OT: OT: Best TV Mom

[Vowelguy]

Should've done this last week, but here goes ...

Limiting it to TV comedies where the Mom is a major character.
To be clear, I'm not talking about best actress or performance, but the "Best Mom" (however you define that).

 

[Carnac]

The phrase "Best" needs to be defined as used here. It's subjective. What tangibles does "best" encompass?

I was going to say June Cleaver. I saw an episode this morning of her doing housework in a dress, hair perfectly groomed, wearing a pearl necklace and dress heels. My mom NEVER dressed like THAT when she did housework.

I'll go along with the majority and say Florida Evans. She dealt with more drama in one episode than June did in an entire season, on top of having a job to go to everyday to help James make ends meet.

I'm surprised that Harriet Nelson, Jane Wyatt (Father knows best) nor Donna Reed were not nominated. They were great moms too.

Could Victoria Barkley (Barbara Stanwyck) (The Big Valley) qualify? The other moms ran modest suburban households. She was the owner and head of the Barkley ranch, and oversaw its profitable cattle empire.

She ran both with an unrelenting iron fist, and had the respect of all that knew her, or did business with her. One of my favorite TV westerns.

 

[Vowelguy]

The phrase "Best" needs to be defined as used here. It's subjective.

Really?! You mean there's not an SAT-Mothering score that we can't use to rate the choices?

... but the "Best Mom" (however you define that).

 

[Woof 101]

If locked into the poll I have to go Peg Bundy. Having said that right now there is one the better half watches and I glance in on called Mom with Allison Janney.
Jean Stapleton was a great side kick for Archie Bunker as a wife and mom on All In The Family.
Can't leave out Isabel Sanford as Louise Weezy Mills Jefferson in The Jeffersons.....
Sorry I wondered from the poll....

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Like in many other things, part of the list is a closed book to me. Know nothing about the last 2 and never watched the 2 before that.

Went with the first 2, yes, when I was very young I remember June Cleaver (possibly in reruns) - yeah, love the reference to how she dressed. And wasn't Carol Brady the ultimate (in her time?).

I watched Good Times, but it is part of a blurred memory of too many sitcoms all on about the same time; and oddly enough I didn't watch the Cosby show regularly.

That's the down side of these types of polls, to be fair you can only answer what you know.

 

[Vowelguy]

I'm surprised that Harriet Nelson, Jane Wyatt (Father knows best) nor Donna Reed were not nominated.

Not everyone on this board is collecting Social Security.
Never seen any of those shows.

 

[eebmg]

I decided to define 'Best Mom' as most impressive and setting a good example through hard work and overcoming difficulties.

For me, Claire Huxtable and Florida Evans fit the bill the best.

 

[UConnNick]

June Cleaver, and there's no close second. She deferred all the discipline to her husband Ward. She was a pushover. My mother used to always remark about how she did housework in the dresses, while wearing her signature pearl necklace. Let's also not forget the actress Barbara Billingsley's cameo in the movie "Airplane", where she talked jive with the best of any homies from the 'hood.

 

[UConnNick]

The phrase "Best" needs to be defined as used here. It's subjective. What tangibles does "best" encompass?

I was going to say June Cleaver. I saw an episode this morning of her doing housework in a dress, hair perfectly groomed, wearing a pearl necklace and dress heels. My mom NEVER dressed like THAT when she did housework.

I'll go along with the majority and say Florida Evans. She dealt with more drama in one episode than June did in an entire season, on top of having a job to go to everyday to help James make ends meet.

I'm surprised that Harriet Nelson, Jane Wyatt (Father knows best) nor Donna Reed were not nominated. They were great moms too.

Could Victoria Barkley (Barbara Stanwyck) (The Big Valley) qualify? The other moms ran modest suburban households. She was the owner and head of the Barkley ranch, and oversaw its profitable cattle empire.

She ran both with an unrelenting iron fist, and had the respect of all that knew her, or did business with her. One of my favorite TV westerns.

View attachment 43205

Yes, some glaring omissions. Harriet Nelson wasn't acting. That was America's absolute first reality TV show. We used to make fun of Ozzie, because during the entire run of the show, you never once saw any reference to his job or him going to work. He always was at the house wearing those button down cardigan sweaters, doing nothing but acting like a dweeb. That's because the show WAS his job!

 

[j66kicker]

What - no Gloria Delgado from Modern Family or Skyler White from Breaking Bad???

Just as well your poll is for 2nd place - Sofia Vergara would win going away...

 

[Puppy Love]

If locked into the poll I have to go Peg Bundy. Having said that right now there is one the better half watches and I glance in on called Mom with Allison Janney.
Jean Stapleton was a great side kick for Archie Bunker as a wife and mom on All In The Family.
Can't leave out Isabel Sanford as Louise Weezy Mills Jefferson in The Jeffersons.....
Sorry I wondered from the poll....

‘Mom’ is one of the very few shows we watch. It’s a little crazy, but hilarious.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

The list, well, inadequate for geezers. June Lockhart, Lassie 1958-64.

