Husbands, Wives & Lovers

Husbands, Wives & Lovers is an American television sitcom that aired for only one season on CBS in 1978.

Created by Joan Rivers, this program focused on the relationships of five suburban couples living in the San Fernando Valley of Southern California.

The show originated as a pilot Husbands & Wives, which aired on July 18, 1977. It was written by Joan Rivers and Hal Dresner, and directed by Bill Persky, and garnered 18.3 million viewers. When the pilot was developed into a series, it was now filmed instead of taped. Stephen Perlman, Lynne Marie Stewart and Jesse Welles replaced Alex Rocco, Suzanne Zenor and Linda Miller in the roles of Murray, Joy and Helene respectively, the "Bells" were changed to the Bellinis, the "Cutlers" to the Willises and "Rita Bell" became Rita DeLatorre (with Lennie and Rita living together instead of being married).^[1]

• Cynthia Harris as Paula Zuckerman
• Stephen Pearlman as Murray Zuckerman, Paula's husband, a traveling pharmaceutical salesman
• Lynne Marie Stewart as Joy Bellini
• Eddie Barth as Harry Bellini, Joy's husband, a blue-collar self-made man who owns a fleet of garbage trucks
• Ron Rifkin as Ron Willis, a dentist who is separating from his wife
• Jesse Welles as Helene Willis, Ron's wife
• Charles Siebert as Dixon Carter Fielding, corporate lawyer who is representing Ron and Helene in their divorce proceedings
• Claudette Nevins as Courtney Fielding, Dixon's materialistic wife
• Mark Lonow as Lennie Bellini, Harry's brother who runs a jeans boutique
• Randee Heller as Rita DeLatorre, Lennie's lover, who co-runs the boutique