Cookin' Cheap

## External Links

Official website

***Cookin' Cheap*** is a comedy cooking show created by Laban Johnson, who co-hosted the show alongside Larry Bly. The show was filmed inside of the Blue Ridge Public Television studios in Roanoke, Virginia, and aired nationally on PBS stations. It's known for its comedic value and realistic representation of cooking at home, as well as providing affordable recipes as submitted by viewers.

## History

Laban Johnson originally came up with the idea of his own cooking show in 1980, after feeling frustrated with other cooking shows on the air which used ingredients that were unavailable locally. He created Cookin' Cheap with the idea of having a show that used ingredients that were both affordable, and easy to find in any grocery store.

Johnson realized early on that his humor worked best when playing off of others, so he invited his friend and local radio and TV personality, Larry Bly, to be his co-host. With their humor and wit, the two realized the show would ultimately be present as a comedy cooking show which used fan submitted recipes, so they decided to pitch the idea to a local TV station. Soon after, a pilot episode was shown to local potential sponsors, and after everything came together, Cookin' Cheap was finally born in 1981.

## Cancellation

The show officially ended in October 2002. It was stated that budget cuts were the reason for the cancellation, although Larry Bly stated the show only cost $20,000 a year to produce. Subsequently Bly claimed that Blue Ridge Public Television had thrown away all of the master tapes of the show, however despite this he was able to locate alternate master tapes of the program. Additionally, he secured the copyright to the show, and in 2007 stated that he planned on releasing a DVD series. However aside from a promotional DVD made for a PBS Fundraiser, this has yet to come to fruition.

## Attempted Revival

In 2016, the YouTube channel DND Films uploaded a promo for a revival of Cookin' Cheap, starring Larry Bly and a new co-host named Jeff Walker. However as of yet, it does not appear that the show was ever picked up by a network.

## Segments

The show is comprised of numerous segments that can often vary in order of appearance.

* **Kitchen Witch:** A toy witch will fly in carrying a letter for the hosts to read. While letters read on the show are all real, the ones presented by the witch were confirmed by Larry Bly to be completely made up solely for comedic value, as well as a means of segueing into the recipes that will be done during the episode. She usually appears near the start of the episode, although in earlier episodes she appears near the end to hint at next week's episode.
* **Cook Sisters:** *Sister Cook* (Portrayed by Laban Johnson) and *Tootsie Cook* (Portrayed by Larry Bly), better known as the cook sisters, will sometimes make appearances in their own segments. They generally provide kitchen tips and cooking advice.
* **Recipes:** The recipes for the meals being prepared during the episode will be read out on camera, accompanied by a graphic listing out all the ingredients.

## Cast

* Laban Johnson
* Larry Bly
* Doug Patterson
* Doris Ford
* Various guests

## References

1. ↑ http://www.cookincheap.tv/
2. ↑ https://www.styleweekly.com/richmond/no-more-cheap-lunch/Content?oid=1378914
3. ↑ [1]https://roanoke.com/archive/old-cookbooks-i-have-loved/article\_38edf454-04b8-50a3-9024-ad0eaa9feabc.html