January 29, 1977: Comedian Freddie Prinze dies by suicide. He was only 22 years old.
Frederick Karl Pruetzel was born on June 22, 1954 in Manhattan, the son of a German immigrant father and a Puerto Rican mother. He dropped out of high school in his senior year, to become a standup comedian.
In spite of being half-German, he called himself a "Hunga-rican": Part Hungarian, part Puerto Rican. Since Alan King was called the King of Comedy, he billed himself as "Freddie Prinze, the Prince of Comedy." In late 1973, only 19 years old, he got his big break by appearing on The Midnight Special, which led to The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. He was the 1st comedian so young to impress Carson enough to be welcomed to a sit-down chat following his routine. He even went on to become the youngest of Johnny's frequent "guest hosts."
Both of those shows were on NBC, and the Peacock Network was impressed enough to give him his own sitcom at age 20: Chico and the Man, debuting on September 13, 1974. "The Man" was Jack Albertson, who ran a garage in an East Los Angeles neighborhood that had become mostly Mexican. "Chico" was Freddie as Francisco Rodriguez, who worked for him, and lived in a van on the premises. The show was a hit immediately, partly due to Chico's catchphrase: "Looking good!" with the "oo"s stretched out.
His star kept rising: Dean Martin asked him to appear on his Celebrity Roasts. In 1975, he recorded a comedy album, Looking Good. He even sang on the Tony Orlando and Dawn variety show. (Orlando, like Prinze, grew up in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood, and was half-Puerto Rican. In his case, the other half was Greek.) He had married Kathy Cochran, and had a son, Freddie Prinze Jr. In September 1976, he signed a 5-year deal with NBC, worth $6 million. It all seemed to be coming together.
In reality, it was all falling apart. He was suffering from depression, and commented that, at his shows, he could no longer hear the laughter. He was taking Quaaludes, and was arrested for driving under their influence. He had cheated on his wife with actresses Raquel Welch, Pam Grier and Lonette McKee, and she had left him.
On January 28, 1977, at his home in Los Angeles, he spoke to his wife on the phone, and then his manager, Marvin "Dusty" Snyder, came over. While Snyder was there, Freddie took a gun, and shot himself in the head. He was taken to UCLA Medical Center and, knowing that there was no hope, his family had him removed from life support the next day.
In 1979, CBS broadcast Can You Hear the Laughter? The Freddie Prinze Story, starring Ira Angustain, which incorrectly portrayed Freddie being alone when he shot himself. Freddie Prinze Jr. later became an acting star, marrying fellow actor Sarah Michelle Gellar, and they have 2 children.
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January 29, 1977 was a Saturday. Justin Hartley, who played the superhero Green Arrow on Smallville, the first live-action version of the character, was born on this day.
Baseball and football were out of season. There were 5 games in the NBA:
* The New York Knicks lost to the Kansas City Kings, 112-105 at Madison Square Garden.
* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Houston Rockets, 101-97 at The Omni in Atlanta. John Drew scored 37 points.
* The Washington Bullets beat the Indiana Pacers, 108-107 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.
* The Chicago Bulls beat the Detroit Pistons, 109-101 at the Chicago Stadium.
* And the Phoenix Suns beat the New Orleans Jazz, 118-102 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix. Pete Maravich scored 34 in defeat for the Jazz.
There were 7 games played in the NHL:
* The New York Islanders lost to the Los Angeles Kings, 4-0 at the Nassau Coliseum.
* The Montreal Canadiens and the Buffalo Sabres played to a tie, 3-3 at the Montreal Forum.
* The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Boston Bruins played to a tie, 3-3 at the Boston Garden.
* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 5-2 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.
* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Cleveland Barons, 4-3 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit.
* The Washington Capitals beat the St. Louis Blues, 5-2 at the St. Louis Arena.
* And the Vancouver Canucks beat the Minnesota North Stars, 4-3 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.
* And the New York Rangers, the Chicago Black Hawks, the Atlanta Flames and the Colorado Rockies were not scheduled.
And there were 3 games in the World Hockey Association:
* The Quebec Nordiques beat the Cincinnati Stingers, 7-2 at the Colisée de Québec.
* The Houston Aeros beat the Calgary Cowboys, 6-4 at the Stampede Corral in Calgary.
* And the San Diego Mariners beat the Winnipeg Jets, 5-3 at the San Diego Sports Arena (now the Pechanga Arena).
And in English soccer, Arsenal beat Coventry City, 3-1 at the Arsenal Stadium, a.k.a. Highbury, in North London.
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