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Thursday's Game

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Thursday's Game
Thursday's Game.jpg
Also known asThe Birk
GenreComedy
Written byJames L. Brooks
Directed byRobert Moore
StarringGene Wilder
Ellen Burstyn
Bob Newhart
Cloris Leachman
Nancy Walker
Valerie Harper
Norman Fell
Rob Reiner
Martha Scott
Music byBilly Goldenberg
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducersJames L. Brooks
Lew Gallo (associate producer)
CinematographyJoseph Biroc
EditorsDiane Adler
Fredric Steinkamp
Running time100 minutes
Production companyABC Circle Films
DistributorABC
Release
Original networkABC
Picture formatColor
Audio formatMono
Original releaseApril 14, 1974 (1974-04-14)

Thursday's Game (also known as The Berk) is a 1974 American made-for-television comedy film starring Gene Wilder and Bob Newhart, written by James L. Brooks and directed by Robert Moore. Though filmed in 1971, it was originally broadcast April 14, 1974, on ABC.

In addition to Wilder and Newhart, Thursday's Game starred many actors familiar to 1970s television viewers including John Archer, Ellen Burstyn, Norman Fell, Cloris Leachman, Valerie Harper, Rob Reiner, Richard Schaal, Martha Scott and Nancy Walker. The film was lauded by critics for its perceptive look at adult relationships, and furthered James L. Brooks's reputation as a writer and producer.

Discover more about Thursday's Game related topics

Comedy film

Comedy film

A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through the amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending. Comedy is one of the oldest genres in the film—and derived from the classical comedy in theatre. Some of the earliest silent films were comedies, as slapstick comedy often relies on visual depictions, without requiring sound. To provide drama and excitement to movies, live music was played in sync with the action on the screen, by pianos, organs, and other instruments. When sound films became more prevalent during the 1920s, comedy films grew in popularity, as laughter could result from burlesque situations but now also dialogue.

Gene Wilder

Gene Wilder

Jerome Silberman, known professionally as Gene Wilder, was an American actor, comedian, writer and filmmaker. He was known mainly for his comedic roles, but also for his portrayal of Willy Wonka in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971). He was also known for his collaborations with Mel Brooks on the films The Producers (1967), Blazing Saddles (1974) and Young Frankenstein (1974), as well as with Richard Pryor in the films Silver Streak (1976), Stir Crazy (1980), See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989) and Another You (1991). He also starred in Woody Allen's Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (1972).

Bob Newhart

Bob Newhart

George Robert Newhart is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan and stammering delivery style. Having started performing as a standup comedian, he transitioned his career acting in television. He has received numerous accolades including three Grammy Awards, an Emmy Award, and a Golden Globe Award. He was honored with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2002.

James L. Brooks

James L. Brooks

James Lawrence Brooks is an American director, producer, screenwriter and co-founder of Gracie Films. His television and film work includes The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Taxi, The Simpsons, Broadcast News, As Good as It Gets, and Terms of Endearment.

American Broadcasting Company

American Broadcasting Company

The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American commercial broadcast television network. It is the flagship property of the Disney Entertainment division of The Walt Disney Company. The network is headquartered in Burbank, California, on Riverside Drive, directly across the street from Walt Disney Studios and adjacent to the Roy E. Disney Animation Building. The network's secondary offices, and headquarters of its news division, are in New York City, at its broadcast center at 77 West 66th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

John Archer (actor)

John Archer (actor)

John Archer was an American actor.

Ellen Burstyn

Ellen Burstyn

Ellen Burstyn is an American actress. Known for her portrayals of complicated women in dramas, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and two Primetime Emmy Awards, making her one of the few performers to achieve the "Triple Crown of Acting".

Norman Fell

Norman Fell

Norman Fell was an American actor of film and television, most famous for his role as landlord Mr. Roper on the sitcom Three's Company and its spin-off, The Ropers, and his film roles in Ocean's 11 (1960), The Graduate (1967), and Bullitt (1968). Early in his career, he was billed as Norman Feld.

Cloris Leachman

Cloris Leachman

Cloris Leachman was an American actress and comedian whose career spanned nearly eight decades. She won many accolades, including eight Primetime Emmy Awards from 22 nominations, making her the most nominated and, along with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, most awarded performer in Emmy history. She won an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Daytime Emmy Award.

Richard Schaal

Richard Schaal

Richard Schaal was an American film and television actor born in Chicago, Illinois.

