Poor Stanley Belmont. He's a clerk in the lost and found department of a New York bus line and has to support his bossy and overprotective mother, his married sister Olive and her husband Arthur.
To make matters worse, he's the only family member with a job since his brother in law Arthur is unemployed and seems to be content staying home in his bathrobe and constantly smoking cigars.
But Stanley has some relief. He has a friend and co-worker named Bummy, played by Jack Knight who is a bus driver.
All of this adds up to what could have been a successful long running sitcom that was created and produced by three veterans of the classic Dick Van dyke Show, Carl Reiner, Bill Persky and Sam Denoff. But NBC put the show opposite CBS's long running western Gunsmoke and moved the show to Friday after Sanford and Son and it was canceled after one season and replaced by a new hit show Chico and the Man.
Now more than 45 years later, the show is rerun on Antenna TV late Saturday night and it is still hilarious. Dom Deluise in his first starring role is outstanding as Stanley, Kathleen Freeman as his mom frequently asks him "Do I have a son or don't I have a son when things don't work out. Beverly Sanders, who later went on to numerous commercials frequently appeared in hair curlers as Olive and Wynn Irwin as her husband Arthur.
What made the show stand out was the byplay between Stanley and Arthur since his brother in law lives off Stanley's earnings and eats a lot. It's the best part of the show and that's probably another reason why the show was canceled, the writers were running out of exchanges between Stanley and Arthur.
I should also note that Lotsa Luck was based on the British sitcom On the Buses. Be sure and watch the opening titles since the theme song is not only funny, it shows scenes of New York. If you haven't see this true one season wonder, do so. You'll be impressed. Lotsa Luck.
