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TV Widows
- Thread starter RicoGregg
- Start date
She was.
The record might be held by Ben Cartwright.
Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe each had a different
mother--all of whom were dead. Likewise,
Victoria Barkley (Barbara Stanwyck) of "Big
Valley" was a widow; her husband had been
killed in a property war involving their ranch.
And does anyone know if Lawrence Preston
(E.G. Marshall) of "The Defenders" and James
Harrigan Sr. (Pat O'Brien) of "Harrigan And Son"
were widowers? I've never heard any mention
of their wives, although both had sons in law
practice with them.
The record might be held by Ben Cartwright.
Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe each had a different
mother--all of whom were dead. Likewise,
Victoria Barkley (Barbara Stanwyck) of "Big
Valley" was a widow; her husband had been
killed in a property war involving their ranch.
And does anyone know if Lawrence Preston
(E.G. Marshall) of "The Defenders" and James
Harrigan Sr. (Pat O'Brien) of "Harrigan And Son"
were widowers? I've never heard any mention
of their wives, although both had sons in law
practice with them.
K
kirkiefan
Guest
It was quite a common thing back then. Like "Nanny(Juiet Mills) and The Professor"(Richard Long) a short-lived but cute show about a nanny who can somehow read the professor's mind....with a few magical powers.
Almost similar to the above concept is the 1990 Disney TV movie "A Mom For Christmas" in which a young teen girl (Juliet Sorcey) who is bullied by her sixth grade peers asks a store clerk (Doris Roberts) for a mom to spend the holidays with after finding a free gift (for anything)in the store wishing well. The store clerk with magical powers transforms a mannequin(Olivia Newton-John) and surprises the girl's widowed father (Doug Sheehan)upon an unannounced arrival...who also has a few magical powers of her own when she and some freinds rescue a department store Santa mannequin named Nick.
Cute and funny movie....and Olivia's chararacter marries up with the young girl's father in the end...but hey..I'm a bit biased since I'm an 'ol diehard ON-J fan!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Mom_for_Christmas
http://www.onlyolivia.com
Almost similar to the above concept is the 1990 Disney TV movie "A Mom For Christmas" in which a young teen girl (Juliet Sorcey) who is bullied by her sixth grade peers asks a store clerk (Doris Roberts) for a mom to spend the holidays with after finding a free gift (for anything)in the store wishing well. The store clerk with magical powers transforms a mannequin(Olivia Newton-John) and surprises the girl's widowed father (Doug Sheehan)upon an unannounced arrival...who also has a few magical powers of her own when she and some freinds rescue a department store Santa mannequin named Nick.
Cute and funny movie....and Olivia's chararacter marries up with the young girl's father in the end...but hey..I'm a bit biased since I'm an 'ol diehard ON-J fan!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Mom_for_Christmas
http://www.onlyolivia.com
Very worthy of a mention is the character of Mrs. Carlson on WKRP in Cincinnati.
Very aptly played by Carol Bruce, her widowhood opened up a very funny storyline where she starts dating PD Andy Travis, who only wants a bigger station budget, but she plays with his head, making him think she wants a real relationship, and scaring the WKRP out of him!
The episodes that showed Mrs. C. at home with her butler Hirsch were hilarious.
Mrs. Carlson was a very funny character.
Very aptly played by Carol Bruce, her widowhood opened up a very funny storyline where she starts dating PD Andy Travis, who only wants a bigger station budget, but she plays with his head, making him think she wants a real relationship, and scaring the WKRP out of him!
The episodes that showed Mrs. C. at home with her butler Hirsch were hilarious.
Mrs. Carlson was a very funny character.
gr8oldies said:
Sherwood Schwartz has stated that Carol was divorced, but it was obviously never mentioned on the show.
K
kirkiefan
Guest
We all wish Carol Brady was our mom. As campy as that show was I loved it!
The Brady Bunch was an aspiration for all families to be happy families. I miss that comparitively more innocent era of television...and what young dude wouldn't wish that Marcia would become one's steady girlfreind and wife!
We still love Florence Henerson and Maureen McCormick which is why they still pop up on the tube from time to time.
Hugs and kisses to the both of them!
The Brady Bunch was an aspiration for all families to be happy families. I miss that comparitively more innocent era of television...and what young dude wouldn't wish that Marcia would become one's steady girlfreind and wife!
We still love Florence Henerson and Maureen McCormick which is why they still pop up on the tube from time to time.
Hugs and kisses to the both of them!
Stanislav said:gr8oldies said:
For sure. And what are the odds that out of six kids, at least one or two of them wouldn't have any serious resentments towards the step-parent? Nope -- just one big, happy blended family right from the start. Only in 1960's TV Sitcom land. :
No, but IIRC, Bobby and Cindy were uneasy with being a "step" in an early episode - perhaps the first.
dhett said:Stanislav said:gr8oldies said:
For sure. And what are the odds that out of six kids, at least one or two of them wouldn't have any serious resentments towards the step-parent? Nope -- just one big, happy blended family right from the start. Only in 1960's TV Sitcom land. :
No, but IIRC, Bobby and Cindy were uneasy with being a "step" in an early episode - perhaps the first.
There was no time to explore the relationships after the wedding in the first episode, but one of the first after the pilot dealt with Bobby and Carol having some uncertainty toward each other. Much of the first season ignored the kids adjusting to the parents, and concentrated on 'boys vs. girls' plots.