Martha Scott

Martha Scott

Martha Ellen Scott was an American actress. She was featured in major films such as Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments (1956), and William Wyler's Ben-Hur (1959), playing the mother of Charlton Heston's character in both films. She originated the role of Emily Webb in Thornton Wilder's Our Town on Broadway in 1938 and later recreated the role in the 1940 film version, for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Nancy Walker

Nancy Walker

Nancy Walker was an American actress and comedian of stage, screen, and television. She was also a film and television director. During her five-decade-long career, she may be best remembered for her long-running roles as Mildred on McMillan & Wife and Ida Morgenstern, who first appeared on several episodes of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and later became a prominent recurring character on the spinoff series Rhoda.

Plot

Harry Evers and Marvin Ellison are long time friends who meet each Thursday to play poker and get away from their wives. After the weekly game breaks up over a disagreement, the two men decide to continue meeting for other activities, which leads to friendship and rivalry as the men's lives take on very different paths.

Cast

Discover more about Cast related topics

Gene Wilder

Gene Wilder

Jerome Silberman, known professionally as Gene Wilder, was an American actor, comedian, writer and filmmaker. He was known mainly for his comedic roles, but also for his portrayal of Willy Wonka in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971). He was also known for his collaborations with Mel Brooks on the films The Producers (1967), Blazing Saddles (1974) and Young Frankenstein (1974), as well as with Richard Pryor in the films Silver Streak (1976), Stir Crazy (1980), See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989) and Another You (1991). He also starred in Woody Allen's Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (1972).

Bob Newhart

Bob Newhart

George Robert Newhart is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan and stammering delivery style. Having started performing as a standup comedian, he transitioned his career acting in television. He has received numerous accolades including three Grammy Awards, an Emmy Award, and a Golden Globe Award. He was honored with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2002.

Ellen Burstyn

Ellen Burstyn

Ellen Burstyn is an American actress. Known for her portrayals of complicated women in dramas, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and two Primetime Emmy Awards, making her one of the few performers to achieve the "Triple Crown of Acting".

Cloris Leachman

Cloris Leachman

Cloris Leachman was an American actress and comedian whose career spanned nearly eight decades. She won many accolades, including eight Primetime Emmy Awards from 22 nominations, making her the most nominated and, along with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, most awarded performer in Emmy history. She won an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Daytime Emmy Award.

Martha Scott

Martha Scott

Martha Ellen Scott was an American actress. She was featured in major films such as Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments (1956), and William Wyler's Ben-Hur (1959), playing the mother of Charlton Heston's character in both films. She originated the role of Emily Webb in Thornton Wilder's Our Town on Broadway in 1938 and later recreated the role in the 1940 film version, for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Nancy Walker

Nancy Walker

Nancy Walker was an American actress and comedian of stage, screen, and television. She was also a film and television director. During her five-decade-long career, she may be best remembered for her long-running roles as Mildred on McMillan & Wife and Ida Morgenstern, who first appeared on several episodes of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and later became a prominent recurring character on the spinoff series Rhoda.

Valerie Harper

Valerie Harper

Valerie Kathryn Harper was an American actress. She began her career as a dancer on Broadway, making her debut as a replacement in the musical Li'l Abner. She is best remembered for her role as Rhoda Morgenstern on The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970–1977) and its spinoff Rhoda (1974–1978). For her work on Mary Tyler Moore, she thrice received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, and later received the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Rhoda. From 1986 to 1987, she appeared as Valerie Hogan on the sitcom Valerie, which she subsequently left for salary reasons. Her character was killed off, and the show was retitled Valerie's Family and eventually The Hogan Family. Actress Sandy Duncan was cast in a new role that served as a replacement for Harper's character. Her film appearances include roles in Freebie and the Bean (1974) and Chapter Two (1979), both of which garnered her Golden Globe Award nominations. She returned to stage work in her later career, appearing in several Broadway productions. In 2010, she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance as Tallulah Bankhead in the play Looped.

Rob Reiner

Rob Reiner

Robert Norman Reiner is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence with the role of Michael "Meathead" Stivic on the CBS sitcom All in the Family (1971–1979), a performance that earned him two Primetime Emmy Awards.

Norman Fell

Norman Fell

Norman Fell was an American actor of film and television, most famous for his role as landlord Mr. Roper on the sitcom Three's Company and its spin-off, The Ropers, and his film roles in Ocean's 11 (1960), The Graduate (1967), and Bullitt (1968). Early in his career, he was billed as Norman Feld.

Ric Mancini

Ric Mancini

Enrico P. Mancini was an American film and television actor. He played Mayor Cobb in the 1985 film Friday the 13th: A New Beginning. He also played Sal in the 1974 film The Gambler and Steve in the 1984 television film A Streetcar Named Desire.

Source: "Thursday's Game", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2022, October 5th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thursday's_Game.

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