Saturday, May 29, 2021

She Plays a Mother on TV by Nora LeDuc #RomanceGems


TV Moms are one of my favorite subjects. Take your pick, you can find all kinds of mums on the small screen. I've chosen a few for us today.

Every Wednesday, we can tune in to "The Goldbergs." Here we have a prime example of an embarrassing, meddling smother-mother. Beverly Goldberg. She's the kind that's always at the school, making sure her children are treated fairly and perfectly because her kids are...perfect. (I bet we've all known a few women like Bev.) Although Beverly learns a lesson about parenting from her misguided efforts, she can never quite cut those apron strings. I've always been more intrigued by the history behind the scripts that are inspired by Adam Goldberg's video recordings of his family's lives. Yes, Beverly is his mother who occasionally makes an appearance in the show. More than once I've read the true-life happenings of the clan had to be toned down for a G audience. Darn.


Another popular TV mom is Marie Barone of "Everybody Loves Raymond." Marie is the parent of two grown men, Raymond and Robert. Raymond, the oldest, continues to be Marie's obvious favorite. This does not go over well with his younger brother Robert, but doesn't stop Marie. She also feels free to give unwanted advice to her sons who are often too afraid of her to cross her. As a mother-in-law, Marie knows little about boundaries and often barges into Ray and his wife's home without a knock and usually at inconvenient times. If you think about it, Marie might remind you of a relative or a friend who means well but is a little too close. And here's a trivia fact for authors-the actor who played Marie's husband, Peter Boyle, was a cousin of Kensington Editor Kate Duffy.

Don't you dare open your mouth when I'm asking you questions.

Before I finish, I must add Clair Huxtable from the former "The Cosby Show" to this list. (Forget Bill.) Every Thursday night, I loved to see what Clair was wearing. Her colorful style of clothing fascinated me. She seemed able to put on anything and look wonderful, but the character of Clair was so much more. As the stable center of the family, she was a wife, a lawyer, and a mom of five who actually talked to her children about their problems. Then, she gave them good advice. She could be funny, but stern when needed. Clair showed us that although mothers worry about their children or make mistakes with them, they will turn themselves upside down to love and guide them into happy, well-adjusted adults. That's a mother.


I have written two stories with moms. My latest, Christmas at the Easy Breezy, takes places in the White Mountains of NH. If you're looking for a happy uplifting book this story is for you. The main character, Darcy Malone, is divorced and a mother of a five-year-old. Darcy is desperately seeking to connect to the family she's never known. Little does she realize what she'll find when she arrives at the Easy Breezy Diner and meets the sometimes-grumpy owner Leo Homes.

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12 comments:

  1. I love TV moms! I think Olivia Walton and Harriet Nelson are probably my favorites over the (many) years. Looking forward to reading about Darcy and Leo.

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  2. Oh, those are great moms. I always liked Olivia's ability to work through those hard times and Harriet was the most logical sane person in her family!

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  3. Hands down, my favorite TV mom is Clair Huxtable. I adored her and still do to this day. There's a scene in the show where she teaches Denise how to write an essay. I've used her trick for a loooong time. So, sometimes, I like to think that Mrs. Huxtable taught me how to write.

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    1. I don't remember that one! Now I want to watch it. Maybe I can find it on YouTube.

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  4. Let's not forget Florence Henderson of The Brady Bunch and Shirley Jones, the Partridge Family mom. I also liked Esther Rolle of Good Times and Isabel Sanford of The Jefferson's fame, along with Roxie Roker (Lenny Kravitz's mom). Poor Louise (Isabel) had to put up with George.

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    1. Isabel was a saint. I can still hear her, GEORGE!!

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  5. Clair Huxtable was fabulous as a mom! No doubt. Although I think I identified more with Roseanne in income level and clothing.

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    1. I enjoy watching The Conners now. Funny, some of the characters I didn't like on Roseanne, I do like now.

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  6. Let's not forget Marion from Happy Days.

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  7. Love this fun trip down memory lane! Your book sounds great, and I love the cover, too! Frisky? Hahaha...I forgot about that... :D

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  8. Great post, Nora. I'm a big fan of Claire but Esther Rolle who played Florida Evans on Good Times was just as memorable. When they killed off Florida's husband James (played by the fabulous John Amos), Ms. Rolle played the scene where she was notified of his death with such restraint yet looked completely devastated. Powerful.

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