# Café Americain

Café Americain is an American television sitcom starring Valerie Bertinelli that aired on NBC from September 18, 1993, to February 8, 1994, with two leftover episodes shown on May 28, 1994. It was filmed at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California.

## Overview

Bertinelli played a young American woman, Holly Aldridge, who finds a job working as a waitress in a small café in Paris. The cast consisted of an assortment of eccentric characters from around the world who regularly visited the café, interacting in many hilarious circumstances. Madame Ybarra, a former dictator's wife, was a thinly veiled spoof of Imelda Marcos. Fabiana Borelli, the tempestuous Italian model, and her perpetually jealous Italian lover Carlo, regularly sparred and reconciled, with Carlo declaring of any real or imagined rival, "I kill him! I kill him bad! I kill him two times!" Marcel's on and off relationship with Holly set the stage for comedic interference by several guest star suitors.

## Cast

* Valerie Bertinelli as Holly Aldrige
* Lila Kaye as Margaret Hunt
* Sofia Milos as Fabiana Borelli
* Maurice Godin as Marcel
* Jodi Long as Madame Ybarra
* Graham Beckel as Steve Sullivan

## Production and casting

Although Lila Kaye played the role of Margaret in the series pilot, the role was re-cast with Happy Days actress Marion Ross when the series was picked up. Within a month, Ross was gone and Kaye agreed to reprise the role. The role of Margaret Hunt was also offered to Rue McClanahan, but she turned it down.
At the time of filming, Valerie Bertinelli was married to guitarist Eddie Van Halen, who appeared in the 7th episode, "Home Alone," as a street musician that Bertinelli's character Holly Aldridge chases out of the cafe. Van Halen spoke one line, "Praat je tegen mij?" The line is Dutch for "Are you talking to me?"

## Episodes

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Viewers (millions) |
| 1 | "Pilot" | James Burrows | Peter Noah | September 18, 1993 (1993-09-18) | N/A |
| 2 | "Le Confidence Game" | Robert Berlinger | Peter Noah | September 25, 1993 (1993-09-25) | 12.8 |
| 3 | "Weekend at Holly's" | James Burrows | Sarit Catz & Gloria Ketterer | October 2, 1993 (1993-10-02) | 10.8 |
| 4 | "The Language of Really Good Friends" | Robert Berlinger | Bruce Rasmussen | October 9, 1993 (1993-10-09) | 13.9 |
| 5 | "Happy Birthday to Moi" | James Burrows | Eric Cohen | October 16, 1993 (1993-10-16) | 12.1 |
| 6 | "Every Picture Tells a Story...Don't It?" | Robert Berlinger | Bill Barol | October 23, 1993 (1993-10-23) | 11.2 |
| 7 | "Home Alone" | Robert Berlinger | Bruce Rasmussen | November 6, 1993 (1993-11-06) | 11.3 |
| 8 | "There's No Business Like Show Business" | Robert Berlinger | Sarit Catz & Gloria Ketterer | November 13, 1993 (1993-11-13) | 10.0 |
| 9 | "...And Giblets for All" | Robert Berlinger | Bill Barol | November 20, 1993 (1993-11-20) | 10.0 |
| 10 | "Toast of the Town" | Robert Berlinger | Bruce Rasmussen | November 27, 1993 (1993-11-27) | 10.1 |
| 11 | "Mommy Dearest" | Robert Berlinger | Sarit Catz & Gloria Ketterer | December 11, 1993 (1993-12-11) | 9.0 |
| 12 | "Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly" | Robert Berlinger | Eric Cohen | December 18, 1993 (1993-12-18) | 9.0 |
| 13 | "The Dating Game" | Robert Berlinger | Sarit Catz, David Silverman, Gloria Ketterer & Marcy Gray Rubin | January 4, 1994 (1994-01-04) | 9.8 |
| 14 | "Le Date" | Robert Berlinger | Peter Noah | January 11, 1994 (1994-01-11) | 8.3 |
| 15 | "All About Kelly" | Robert Berlinger | Sarit Catz & Gloria Ketterer | January 18, 1994 (1994-01-18) | 10.0 |
| 16 | "Love the One You're With" | Matthew Diamond | Bruce Rasmussen | February 8, 1994 (1994-02-08) | 9.0 |
| 17 | "Oh, Brother" | Pamela Fryman | Sarit Catz & Gloria Ketterer | May 28, 1994 (1994-05-28) | 6.6 |
| 18 | "The Fashion Show" | Robert Berlinger | Eric Cohen | May 28, 1994 (1994-05-28) | 6.8 |