Carlton, Your Doorman (Animated Pilot)

Carlton Your Doorman is a 1980 animated pilot episode for a spin-off of the live-action sitcom Rhoda (1974–78) produced by MTM Enterprises and starring the previously off-screen character Carlton, the Doorman (voiced by Lorenzo Music). This was the only animated production from MTM Enterprises (although The Duck Factory – a sitcom set in an animation production company – included cartoon segments, and the closing credits of many MTM series included animated clothing and accessories superimposed on Mimsie the Cat). The episode served as a pilot for a proposed weekly animated spin-off of Rhoda that was never picked up by CBS as a series. It originally aired as a “CBS Special Presentation“ on May 21, 1980 and has never been rebroadcast. Synopsis The adventures of Carlton, a New York City doorman and a misfit who seeks to better himself and his position in society. In the pilot episode, which presents viewers with a first look at Carlton (who was only heard but never seen on Rhoda), Carlton seeks a replacement for his boss’s wife’s dog, Punkin, who died while in his care. It was revealed in this episode that Carlton was a relatively young man, with shoulder-length blond hair and mustache. It is also one of the last animated pilots to use a laugh track, which was a common practice in the 1960s and 1970s. Voice cast Lorenzo Music as Carlton the Doorman Jack Somack as Charles Shaftman, Carlton’s boss Lucille Meredith as Mrs. Shaftman, Charles’s wife Lurene Tuttle as Carlton’s mother Kay Cole as Darlene, Carlton’s girlfriend Awards 1980: Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program – Carlton Your Doorman