History Series / ChicoAndTheMan

The initial premise saw Chico, a Chicano-Latino, arrive in UsefulNotes/LosAngeles looking for work and his next big break. One of his stops is at Ed's Garage, where the cranky Ed is in a foul mood and – basically wanting the world to go away – uses ethnic slurs to drive Chico away ("Go away, and take your flies with you!" was generally [[ReviewIronicEcho the most quoted one in negative reviews of the pilot]]). Chico leaves disappointed, but late that night, he returns and cleans the garage and moves into an old van parked in the garage. Ed grudgingly gives Chico a job, and as the series progresses, the two warm up to one another. Ed's cynical, bitter view of the world changes (he had become a virtual alcoholic upon the death of his wife several years earlier) and soon accepts Chico as a surrogate son.

Things went well for the first couple of years, but behind the scenes, things were not well for Prinze, the promising, bright, telegenetic and charismatic young comic that viewers knew. Only his close friends and his wife knew that he suffered from severe depression. Unable to cope with sudden success and the balance of fatherhood (he's the father of Freddie Prinze Jr.), he turned to drugs ... and eventually bought a gun. In January 1977, his wife of less than 15 months walked out on him, taking Freddie Jr. with her. One thing led to another, and on January 28 – just hours after taping completed on the ironically named episode "Ed Talks to God" – he pointed the gun at his head. Various stories have circulated about others who spoke with the elder Prinze in his final hours, but it is known that his business manager, Marvin "Dusty" Snyder, learned of Prinze's intentions and tried to intervene but walked in just as Prinze fired his gun. Less than 24 hours later, Prinze was dead.

''Chico and the Man'' was a situation comedy that aired on Creator/{{NBC}} from 1974–78, starring Jack Albertson as Ed Brown ("The Man"), the elderly owner of a run-down garage in an impoverished East Los Angeles barrio; and Freddie Prinze as the streetwise young mechanic Francisco "Chico" Rodriguez.

[[quoteright:251:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chicoandtheman_5219.jpg]]

The initial premise saw Chico, a Chicano-Latino, arrive in Los Angeles looking for work and his next big break. One of his stops is at Ed's Garage, where the cranky Ed is in a foul mood and – basically wanting the world to go away – uses ethnic slurs to drive Chico away ("Go away, and take your flies with you!" was generally [[ReviewIronicEcho the most quoted one in negative reviews of the pilot]]). Chico leaves disappointed, but late that night, he returns and cleans the garage and moves into an old van parked in the garage. Ed grudgingly gives Chico a job, and as the series progresses, the two warm up to one another. Ed's cynical, bitter view of the world changes (he had become a virtual alcoholic upon the death of his wife several years earlier) and soon accepts Chico as a surrogate son.

* CousinOliver and ReplacementScrappy: Raul, during the final season (as a replacement for Chico, whose portrayer died earlier in 1977).

'''''Chico and the Man''''' was a situation comedy that aired on Creator/{{NBC}} from 1974–78, starring Jack Albertson as Ed Brown ("The Man"), the elderly owner of a run-down garage in an impoverished East Los Angeles barrio; and Freddie Prinze as the streetwise young mechanic Francisco "Chico" Rodriguez.

The initial premise saw Chico, a Chicano-Latino, arrive in Los Angeles looking for work and his next big break. One of his stops is at Ed's Garage, where the cranky Ed is in a foul mood and – basically wanting the world to go away – uses ethnic slurs to drive Chico away ("Go away, and take your flies with you!" was generally the most quoted one in negative reviews of the pilot). Chico leaves disappointed, but late that night, he returns and cleans the garage and moves into an old van parked in the garage. Ed grudgingly gives Chico a job, and as the series progresses, the two warm up to one another. Ed's cynical, bitter view of the world changes (he had become a virtual alcoholic upon the death of his wife several years earlier) and soon accepts Chico as a surrogate son.

* ShortRunner: In terrestrial syndication. Although the show was a consistent hit for NBC in the mid-1970s, the show failed in syndication when the series was stripped in the fall of 1978. Some have said this was likely in part due to the death of Freddie Prinze a year and a half earlier. (The show has aired occasionally on rerun-type networks, including [=TVLand=]).

