1990: The Zappa Siblings' 'Normal Life' Comes to an End
This day in 1990 marked the last telecast of the short-lived CBS sitcom, Normal Life. The series starred sitcom vets Cindy Williams of Laverne & Shirley and Max Gail of Barney Miller as suburban parents raising a trio of kids in southern California. But the marquee stars of this particular show were Dweezil and Moon Unit Zappa, two of the children of eccentric rock star Frank Zappa. They, along with actor Josh Williams, played the family's three children.
Originally, the show was intended to mimic the Zappa children's unconventional upbringing. "We pitched the show as Addams Family Ties," Moon told the Los Angeles Times in March, 1990.
But after repeated tweaks by the network, the show became much more mainstream and sanitized. "They wanted me to be Ricky Schroder," Dweezil told the Times.
"We wanted to try and get on TV and do stuff that was out of control," he said, "but we found ourselves being controlled. It was like thespian penitentiary."