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Date Joined: Sept 16, 2012 13:59:47 GMT -5
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Post by sauerkraut on Aug 3, 2022 8:59:29 GMT -5
The all American mom (or "mum" as they say in the UK), seems to change with the times, mid-century it was the typical apple pie American mom, everyones mom.
Barbara Billingsley "Leave it to Beaver"
Gloria Henry "Dennis the Menace"
Jane Wyatt "Father knows Best"
The typical American moms.
In the 1970's you had changes- the All American Mom became more scatter-brained as in Florence Hendersen divorced- re-married and acting more like a kid than a mom.
Then ya had moms like in "All in the Family" where the mom was a classic dingbat,
Let's not forget "Julia"(1971) a divorced black mom raising a troublesome kid on her own.
The 1980's had a mom like Bonnie Franklin ("One day at a time") who was not only divorced but a scatter brain with two troublesome daughters.
The 1990's you had "Married with Children". The question is: Do TV moms reflect American life or does American life affect what TV moms become?
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Date Joined: Sept 16, 2012 13:59:47 GMT -5
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Post by sauerkraut on Aug 3, 2022 9:04:47 GMT -5
It's a interesting subject to dig into.
The classic TV sit-com mom and the era she lives in.
Note the mid-century TV moms were all pretty much alike be it Gloria Henry or Barbara Billinsley- the classic style TV mom reflecting typical life in the mid-century-- the moms of latter eras were more or less all different, and always troubled by something either a divorce, looking to re-marry or problems with their delinquent kids.
There are some classes that one can take up to study the history of this stuff.
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Date Joined: May 29, 2020 20:23:50 GMT -5
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Post by John on Aug 3, 2022 9:07:57 GMT -5
With regard to the Brady Bunch, I always assumed Carol Brady was a widow, not divorced. I think tv has been used to influence society in a bad way, not the other way around.
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Date Joined: Sept 16, 2012 13:59:47 GMT -5
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Post by sauerkraut on Aug 3, 2022 9:18:16 GMT -5
With regard to the Brady Bunch, I always assumed Carol Brady was a widow, not divorced. I think tv has been used to influence society in a bad way, not the other way around. That could be -but it was never made clear on the show. It was a TV show about two different families joining together to make one big family. The real reason for "Alice" the house keeper was never made clear. she was just---there---. "Julia" from 1971 was about a single mom divorced raising a delinquent kid. |
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Date Joined: Mar 14, 2016 18:48:07 GMT -5
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Post by Springschick on Aug 3, 2022 9:24:07 GMT -5
With regard to the Brady Bunch, I always assumed Carol Brady was a widow, not divorced. I think tv has been used to influence society in a bad way, not the other way around. The producer wanted her to be a divorcee, and the network wanted her to be a widow, so the compromise was to just not address it. Mike Brady was a widower, however. |
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Date Joined: May 29, 2020 20:23:50 GMT -5
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Post by John on Aug 3, 2022 11:27:16 GMT -5
With regard to the Brady Bunch, I always assumed Carol Brady was a widow, not divorced. I think tv has been used to influence society in a bad way, not the other way around. The producer wanted her to be a divorcee, and the network wanted her to be a widow, so the compromise was to just not address it. Mike Brady was a widower, however. That's interesting because on Mary Tyler Moore, the story is they wanted her to be divorced but changed it to her having had a bad breakup with a boyfriend. Thanks for the info. I didn't know that back story about the Brady Bunch. I just remember when it premiered on ABC in the early 70s. We watched it every week. |
