How ‘Night Court’ Became A Late Night TV Sensation

Court custodian Art made frequent appearances as well, but the last of the show’s true regulars was new public defender Christine Sullivan, who arrived as a permanent cast member in 1986. Endlessly upbeat, Christine had to deal with the constant lecherous advances of Dan, who tried everything from seduction to life saving (he once gave Christine the Heimlich) to get into her legal briefs.

Night Court was certainly saucy – the court saw more than its share of prostitutes, madams, tenants of a nudist apartment, porn stars, and so on – but things were always tempered by Harry’s irrepressible boyishness. The judge was on hand to help washed-up kids’ TV stars, pacify crazed clowns, learn from old-school magicians, and share his worship of Mel Tormé. The singer made frequent appearances on the show, as did John Astin (TV’s Gomez Addams) as Harry’s oddball dad, William Utay as derelict Phil Robinson (and his evil twin Will), Yakov Smirnoff as wacky Russian Yakov Korolenko, and Bumper Robinson as Leon, a young runaway that Harry tried to adopt in a memorably touching episode.

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