History Series / ChicoAndTheMan

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

** In "The Paint Job" Ed tells a character (played by Creator/RichLittle) to "Stifle yourself" after he does a dead on impression of [[Series/AllInTheFamily Edith Bunker]]

* VerySpecialEpisode: "Raul Runs Away", in which Chico's death is explained and Ed finally comes to terms with his passing.
** "Chico's Padre," in which Chico reunites with his long lost father. As well as the first episode to air after Freddie Prinze's suicide the week prior.

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

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, 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 he eventually comes to accept Chico as a surrogate son.

''Chico and the Man'' was a sitcom that aired on Creator/{{NBC}} from 1974–78, starring Creator/JackAlbertson as Creator/EdBrown ("The Man"), the elderly owner of a run-down garage in an impoverished East Los Angeles barrio, and Creator/FreddiePrinze as the streetwise young mechanic Francisco "Chico" Rodriguez.

''Chico and the Man'' was a sitcom that aired on Creator/{{NBC}} from 1974–78, starring Creator/JackAlbertson 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 series remains influential today for its on-screen chemistry and Prinze as a hard-working Chicano-Latino role model. Latino singer [[Music/JoseFeliciano José Feliciano]], best known for his cover of Music/TheDoors' "Light My Fire" and his Christmas song "Feliz Navidad," performed the theme song.

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

* CelebrityStar: A few of the most notable episodes featured guest stars: [[Creator/JoseFeliciano José Feliciano]] (who performed the show's main theme), Creator/SammyDavisJr (who appeared in just about every sitcom) and Tony Orlando (one of Prinze's closest friends).

* ThematicThemeTune / TitleThemeTune: "Chico and the Man", performed by [[Creator/JoseFeliciano José Feliciano]]. It was released as a single and actually became a minor charting hit.

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 Music/TheDoors' "Light My Fire" and his Christmas song "Feliz Navidad," performed the theme song.

* CelebrityStar: A few of the most notable episodes featured guest stars: José Feliciano (who performed the show's main theme), Creator/SammyDavisJr (who appeared in just about every sitcom) and Tony Orlando (one of Prinze's closest friends).

* ThematicThemeTune / TitleThemeTune: "Chico and the Man", performed by José Feliciano. It was released as a single and actually became a minor charting hit.

* ShortRunner: While the show had a decent four-season run on NBC that was only curtailed by Freddie Prinze's death, it proved to have a short life in syndication. Despite the fourth season with [[CousinOliver Raul]] existing mainly so the show could have a decent syndication package, it ended up only having a measly 88 episodes, 12 short of the "magic 100" number. This, along with the fourth season's changes, made the show undesirable for reruns, although it managed to get shown on smaller independent stations and occasionally on "nostalgia reruns" networks like TV Land.

* CelebrityStar: A few of the most notable episodes featured guest stars: José Feliciano (who performed the show's main theme), Sammy Davis Jr. (who appeared in just about every sitcom) and Tony Orlando (one of Prinze's closest friends).

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Chico, Ed, and Louie receive one from an annoyed Sammy Davis, Jr after having put up with their shenanigans all day.

Things went well for the first couple of years, but behind the scenes, things were not well for Prinze, the promising, bright, telegeneic, 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 Creator/FreddiePrinzeJr), 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.

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 he eventually comes to accept Chico as a surrogate son.

''Chico and the Man'' was a sitcom that aired on Creator/{{NBC}} from 1974–78, starring Creator/JackAlbertson 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 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 he eventually comes to accept 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 Creator/FreddiePrinzeJr), 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’s Padre” in which Chico reunites with his long lost father. As well as the first episode to air after Freddie Prinze’s suicide the week prior.

* LivesInAVan: Chico lives in a VW van permanantly docked in the Man's garage.

* AbandonedCatchPhrase: Freddie Prinze retired the "Es no my yob" catchphase in favor of the [[LazyMexican less stereotypical]] "Loooking Good" in season 2.

* CharacterOutlivesActor: Initially, with Chico, in the final episodes of Season 3; Chico was "away" visiting his father or "on business."

''Chico and the Man'' was a sitcom 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.

** In "The Paint Job" Ed tells a character (played by Rich Little) to "Stifle yourself" after he does a dead on impression of [[Series/AllInTheFamily Edith Bunker]]

Two other characters were added early: Scatman Crothers as Louie Wilson, the neighborhood garbage collector; and Della Reese as Della Rogers, the landlord. Also seen on occasion was Isaac Ruiz as Mando, one of Chico's best buddies.

* ShortRunner: In terrestrial syndication. Although the show was a consistent hit for NBC in the mid-1970s, it 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, though it was mostly because of the SoOkayItsAverage final season, which existed mainly so the show could have a decent syndication package (''Chico'' had only three seasons worth of material produced before Prinze's death). ''Chico'' was primarily rerun on smaller independent stations, though it's aired occasionally on rerun-type networks, including [=TVLand=].

* ThematicThemeTune / TitleThemeTune: "Chico and the Man", performed by José Feliciano. It was released as a single and actually became a minor radio hit.

* ThematicThemeTune / TitleThemeTune: "Chico and the Man", performed by José Feliciano.

* ExpositoryThemeTune: "Chico and the Man," performed by José Feliciano.

* VerySpecialEpisode: "Raul Runs Away," in which Chico's death was explained and Ed finally comes to terms with his passing.