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Date Joined: Mar 14, 2016 18:48:07 GMT -5
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Post by Springschick on Aug 3, 2022 13:49:16 GMT -5
The producer wanted her to be a divorcee, and the network wanted her to be a widow, so the compromise was to just not address it. Mike Brady was a widower, however. That's interesting because on Mary Tyler Moore, the story is they wanted her to be divorced but changed it to her having had a bad breakup with a boyfriend. Thanks for the info. I didn't know that back story about the Brady Bunch. I just remember when it premiered on ABC in the early 70s. We watched it every week. I looked it up. We used to watch it every week, too. |
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Date Joined: Sept 16, 2012 13:59:47 GMT -5
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Post by sauerkraut on Aug 4, 2022 14:42:10 GMT -5
With regard to the Brady Bunch, I always assumed Carol Brady was a widow, not divorced. I think tv has been used to influence society in a bad way, not the other way around. The producer wanted her to be a divorcee, and the network wanted her to be a widow, so the compromise was to just not address it. Mike Brady was a widower, however. So that is the reason. It was a time of change for TV moms, in the 1950's and 1960's husbands & wives had to sleep in separate beds- They could not be seen sleeping together in the same bed, that started in change in the 1970's. I remember in the old Mr. Ed TV show (1960) Carol & Wilber had a separate beds to sleep in. As did Lucy in the old "I love Lucy" TV show from the 1950's. I dunno why they even shown bed or bedrooms, they would of just as well off to ignore anything that had to do with bedrooms and just write the script around that.. Another TV taboo was the bathroom all that could be shown on TV was the bathroom sink, no toilet, that went on even thru the 1970's with the "Brady Bunch" the toilet could not be seen in the "Brady Bunch" when they had bathroom scenes, such as the kids brushing their teeth in the bathroom. That changed in the late 1970's to the 1980's with "Threes Company" they actually put on screen the full bathroom in the first episode of "Three's Company" in 1977- as did episodes of "One day at a time". |
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Date Joined: May 29, 2020 20:23:50 GMT -5
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Post by John on Aug 4, 2022 14:43:56 GMT -5
The producer wanted her to be a divorcee, and the network wanted her to be a widow, so the compromise was to just not address it. Mike Brady was a widower, however. So that is the reason. It was a time of change for TV moms, in the 1950's and 1960's husbands & wives had to sleep in separate beds- They could not be seen sleeping together in the same bed, that started in change in the 1970's. I remember in the old Mr. Ed TV show (1960) Carol & Wilber had a separate beds to sleep in. As did Lucy in the old "I love Lucy" TV show from the 1950's. I dunno why they even shown bed or bedrooms, they would of just as well off to ignore anything that had to do with bedrooms and just write the script around that.. Another TV taboo was the bathroom all that could be shown on TV was the bathroom sink, no toilet, that went on even thru the 1970's with the "Brady Bunch" the toilet could not be seen when they had bathroom scenes. That changed in the late 1970's to the 1980's with "Threes Company" they actually put on screen the full bathroom as did episodes of "One day at a time". Sometimes it was essential to the script. Remember the episode of "I Love Lucy" where she was reading a murder mystery in bed? |
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Date Joined: Sept 16, 2012 13:59:47 GMT -5
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Post by sauerkraut on Aug 4, 2022 14:45:54 GMT -5
I guess today with all the TV moms on the air there is at least one TV mom that fits your real mom or is close to it.
