Tv Series The Royal Family

The series was created by executive producer Eddie Murphy, as part of a development deal Murphy had with CBS, and produced by David Garber, Shelley Jensen, Deborah Leschin, Leslie Ray, and David Steven Simon. Other executive producers alongside Eddie Murphy are Mark McClafferty and Greg Antonacci. It was presented by Eddie Murphy Television in association with Paramount Television, the television arm of Paramount Pictures, a Paramount Communications Company, with which Murphy had long been associated. The series starred Redd Foxx and Della Reese.

The Royal Family
Redd Foxx and Della Reese, stars of The Royal Family
Also known as	Chest Pains
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Eddie Murphy
Developed by	Greg Antonacci
Written by	Greg Antonacci Mark E. Corry Rob Dames David Garber Mark McClafferty Mike Milligan Jay Moriarty Eddie Murphy Leonard Ripps B. Mark Seabrooks Clint Smith
Directed by	Shelley Jensen Jack Shea
Starring	Redd Foxx Della Reese Mariann Aalda Sylver Gregory Larenz Tate Naya Rivera Jackée Harry Barry Shabaka Henley
Theme music composer	David Allen Jones
Composer	Dan Foliart
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	15 (2 unaired)
Production
Executive producers	Eddie Murphy Mark McClafferty Greg Antonacci
Producers	David Garber Shelley Jensen Deborah Leschin Leslie Ray David Steven Simon
Cinematography	Mikel Neiers
Editor	Richard Russel
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	22–24 minutes
Production companies	Eddie Murphy Television Paramount Television
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	September 18, 1991 (1991-09-18) – May 13, 1992 (1992-05-13)

Murphy had previously worked with Foxx and Reese in the 1989 film Harlem Nights, which Murphy wrote and directed. The working title for the series was Chest Pains.

The series chronicled the lives of Atlanta mail carrier Alexander Alphonso "Al" Royal (Redd Foxx) and his wife Victoria (Della Reese), who were anticipating peaceful retirement years until marital problems brought an extended visit from their daughter Elizabeth (Mariann Aalda) and her three children: Kim (Sylver Gregory), Curtis (Larenz Tate), and Hillary (Naya Rivera).

The Royal Family was intended as a comeback vehicle for Foxx, who had not had a successful television series since the cancellation of Sanford and Son in 1977. Ratings for the early episodes were high. However, the show suffered an enormous blow when, on October 11, 1991, Foxx suffered a massive heart attack while rehearsing. Joshua Rich of Entertainment Weekly later wrote, "It was an end so ironic that for a brief moment cast mates figured Foxx—whose 1970s TV character often faked heart attacks—was kidding when he grabbed a chair and fell to the floor." Foxx was taken to Queen of Angels Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, where he died that evening.

The show's producers eventually decided to resume work on the series, running commercials in Foxx's memory that included the line "Like any family, The Royal Family will go on." Jackée Harry was added to the cast as Victoria's younger sister Ruth, who moved in to help the family cope with Al's sudden death. She was introduced in the series' eighth episode, which was written to deal with Al Royal's death. After that episode, The Royal Family was placed on hiatus so the writers could rework the series. When the show returned in April 1992, Harry's role had been reworked; instead of Victoria's sister, she was now the Royals' eldest daughter, CoCo. The ratings of the revived Royal Family did not match those of episodes featuring Foxx, and CBS cancelled the series a week before the broadcast of its first season was scheduled to end, leaving two episodes unaired.

• Redd Foxx as Alexander Alphonso Royal
• Della Reese as Victoria Royal
• Mariann Aalda as Elizabeth Royal Winston
• Sylver Gregoryas Kim Winston
• Larenz Tate as Curtis Winston
• Naya Rivera as Hillary Winston
• Jackée Harry as Ruth "CoCo" Royal
• Barry Shabaka Henley as Willis Tillis