Full Name: Abel Davis
Nickname: Stretch
Age: In his early 50s
Occupation: Used to play baseball in the Negro League.
Chauffeur for the Sloans, Co-owner of Rupert's Cafe
Family and Relationships: Married to Gloria Davis, son
of Grandma Davis, Father of Robert Davis, father-in-law
of Perrette Davis
Gloria Davis: (played by Hattie Winston)
Age: In her 40s
Occupation: Housekeeper for the Sloan household, co-owner and chef for Rupert's Cafe
Family and Relationships: Married to Abe Davis, mother of Robert Davis, mother-in-law of Perrette Davis, daughter-in-law of Grandma Davis
Robert Davis: (played by Sterling Macer, Jr)
Occupation: A decorated soldier of World War 2, Robert returned home
only to find his medals didn't mean much to his prejudiced employers
at the Sloan Factory, and he was offered a job as a janitor. A few phone
calls from his father Abe saw Robert promoted to the production line, but he
left this job after a while to go to college.
Age: Mid 20s
Family and Relationships: Son of Abe and Gloria Davis. Robert's Grandmother Davis'
matchmaking attempts were doomed to failure as he was in love with a French girl
named Perrette, whom he had met during the war. A subsequent trip to Europe to
find Perrette resulted in their marriage, although they face trouble due to it's interracial
nature.
Fact: He is a member of the Union organised by Al Kahn. The character of Robert Davis leaves four episodes into the 2nd series, to go to college.
Ruth Sloan: (played by Mimi Kennedy)
Occupation: Co-owner of Slaon Industries
Religion: Episcopalian
Family and Relationships: Married to Mike Sloan, mother of Mike Sloan Jr, mother-in-law of Gina Slaon, grandmother of Emma Sloan
Fact: Ruth's drink of choice is the martini, and she can also play the piano, and wins a $100 second prize in a dance contest.
Mike Sloan: (played by Ken Jenkins)
Occupation: Owner of Sloan Industries
Religion: Episcopalian
Age: Mike turns 49 in the ninth episode of the second series.
Family and Relationships: Father of (the late) Mike Sloan Jr, father-in-law of Gina Sloan, grandfather of Emma Sloan.
Married to Ruth Sloan, he has a brief affair with bartender and fellow baseball fan, Judy Owen, which causes he and Ruth to contemplate divorce.
Fact: Rabid Cleveland Indians fan. Won second prize of $100 in a dance contest.
Gina Sloan: (played by Giuliana Santini)
Occupation: Works from home as a dressmaker.
Religion: Practising Jew
Family and Relationships: Mother of Emma Sloan, widow of Mike Sloan Jr, daughter-in-law of Mike and Ruth Sloan.
Engaged to Charlie Hailey.
Fact: Gina escaped from the Auschwitz concentration camp, but her mother was killed there. Gina then emigrated to the US from Italy as Mike's war-bride.
Charlie Hailey: (played by Harry O'Reilly)
Occupation: Soldier in the army during World War 2, he later welds pipe at the Sloan Factory,
joins the Union and becomes it's President. He also works as a Fuller Brush Man. Considers taking a job in California with Hartford Refrigeration but Mike and Ruth talk him out of it by offering him more responsibilities at the factory.
Family and Relationships: His mother probably died while he was in the war. Charlie was engaged to
Ginger Szabo, but he brought home his bride Caroline without telling Ginger. He got a divorce from Caroline
after a year or so of marriage, and was then engaged to Gina. He had a (very) brief fling with Judy Owen.
Fact: His favorite colour is blue, and he wants to convert to Judaism.
Caroline Hailey: (played by Sammi Davis-Voss)
Occupation: Works as a clerk for Sloan Industries, where she is a model of punctuality and efficiency.
Family and Relationships: Her mother and sister Patricia still live in England. Caroline was married to Charlie Hailey, but they got a divorce.
Other relationships include those with a Mr Mahoney, Jeff Metcalf, "Clement" (Coach Zelnick) and possibly another husband back in England.
Fact: She doesn't own a Frigidaire.
Ginger Szabo: (played by Tammy Lauren)
Real Name: Virginia
Occupation: Works at Brandstaedters' (sp?) drugstore, also a switchboard operator and sometime-announcer for the radio station WREQ.
Then becomes the Lemo Tomato Juice Girl, where she is the radio voice of the juice, and also appears on the cans, calendars and billboards.
She is fired from this job because of the advent of television, and becomes the host of the television show the
Fine Foods Family Hour for WREQ.
Religion: Catholic
Family and relationships: She has an (unseen) mother. Ginger was engaged to Charlie Hailey, but he married Caroline in Britain
without telling Ginger. The next man in her life was Jeff Metcalf, who she was going to marry but they brok eup and shortly after
she became engaged to Cleveland Indian Arthur Schillab. She ended up marrying Jeff.
Fact: She hates the colour blue, but she filled her hope chest with blue because it was Charlie's favourite colour. Her best friend is Linda Metcalf.
Judy Owen: (played by Kelly Rutherford)
Occupation: Works as a bartender at a bar in Florida. When it burns down, she becomes Coach Zelnick's secretary
and scout, but it doesn't work out and her next job is as a bartender at the Pearl Roadhouse. Judy also writes sports
columns for the local newspaper.
