Today, we figure out whether Charles had a last name on Charles in Charge.
In Pop Culture Questions Answered, I answer whatever questions you folks might have about movies, TV, music or whatever (feel free to e-mail questions to me at brian@pop culture references.com).
Charles in Charge was a TV sitcom about a college student, played by Scott Baio (hot off of Happy Days ending), who was a live-in nanny for the Pembroke family. The “twist,” as it were, was that a male college student was a nanny. A MAN AS A NANNY! WHA?!?!? The show was canceled after one season, but then after more than a year off of the air, it was brought back for a first-run syndication series, with Charles’ new family being The Powells. The show ran for four more seasons, for a total of 126 episodes, thus allowing it to become a major hit in SECOND-run syndication.
In any event, the show famously called Charles just, you know, Charles. However, my buddy Alex asked on Facebook, “My brothers and I debated this for years, long before streaming existed though. What was Charles’ last name? Many sites say he didn’t have one but there was one episode he was a substitute teacher and I think they said it in that.”
I watched every episode that Charles was a substitute teacher during the series (Charles was studying to become a teacher), and no, he never used a last name in those episode. The last episode made a specific joke about how Charles didn’t have a last name (part of a nice Fourth Wall-breaking bit that I’ll address in the future), so I’m going with Charles never having a last name on the series.
Thanks for the question, Alex!
If anyone else has a question, drop me a line at brian@popculturereferences.com.
This was actually touched on in a recent “Family Guy” episode, “Carny Knowledge.” Lois is trying to drive a wedge between Peter and Chris, who’ve grown SO close that they’re teaming up against her. After Lois presents Peter with what she says is an essay that Chris wrote for school about his hero, Joe Swanson, she goes to talk to Chris:
Lois: “You know, I just found the oddest thing in your father’s room: An essay he wrote for work about his favorite son, Charles from ‘Charles in Charge.'”
Chris: “What? But Charles wasn’t even one of the sons! He was their BABYSITTER!”
Lois: “I’m so sorry. I know it must be hard to hear that your father would rather be a parent to a fictional character who the writers, in five seasons, never even bothered to give a last name — a totally weird but true fact, feel free to Google that — than his own son.”