* TheCharacterDiedWithHim: As would be revealed in "Raul Runs Away," aired a year after Chico's portrayer ended his own life. Previously, Chico had just been "away."

* CousinOliver: Raul, during the final season (as a replacement for Chico, whose portrayer died earlier in 1977).

Things went well for the first couple of years, but behind the scenes, things were not well for Prinze, the promising, bright, telegenetic and charismatic young comic that viewers knew. Only his close friends and his wife knew that he suffered from severe depression. Unable to cope with sudden success and the balance of fatherhood (he's the father of Freddie Prinze Jr.), he turned to drugs ... and eventually bought a gun. In January 1977, his wife of less than 15 months walked out on him, taking Freddie Jr. with him. One thing led to another, and on January 28 – just hours after taping completed on the ironically named episode "Ed Talks to God" – he pointed the gun at his head. Various stories have circulated about others who spoke with the elder Prinze in his final hours, but it is known that his business manager, Marvin "Dusty" Snyder, learned of Prinze's intentions and tried to intervene but walked in just as Prinze fired his gun. Less than 24 hours later, Prinze was dead.

Toward the end of Season 4, the {{Tearjerker}} episode, explaining that Chico had indeed died, was produced and aired, framing the whole thing around Ed angrily berating Raul for getting into Chico's things (smashing Chico's guitar in the process) and a scared Raul running away; Ed eventually finds him and apologizes. In many ways, that brought closure not only to Ed (and by extension, Anderson) but to viewers and the series. A few more episodes were left, but in reality, with Prinze having been dead a year, the series had run its course.

'''''Chico and the Man''''' was a situation comedy that aired on Creator/{{NBC}} from 1974-78, starring Jack Albertson as Ed Brown ("The Man"), the elderly owner of a run-down garage in an impoverished East Los Angeles barrio; and Freddie Prinze as the streetwise young mechanic Francisco "Chico" Rodriguez.

* BorrowedCatchPhrase: A few years after Prinze's death CBS used his "Lookin' Good!" CatchPhrase for a series of ads promoting their upcoming fall season. It didn't go over well.

''Chico and the Man'' was a situation comedy starring Jack Albertson as Ed Brown ("The Man"), the elderly owner of a run-down garage in an impoverished East Los Angeles barrio; and Freddie Prinze as the streetwise young mechanic Francisco "Chico" Rodriguez.

* TheCharacterDiedWithHim: Chico, although not stated until one of the final episodes of the series (when Raul runs away after learning there was a previous "Chico," and Ed yelled at him for getting into his things). The circumstances of Chico's death are never explained.

** PutOnABus: The initial explanation for why Chico was not around anymore, from late in Season 3 to "[[BusCrash Raul Runs Away]]" midway through Season 4. The stopgap measure to address Chico's absence was a few hastily rewritten scripts, stating that Chico was "away" and – using existing scripts that focused on Ed and/or other characters – giving Chico's lines to other cast members. A few Chico-centric scripts were held over to Season 4 and given to Raul.
** BusCrash: "Raul Runs Away," where Chico is finally acknowledged as deceased, after months of viewers being told Chico was simply "away."

* UnfortunateImplications: One early controversy revolved around the feeling that naming a Chicano-Latino character 'Chico' was the equivalent of naming an African American character 'Boy'.

The initial premise saw Chico, a Chicano-Latino, arrive in Los Angeles looking for work and his next big break. One of his stops is at Ed's Garage, where the cranky Ed is in a foul mood and – basically wanting the world to go away – uses ethnic slurs to drive Chico away. Chico leaves disappointed, but late that night, he returns and cleans the garage and moves into an old van parked in the garage. Ed grudgingly gives Chico a job, and as the series progresses, the two warm up to one another. Ed's cynical, bitter view of the world changes (he had become a virtual alcoholic upon the death of his wife several years earlier) and soon accepts Chico as a surrogate son.

The series remains influential today for its on-screen chemistry and Prinze as a hard-working Chicano-Latino role model. Latino singer José Feliciano, best known for his cover of The Doors' "Light My Fire" and his Christmas song "Feliz Navidad," performed the theme song.