, right after ''The Newhart Show.'' CBS is either very confident or simply frantic to get a large audience sampling. In any case, here is one of the more promising comedy efforts of the season.

This is the kind of exercise that might have been written for Steve Martin if he had to do weekly television for a living. Instead, Mr. Burns has hired Scott Bakula, who brings a dopily affable Martin style and look to his portrayal of Barnett (Bud) Lutz Jr. Bud is the kind of good-looking lout who might work as a carhop and pick up customer telephone numbers as his tips. The bouncy opening theme song spells him out: ''Short on smart, long on cute/And honesty was never your strongest suit.''

Somehow Bud has received a law degree from the Southeast Las Vegas School of Law (he has had his secretary drop ''and Acupuncture'' from the school's name) and is now returning to Palm Springs to set up practice. His speciality seems to be whiplash cases. He has brought with him his girlfriend Megan O'Malley (DeLane Matthews), a sweet and airy young woman who works as a waitress at the Kon Tiki Lounge. Megan protests that she doesn't want to be a waitress all her life. ''Didn't I want you to go to bartender school,'' retorts the gallant Bud.

Bud has a Mexican-American secretary named Millie (Rose Portillo) who has yet to see a paycheck. And a geeky young man named Dwayne (Leo Geter), formerly a delivery boy for the local sushi restaurant, is the office gofer. Complicating economic and romantic matters is Kay Dunne (Patricia Richardson), Bud's former high-school flame and now a megaton lawyer with a major law firm. Kay would like to recapture the ''delicious danger'' of the old days, and is willing to throw a little business Bud's way if he is agreeable. Megan tries desperately to remain perky.

Mr. Burns, who also wrote this evening's episodes, in addition to directing the first, is a television veteran whose credits go back to ''Room 222'' and some of MTM's brightest achievements, including ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' and ''Rhoda.'' He can not only whip up generous batches of clever dialogue but he is also extremely clever with staging bits of comic business. Witness the scene in which, going to Kay's posh office, Bud gets his new tie caught in his new attache case. Mr. Bakula handles the crisis beautifully, right down to the moment when, trying to be casually debonair, he swings his hand into a giant cactus plant. He tries to maintain his composure as Kay insists on calling him Buddy. ''It's not Buddy,'' he says with as much dignity as he can muster, ''it's Bud.''

And, oh yes, the title. There is no Eisenhower. Bud's father, known as Big Bud (Henderson Forsythe), dreamed up that touch when painting a sign for his son's new business. It seems the Eisenhower name is still revered in Palm Springs. Also included on the sign is ''Se Habla Espanol'' and the puzzling message ''Vaya con carne.'' Big Bud is the crotchety old geezer. Sushi? ''I took some home once,'' he says,''fried it up and wasn't half bad.'' Meanwhile, in the second episode, directed by Peter Baldwin, Bud explains to Kay that the waitress making her margarita is his close woman friend. ''Lovely figure,'' Kay says through clenched teeth. ''I'll say,'' says Bud proudly, ''you should see her naked.'' Bud and his friends have a seductively dizzy charm.

Here is Henderson Forsythe's Obituary from The New York Times

Henderson Forsythe, 88, Character Actor, Dies
By DOUGLAS MARTIN
Published: April 20, 2006

Henderson Forsythe, an accomplished character actor who demonstrated his versatility in plays by dramatists like O'Neill, Beckett and Pinter and in rollicking musicals, movies and television — including 31 years on the soap opera "As the World Turns," died on Monday at his home in Williamsburg Landing, Va. He was 88.

His death was announced by the Nelson Funeral Home of Williamsburg, Va.

Mr. Forsythe was acclaimed for his portrayal of Ed Earl Dodd, the earthy, profane sheriff in "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas." He won the 1979 Tony Award for outstanding featured actor in a musical for the role, and when he reprised the role in London, was nominated there for actor of the year in a musical.

In a mostly disparaging article on the Broadway production, Walter Kerr wrote in The New York Times, "When there are laughs, it's Mr. Forsythe who gets them."

Mr. Kerr praised Mr. Forsythe as an actor, singer and dancer, calling him "a triple-threat fellow."

Mr. Forsythe created roles, although seldom leads, in many significant plays. These included "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?," "A Delicate Balance," "The Texas Trilogy" and "The Birthday Party."

Millions of fans of "As the World Turns," knew Mr. Forsythe's character, Dr. David Stewart, as if he were a family member. From the time he replaced Ernest Graves, who briefly played Dr. Stewart, in December 1960, Mr. Forsythe saw his character through almost innumerable twists and turns, none more intriguing than when he almost married a second wife while suffering from amnesia in 1981. Dr. Stewart died in 1991.

Mr. Forsythe had roles in movies including "Silkwood (1983)" and "End of the Line" (1988). His television appearances ranged from playing Dr. Kildare's father to roles in episodes of "Law & Order" to Big Bud, a crotchety old geezer, in "Eisenhower and Lutz," a 1988 series.

In one episode, Big Bud recounts that he took some sushi home once. He said he "fried it up and wasn't half bad."

In interviews, Mr. Forsythe insisted he did not consider acting in a soap opera to be beneath him. "It's the variety that makes it interesting," he told The Associated Press in 1979.

But his first love remained serious theater, though in 1994 he played a reincarnated Col. Harland Sanders in commercials for KFC restaurants. In 1993, Ben Brantley of The New York Times, in reviewing "A Quarrel of Sparrows," said Mr. Forsythe's character, a harpist, "suggests an updated aesthete-bachelor version of the aphorism-spouting sages Lionel Barrymore used to play."

Mr. Forsythe was born on Sept. 11, 1917, in Macon, Mo., where he first studied theater, ran track and worked in his family's filling station and produce company. He transferred from Culver-Stockton College in 1938 to the University of Iowa, where he appeared in many productions, earned his undergraduate degree and was a classmate of Tennessee Williams.

The University of Iowa said he was the first person to earn a master's in fine arts from its theater department. He met Dorothea Maria Carlson at the university and they married in 1942.

He was in the Army in Europe during World War II. After he returned, he and his wife, an actress, spent nine years with the Erie Playhouse in Pennsylvania.

In addition to his wife, Mr. Forsythe is survived by his sons Eric, of Iowa, and Jason, of New Jersey, and four grandchildren.

Correction: April 21, 2006

An obituary of the character actor Henderson Forsythe yesterday misstated his involvement with the Broadway play "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" He appeared as George during the original Broadway run, but it was Arthur Hill who originated the role.

For more on Eisenhower & Lutz go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eisenhower_and_Lutz

For a Webpage dedicated to Scott Bakula go to http://www.scottbakulaonline.com/

For a webpage dedicated to Scott Bakula go to
http://www.scottbakulafan.com/

For another Scott Bakula Webpage go to http://www.geocities.com/hollywood/boulevard/7205/

For a Webpage dedicated to Patricia Richardson go to http://www.geocities.com/televisioncity/set/4298/index.htm

To visit the Gallery of DeLane Matthews go to http://mielofon.com/actress/delane_matthews/