Time for a couple of Good Times trivia tidbits!

Ralph Carter Sings . . .

Ralph Carter, who played the youngest Evans sibling, Michael, started his career on Broadway at the age of nine, in The Me Nobody Knows. At the time that he was cast on Good Times, he was appearaing in Broadway’s Raisin, the musical based on Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun. In 1975, the year after Good Times premiered, Carter recorded an album called “Young and In Love.” He performed the title song on Soul Train that same year, and the following year, he’s seen performing it on Good Times, in episode 24 of Season 3, called “The Rent Party.” The episode aired on March 2, 1976. Ralph’s Soul Train appearance can be viewed below:

Ratings, Ratings . . .

When Good Times premiered, it aired on Fridays; it replaced Roll Out, another series with a predominantly black cast (which included Garrett Morris, Hilly Hicks, Mel Stewart, and Stu Gilliam), and aired opposite The Odd Couple and The Girl with Something Extra. It was an instant success and wound up the 17th highest-rated series of the year. It did even better when it was moved in fall 1974 to Tuesday nights. It was a solid Top 10 hit, despite competition from Happy Days and Adam-12.

Do you have any trivia about the show to share, or any information that you’re looking for about the show? Let me know in the comments!