Category: Friendships

On-screen, the friendships of Jerry Seinfeld and his kooky single friends, Elaine Benes, George Costanza, and Cosmo Kramer seemed solid. The foursome made so many stops at the coffee shop and faced so much together during the nine seasons of Seinfeld that it’s hard to believe that the cast wasn’t friends in real life. Like many work-only friendships though, perhaps they were simply friendships of convenience and not the deep, authentic friends that I believe many people (especially men) need today.  First, a confession. I have never seen a full episode of Seinfeld. As I read more about the show though, there are aspects that fit well for my series called, New Year; New Types of Friends. It appears the actors on Sienfeld were friends on set but that’s pretty much where the pleasantries ended. Similarly, most work colleagues are friendly in the office and occasionally go out to dinner

My series, New Year; New Types of Friends, continues with another example of friendships in television. During my research for the series, I came across one that almost wasn’t very happy. In fact, the relationship between Ron Howard and Henry Winkler almost never materialized. This TV sitcom Happy Days gives us several examples of how egos can impact friendships and the success of others. About Happy Days According to Wikipedia, Happy Days is an American television sitcom that first ran on the ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984. It aired a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marshall, it was one of the most successful series of the 1970s. The sitcom presented an idealized vision of life in the 1950s and early 1960s Midwestern United States. It starred Ron Howard as Richie Cunningham and Henry Winkler as his friend, Arthur Fonzarelli, better

To classic TV fans, The Andy Griffith Show was a good old fashioned comedy that evoked nostalgia. In small towns like the fictional Mayberry, North Carolina, people generally know everything about each other. However, the friendship between the show’s two main stars, Andy Griffith and Don Knotts was not as it appeared on the show. According to the book, Andy and Don: The Making of a Friendship and a Classic American TV Show, these shy country bumpkins used their squeaky-clean act to fool America and mask their twisted real lives and shameful secrets. If true, it’s another example for my series, New Year; New Types of Friends about why all men need GodBuddies; those deeper, more authentic male friendships who hold each other accountable to living according to higher standards. About the TV Show  The Andy Griffith Show was an American sitcom in the 1960s that evoked nostalgia. Set in the