also appeared on The Midnight Special to perform his comic routine. From September 1974 until his death in January 1977, Prinze starred as Francisco "Chico" Rodriguez in the NBC TV series Chico and the Man with Jack Albertson. The show was an instant hit. Prinze made several appearances on The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts, most notably the roasts for Sammy Davis Jr. and Muhammad Ali. In 1975, he released a comedy album that was taped live at Mister Kelly's in Chicago titled Looking Good—his catch phrase from Chico and the Man. In 1976, he starred in a made-for-TV movie, The Million Dollar Rip-Off. Prinze had a little-known talent for singing, examples of which could be heard in the background of the title song of the Tony Orlando and Dawn album To Be With You, in his appearances on their variety show, and on rare occasions on his own sitcom. About four months before his death, Prinze had signed a five-year deal with NBC worth $6 million. Personal life On October 13, 1975, Prinze married Katherine (Kathy) Elaine (Barber) Cochran, with whom he had one child, son Freddie Prinze Jr., who was born March 8, 1976. Prinze was arrested for driving under the influence of Quaalude on November 16, 1976. A few weeks later his wife filed for divorce. Prinze had been romantically linked to actresses Raquel Welch and Pam Grier, whom he met in 1973. Grier recalls their relationship in chapter nineteen of her memoir, My Life in Three Acts. After his break-up with Grier, Prinze dated actress Lonette McKee for a time during 1976. Prinze was very close friends with singer Tony Orlando; Orlando appeared on Chico and the Man, and Prinze appeared on Orlando's variety show. As he started to make more money, Prinze took martial arts lessons from Robert Wall, a student of Bruce Lee, who appeared in Enter the Dragon and Return of the Dragon. Soon after, Wall became godfather to Prinze's newborn son. Death Prinze suffered from depression, which deepened in the weeks after his wife filed for divorce. On the night of January 28, 1977, after talking on the telephone with his estranged wife, Prinze received a visit from his business manager, Marvin "Dusty" Snyder. While Snyder was visiting him, Prinze put a gun to his head and shot himself. He had purchased this gun in the presence of Jimmie "JJ" Walker and Alan