C
chris12
Guest
Actually, in the first episode Bobby looks at a picture of his mother as Mike tells him he can still hold onto her memory.
There was a lot more "us vs. them" issues in the first season of the Brady Bunch than in later seasons. Remember Bobby telling Alice, "you're just their step-housekeeper!" And they almost got rid of Tiger because they thought Jan was allergic to him. And that whole issue with that "Dear Libby" letter, which I think was the first episode taped in the Brady home. And the contest with building the house of cards to try to win a TV set, or something like that.
They just seemed to get away from these issues in later seasons, and seemed more like a real, true, blended family.
"This group must somehow form a family, that's the way they all became the Brady Bunch!" ;D And I seem to remember that Mike's comment near the end of the first episode was the only time the words "Brady Bunch" were ever uttered during that series!
They just seemed to get away from these issues in later seasons, and seemed more like a real, true, blended family.
"This group must somehow form a family, that's the way they all became the Brady Bunch!" ;D And I seem to remember that Mike's comment near the end of the first episode was the only time the words "Brady Bunch" were ever uttered during that series!
In an early episode of The Brady Bunch, Bobby and Cindy were watching Cinderella on TV and they were talking about the wicked stepmother when Carol came with a feather duster and told Bobby to clean the fireplace. This I believe was the only time that the mention of anything stepmother and/or stepfather was seen.
Am I the only one that feels making Mary Richards a single woman, never married made this Mary seem more promiscuous than if she had been a divorcee? Indeed Phyllis says to Rhoda that Mary practically supported the guy she was with through med school.
I don't think the Partridge Family ever explained the death of Mr Partridge though in the pilot I think (am not sure totally) that Shirley was working in a bank and the dead had been dead for only six months prior.
The 70s divorcees like Maude, her daugher Carol, Ann Romano came off as liberated women seeking their freedoms not necessarily out of cruelness of their husbands, or abandonment but rather a desire to find themselves or not hold on to what wasn't working.
Really I think "Family Affair" was the only show that consistantly presented the troubles of children adjusting to the death of their parents. Indeed it must've caused conflicted for the kids once having parents and then living with Uncle Bill in that cool apartment in NYC, with Mr French as your maid. It's bad those kids lost thier folks but they got a "cool" life afterwords.
I don't think the Partridge Family ever explained the death of Mr Partridge though in the pilot I think (am not sure totally) that Shirley was working in a bank and the dead had been dead for only six months prior.
The 70s divorcees like Maude, her daugher Carol, Ann Romano came off as liberated women seeking their freedoms not necessarily out of cruelness of their husbands, or abandonment but rather a desire to find themselves or not hold on to what wasn't working.
Really I think "Family Affair" was the only show that consistantly presented the troubles of children adjusting to the death of their parents. Indeed it must've caused conflicted for the kids once having parents and then living with Uncle Bill in that cool apartment in NYC, with Mr French as your maid. It's bad those kids lost thier folks but they got a "cool" life afterwords.
I don't know if anyone has explained the proliferation
of widows and widowers on 1950s and '60s sitcoms,
but in the day the networks didn't want to touch divorce,
for whatever reason. I believe Felix and Oscar ("The Odd
Couple") may have been the first divorcees on a sitcom
(and Felix remarried Gloria in the last episode); someone
has pointed out that Mary Richards was conceived as a
divorcee but someone at CBS got nervous and she ended
up a single woman.
And if someone will turn on the way-back machine, I think
they'll find that Vern Albright ("My Little Margie") was a
widower as well (that was 1952-55).
Also, has anyone mentioned Phyllis Pruitt (Phyllis Diller, "The
Pruitts Of Southampton"/"The Phyllis Diller Show") in 1966-67?
She, too, was a widow.
of widows and widowers on 1950s and '60s sitcoms,
but in the day the networks didn't want to touch divorce,
for whatever reason. I believe Felix and Oscar ("The Odd
Couple") may have been the first divorcees on a sitcom
(and Felix remarried Gloria in the last episode); someone
has pointed out that Mary Richards was conceived as a
divorcee but someone at CBS got nervous and she ended
up a single woman.
And if someone will turn on the way-back machine, I think
they'll find that Vern Albright ("My Little Margie") was a
widower as well (that was 1952-55).
Also, has anyone mentioned Phyllis Pruitt (Phyllis Diller, "The
Pruitts Of Southampton"/"The Phyllis Diller Show") in 1966-67?
She, too, was a widow.
I am not old enough to remember that, but I always hated when the title character of a show had the same first name as the actor playing said character. It always gave the impression that the actor could not answer to any name other than his/her own! Might as well just play yourself (first and last name) on TV! :bpatrick said:
That was the episode in which Bobby told Alice that she was only the girls' step-housekeeper! I remember Carol with the feather duster and the request to sweep out the fireplace! Shouldn't Carol have had her step-housekeeper take care of that for her? ;DBraves2005 said:
Phyllis from The Mary Tyler Moore Show became a widow in 1975 when Lars died and she got her own show and her and Beth moved to San Francisco.
And actually the movie The Ghost And Mrs. Muir came way before the TV series came on the air in 1968, 1947 to be exact.
And I would bet that many soap operas had their share of widows and widowers and then remarrying and becoming widows and widowers again and again.
And actually the movie The Ghost And Mrs. Muir came way before the TV series came on the air in 1968, 1947 to be exact.
And I would bet that many soap operas had their share of widows and widowers and then remarrying and becoming widows and widowers again and again.
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