Family and relationships: Her parents died when she was young. Judy is the widow of a B-17 tail-gunner shot down near
the Phillipines, and other affairs include Charlie Hailey, Jeff Metcalf and Mike Sloan.
Fact: She knows a lot about baseball.
Al Kahn: (played by John Slattery)
Occupation: Transferred to River Run to organise the Union, also works at the Pearlt Roadhouse
as a bartender and later as a kitchen hand. Briefly had a job as a door-to-door Fuller Brush salesman. Moves to
New Jersey to find work.
Family and relationships: Has a father that lives in New York. Divorced from his first wife,
now married to Anne, she became pregnant to Al out of wedlock and gave birth to their son Michael. Stepfather to
Anne's children Hank, Linda and Jeff.
Religion: Born Jewish but doesn't practise any religion.
Fact: Suspected of being a communist, and known for being opinionated and quick-thinking.
Anne Kahn (formerly Anne Metcalf): (played by Wendy Phillips)
Occupation: During the war, she worked in the Sloan factory, but she
was fired when the men came home seeking work there. Has a job at the drugstore,
and also gets clerical work addressing envelopes at a penny a piece.
Religion: Catholic
Family and relationships: Widowed from her first husband, married Al Kahn when
she became pregnant to him. Mother of Hank, Linda and Jeff Metcalf and Michael Kahn, and
mother-in-law of Sarah.
Fact: Thinks socks should be folded together, and the toilet paper should come over the roll.
Suffered from polio.
Hank Metcalf: (played by David Newsom)
Real name: Henry
Occupation: Soldier in the army during the war, when he returns he goes to work
on the production line, but later on he is involved in the Union dispute on the
side of the Sloans.
Family and relationships: The widower of Sarah Brewer. Son of Anne Metcalf and stepson of Al, brother of Linda and Jeff, and half-brother of
Michael Kahn.
Fact: Likes mincemeat pie and chicken-fried steak.
Linda Metcalf: (played by Jessica Steen)
Occupation: Works at the Sloan factory, and later as a reporter for the newspaper.
Family and Relationships: Was engaged to Nike Sloan Jr, but lost him to Gina. Also went out with
Bill Caswell for a while, and has something of a love-hate relationship with her newspaper boss Phil Havel. Daughter of Anne and step-daughter of Al, sister to Hank and Jeff, sister-in-law to Sarah, and half-sister of Michael.
Fact: Hates the colour green.
Jeff Metcalf: (played by Kyle Chandler)
Occupation: Bartender at the Pearl Roadhouse. Right-fielder for the Cleveland Indians and the Lemo All-Stars until stopped by injury. Jeff works with Ginger on the Lemo Tomato Juice hour until management finds out he isn't a ballplayer anymore, and he is sent to the minor-leagues.
Religion: Catholic
Family and Relationships: Son of Anne and stepson of Al, brother to Hank and Linda, brother-in-law of Sarah and half-brother of Michael. Fell in love with his brother's girlfriend Sarah while Hank was overseas, but she married Hank. Jeff was then engaged to Ginger, but they broke up. He also had a fling with Judy and a relationship with Caroline Hailey, but he ended up marrying Ginger.
Sarah Metcalf: (played by Alexandra Wilson)
Maiden name: Sarah Brewer
Occupation: College co-ed
Family and relationships: Although she was Hank's girlfriend before the war, while he was overseas she fell in love with his brother Jeff, but she married Hank anyway.
Fact: Accidentally shot dead by a man angry at having lost his job over the
Union dispute.
OTHER CHARACTERS
Arthur Schillab: (played by Brian McNamara)
Arthur plays for the Cleveland Indians, and is briefly Ginger's co-star on the Lemo Tomato Juice Hour, but when he is on the air, sales go down so he is let go from that job but he later beomes engaged to Ginger. His father owns manufacturing plants. Arthur is described by Ginger as being "the perfect husband by any and all standards. He is kind, he loves me madly...he's already well off and he's going to make a lot more money, all attorneys are rich...and he's good looking, he's polite, he never embarrasses you in public, he adores me." Arthur, though, says of himself- "I'm not as nice as people think I am- I'm studying to be a lawyer."
Mr Melon: (played by Jack Dodson)
The manager at WREQ, his favorite pie is rhubarb pie and his assistant is Miss Westcott.
Miss Westcott: (played by Lela Ivey)
She is Mr Melon's assistant at WREQ. Says of herself, "Nobody realises it but at heart I'm a very shy person...I've developed a professional demeanor to hide it. I'm not by nature as stern and officious as I pretend to be." Her mother is deceased.
Coach Zelnick: (played by James Gammon)
The coach of the Cleveland Indians baseball team, he is married and his eyesight fails him at times. Coach Zelnick is full of advice for the younger players who look up to him. His nickname used to be Ladies Man Zelnick, but it was changed to Choker when he went 0 for 9 against Satchel Paige, and he knows Abe Davis from his ball-playing days. Pretends to be a millionaire named Clement in order to impress Caroline.
Sam: (played by John DiSanti)
Works at the Sloan Factory and is part of the Union dispute on the Sloan's side. Married to a woman who claims to be "the best dancer in town".
Phil Havel: (played by Sam Behrens)
Editor at the newspaper where Linda works.
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