The Tragic Choice That Ruined ‘Chico and the Man’

CHICO AND THE MAN, (from left): Jack Albertson, Freddie Prinze, Scatman Crothers, 1974-78 — Everett Collection

When Chico and the Man debuted on NBC in 1974, the James Komack-produced sitcom, which starred veteran actor Jack Albertson and young comedian Freddie Prinze, was an immediate hit, and it was easy to see why audiences loved it. In addition to Albertson and Prinze, the show featured showbiz veteran Scatman Crothers and Della Reese. But when tragedy struck the series, the decision producers made to deal with it rubbed audiences the wrong way.

Freddie Prinze, well, he was something else. A 2024 article on Chico and the Man by Ed Gross in Woman’s World magazine quoted Freddie as describing himself when he was young as a “fat kid” who realized that he would either need to be tough or funny if he was going to survive his Washington Heights neighborhood. Fortunately for all of us, he opted for the latter.

On the show, Chico was charming, witty, and the perfect foil for Jack Albertson’s curmudgeonly Ed, a widower who was lonely, bitter, and not the least bit tolerant of all the changes taking place in his East LA neighborhood.

Freddie had achieved a shocking pinnacle of success for someone so young: at only 22, he had served as a guest host on The Tonight Show, signed a $1 million contract to perform at Caesar’s Palace, and performed at the president’s inaugural gala.

Sadly, while the show was still at its peak of popularity, Freddie took his own life. Despite his meteoric rise to fame and fortune, he had been struggling with depression for years. His close friend, comedian David Brenner, told Time Magazine in 1977: “There was no transition in Freddie’s life. It was an explosion. It’s tough to walk off a subway at age 19 and then step out of a Rolls-Royce the next day. He was in a life-style that’s very unusual for a 22-year-old.” Komack told the same magazine, “His real despondency, whether he could articulate it or not, concerned the questions: ‘Where do I fit in? Where is my happiness?’ I would tell him, ‘God, Freddie, your happiness is right here. You’re a star.’ He’d say, ‘No, that’s not happiness for me any more.’ “

News of Freddie’s death came as a shock to fans worldwide who admired the comedian’s onscreen charisma and charm. It just didn’t make sense.

What happened to Chico & the Man after Freddie Prinze’s death?

CHICO AND THE MAN, Jack Albertson, Freddie Prinze, 1974-78

Everett Collection

Initially, Komack and other key decision-makers thought about canceling the show; it was hard for everyone to imagine going on without the program’s brightest light. Instead, however, a decision was made to finish the season by explaining that Chico had gone to visit his father in Mexico. And that is exactly how the final three episodes of the show’s third season played out, without Freddie as part of the cast. Fans were just left hanging with no clue as to what would happen next.

Then, in a 1977 Washington Post article by Joel Kotkin, Komack said this: “We’re going ahead with the Chico show. Freddie would not want to stop the show.”

When news broke that the show would continue with a fourth season, fans were eager to see how the absence of Chico would be addressed. When it premiered on September 16, 1977, viewers tuned in only to find out that no explanation would be offered. Instead, we were introduced to a new “Chico,” a young man named Raul, who was played by Gabriel Melgar.

Truth be told, Gabriel was a fine addition to the show, and yet, there was something wrong, and fans felt it. Could this possibly be? Was nothing going to be said about the original Chico? Was that how the show was going to acknowledge the huge gap left by Freddie Prinze’s death? Just say nothing? It felt very disrespectful to the legacy of this incredibly talented man, and it was definitely a misfire.

Later on in the season, the show would finally acknowledge Freddie’s absence with a two-part episode where Raul discovers some of Chico’s belongings and Ed tells Raul that Chico had died. But it was too little, far too late.

Chico and the Man is streaming for free on Tubi.