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Date Joined: May 29, 2020 20:23:50 GMT -5
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Post by John on Aug 4, 2022 14:49:49 GMT -5
I guess today with all the TV moms on the air there is at least one TV mom that fits your real mom or is close to it. The closest match to my Mother is probably June Cleaver, but there is no exact match. |
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Date Joined: Sept 16, 2012 13:59:47 GMT -5
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Post by sauerkraut on Aug 4, 2022 14:50:54 GMT -5
So that is the reason. It was a time of change for TV moms, in the 1950's and 1960's husbands & wives had to sleep in separate beds- They could not be seen sleeping together in the same bed, that started in change in the 1970's. I remember in the old Mr. Ed TV show (1960) Carol & Wilber had a separate beds to sleep in. As did Lucy in the old "I love Lucy" TV show from the 1950's. I dunno why they even shown bed or bedrooms, they would of just as well off to ignore anything that had to do with bedrooms and just write the script around that.. Another TV taboo was the bathroom all that could be shown on TV was the bathroom sink, no toilet, that went on even thru the 1970's with the "Brady Bunch" the toilet could not be seen when they had bathroom scenes. That changed in the late 1970's to the 1980's with "Threes Company" they actually put on screen the full bathroom as did episodes of "One day at a time". Sometimes it was essential to the script. Remember the episode of "I Love Lucy" where she was reading a murder mystery in bed? Yes but they could of did something else or change the script, sometimes a finished script is not used for one reason or another. In "Threes Company"(season five) they did two scripts for each show because they were having trouble with Susan Sommers, she was mad and demanding more money and sometimes she refused to show up for work so they had a script ready to use that didn't require Susan Sommers, if she came to work that day they would use the script that had her in it. The season 5 DVD set has a extra behind the scenes story about Susan Sommers. |
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Date Joined: Oct 26, 2021 18:21:44 GMT -5
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Post by Rusty on Aug 4, 2022 16:26:56 GMT -5
I guess today with all the TV moms on the air there is at least one TV mom that fits your real mom or is close to it. The closest match to my Mother is probably June Cleaver, but there is no exact match. Same here,I couldn't get away with anything  |
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Date Joined: Sept 16, 2012 13:59:47 GMT -5
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Post by sauerkraut on Aug 5, 2022 10:58:08 GMT -5
For me I think it was Gloria Henry the Mom on "Dennis the Menace"- she lived to be 98 years old, Barbara Billinsley lived to be 95 years old.
What is it about those TV moms of the 1950's that let them live so long?
Jane Wyatt from "Father Knows Best" lived to be 96 years old.
Fast fwd to the 1980s and "One Day At A Time" TV mom Bonnie Franklin who died at the age of 68 or 69. On her TV show she was divorced with two ruthless un-controllable daughters who always got into trouble.
I guess the moral of the story is: if ya want a long life be a 1950's Apple Pie All American TV mom!
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Date Joined: May 2, 2024 7:50:41 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2022 18:14:46 GMT -5
Wait you mean today's moms don't cook dinner in dresses, heels and pearls?  |
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Date Joined: May 29, 2020 20:23:50 GMT -5
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Post by John on Aug 5, 2022 18:42:29 GMT -5
Wait you mean today's moms don't cook dinner in dresses, heels and pearls? I know some conservative Christian women that wear a dress all the time but not heels and pearls. |
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Date Joined: Sept 16, 2012 13:59:47 GMT -5
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Post by sauerkraut on Aug 9, 2022 7:51:27 GMT -5
Wait you mean today's moms don't cook dinner in dresses, heels and pearls? Actually the pearls and necklace that June Cleaver always wore 'round her neck was because she had a little neck flaw, a neck "indent" or "depression" that showed up on camera so the necklace was a way to hide that flaw and it worked.(Wilma Flintstone also wore a necklace all the time. Dunno the reason for that.) |
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Date Joined: Sept 16, 2012 13:59:47 GMT -5
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Post by sauerkraut on Aug 9, 2022 7:58:06 GMT -5
I saw a episode of "One Day At A Time" that had Bonnie Franklin in bed with a guy or boyfriend, I dunno the story about that I was just clicking thru the channels and saw that. Bonnie Franklin was divorced & un-married. That never would of been shown on TV in the mid-century, they would not even show husband & wife in the same bed. I think the early episodes of "The brady Bunch" also had the couple in separate beds- and then in latter season they were in the same bed.
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Date Joined: Sept 16, 2012 13:59:47 GMT -5
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Post by sauerkraut on Jan 4, 2023 13:04:46 GMT -5
Classic All 'Merican Mom Jane Wyatt lived to be 96 years old she died in 2010.
Many of those All American TV moms lived to a ripe old age, Barbara Billingsley lived to be 94 years old born in 1915
All American & Apple Pie Mom straight out of the mid-century American suburbia Gloria Henry (Dennis the Menace mom) lived to be 98 she just died 04-03-21, born in 1923.
I guess if a woman wants to have a long life, get to be a old fashioned TV mom from a mid-century TV show.
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