The Goldbergs Eagles themed episode titled ” Hail Barry ” airs Tonight on ABC at 8pm. and local Germantown Academy Alumni, Geoff Schwartz, will make his debut as one of the real ” Jenkintown Posse” (JTP).
The Goldbergs is based on the family from Jenkintown, Pa in the 1980’s, as told by the youngest brother, Adam. It hilariously depicts his family and friends and is taken from the real Adam Goldberg’s videos of growing up in this area.
Geoff Schwartz is a Germantown Academy Alumnus who grew up 3 houses away from the Goldberg family in Jenkintown. Geoff was one of Barry Goldberg’s good friends and part of the “JTP”, as they are referred to on the show. He told us that Adam, Barry’s younger brother who writes the show, always followed Barry and his friends around and video taped everything they did. Those videos, along with ones that featured Adam’s family, were used to pitch the show to ABC, and inspired the show’s character’s and story lines.
During the time when Adam was pitching the idea of The Goldbergs, Geoff was attending Barry’s children’s Bar and Bat Mitzvas, and was approached by the Goldberg brothers about using him as a character. He agreed, and the rest is history. Not all of the characteristics of The Goldberg’s Geoff are true to life, Geoff explained, “Geoff in the show is only loosely based on me.” Geoff’s character remains a regular on the show, and even dates the oldest Goldberg, Erica, in the current season. The real Goldberg family actually has three sons, but for the storyline, Adam replaced his oldest brother Eric, with a sister, Erica. The photo below shows Geoff hanging on set with the actor that plays his lovable character, Sam Lerner.
Geoff has never been on the show until tonight’s episode titled, ” Hail Barry”, which is also known as the Eagles episode, as it centers around the Super Bowl Win and serves as a tribute to the team. Tonight’s show features Mike Quick, Merrill Reese, Howie Roseman, and Eagles team president, Don Smolenski and ends with the E-A-G-L-E-S , Eagles chant as tribute from the entire cast as seen below:
https://www.facebook.com/TheGoldbergsABC/videos/1751427521594385/
Video from The Goldbergs Facebook Page
Adam Goldberg said in a press release:
“Watching Eagles games with my dad whether at the Vet or in our house was a big part of my childhood…Like Eagles fans everywhere, we waited a long time to see them win the Super Bowl. This episode is my way of celebrating with my father who is no longer with us, and uniting Eagles fans everywhere.”
The real “JTP” makes an appearance tonight, and although Geoff wants to be surprised about what finally made the cut, he did say that one of the scenes is a touch football game between the real JTP and the actors who play them, with Mike Quick as the steady quarterback.
All photos courtesy of Geoff Schwartz