 

[Plebe]

Glaring omission: Peggy Hill

 

[UConnNick]

Not everyone on this board is collecting Social Security.
Never seen any of those shows.

If Donna Reed and Jane Wyatt were on the list, I'd vote Reed second and Wyatt third. Reed had the best daughter, played by Shelley Fabares, who sang the hit tune "Johnny Angel". Later Reed had a brief run as the mom on "Dallas", but Barbara bel Geddes portrayal of "Miss Ellie" would get the nod.

Barbara Stanwyck was a great actress and mom on "The Big Valley". She was my father's favorite actress.

 

[Carnac]

Really?! You mean there's not an SAT-Mothering score that we can't use to rate the choices?

Sorry, I did not see THIS post when I responded to to your original post. I looked at the original post, and went from there. Had I saw your followup comment, I would not have been so critical.

 

[Carnac]

Yes, some glaring omissions. Harriet Nelson wasn't acting. That was America's absolute first reality TV show. We used to make fun of Ozzie, because during the entire run of the show, you never once saw any reference to his job or him going to work. He always was at the house wearing those button down cardigan sweaters, doing nothing but acting like a dweeb. That's because the show WAS his job!

That's right!! That show was one of America's favorites. All of the young ladies loved Ricky. David was never a teen-age heart throb. I watched it every week on our little 19" B&W TV complete with rabbit ears.
Back then, that was the only TV in the house, unlike today where there's a flat screen color TV in every room.

 

[Carnac]

Like in many other things, part of the list is a closed book to me. Know nothing about the last 2 and never watched the 2 before that.

Went with the first 2, yes, when I was very young I remember June Cleaver (possibly in reruns) - yeah, love the reference to how she dressed. And wasn't Carol Brady the ultimate (in her time?).

I watched Good Times, but it is part of a blurred memory of too many sitcoms all on about the same time; and oddly enough I didn't watch the Cosby show regularly.

That's the down side of these types of polls,

It's almost impossible to pick just one. There have been so many great TV moms. It's like asking, out of all of the westerns you've ever seen, which one is your all-time favorite? I can think of 8-10 right off the bat.
Silverado, The outlaw Josie Wales, Red River, Shane, Rio Bravo, The Searchers, Stage Coach, Winchester 73, The War Wagon, Vera Cruz, Yellowstone Kelly, Fort Dobbs, Broken Arrow..............I could go on and on.

 

[JDuro]

Voted Mrs. Brady, Flo Evans and Claire Huxtable. Pretty cool to see the U of South Carolina bestow upon Phylicia Rashad a doctorate of fine arts at one of Saturday's graduation ceremonies.

 

[Carnac]

Yes, some glaring omissions. Harriet Nelson wasn't acting. That was America's absolute first reality TV show. We used to make fun of Ozzie, because during the entire run of the show, you never once saw any reference to his job or him going to work. He always was at the house wearing those button down cardigan sweaters, doing nothing but acting like a dweeb. That's because the show WAS his job!

They were billed as "America's favorite family" - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet premiered on ABC on October 10, 1952, staying until April 23, 1966; in 1962, it became the first prime-time scripted series on American television to reach the 10-year milestone. The series strove for realism and featured exterior shots of the Nelsons' actual southern California home at 1822 Camino Palmero Street in Los Angeles as the fictional Nelsons' home. Interior shots were filmed on a Hollywood Center Studios sound stage recreated to look like the real interior of the Nelsons' home.

Like its radio predecessor (which finally ended in 1954), the series focused mainly on the Nelson family at home, dealing with everyday problems. As the series progressed and the boys grew up, storylines involving various characters were introduced. Many of the series story lines were taken from the Nelsons' real life. When the real David and Rick got married, to June Blair and Kristin Harmon respectively, their wives joined the cast of Ozzie and Harriet and the marriages were written into the series. What was seldom written into the series was Ozzie's profession or mention of his lengthy and successful band-leading career. The popular joke about his career was that the only time he left the house was to go buy ice cream. David was the last member of the family to pass, dying in 2011 from colon cancer.

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet made the Nelsons' younger son, Rick, into a music teen idol. Ozzie realized the impact his musically gifted son could bring to the series, and went on to write storylines featuring Rick singing. Rick first sang in the April 10, 1957, episode, "Ricky the Drummer," performing a version of Fats Domino's hit, "I'm Walkin", and later signed a recording contract with Domino's label, Imperial Records. Subsequent episodes that aired after Rick became one of the nation's most successful musicians were some of the series' highest-rated episodes. Many of the episodes ended with Ricky doing a song.

 

[Boreifs]

The phrase "Best" needs to be defined as used here. It's subjective. What tangibles does "best" encompass?

I was going to say June Cleaver. I saw an episode this morning of her doing housework in a dress, hair perfectly groomed, wearing a pearl necklace and dress heels. My mom NEVER dressed like THAT when she did housework.

I'll go along with the majority and say Florida Evans. She dealt with more drama in one episode than June did in an entire season, on top of having a job to go to everyday to help James make ends meet.

I'm surprised that Harriet Nelson, Jane Wyatt (Father knows best) nor Donna Reed were not nominated. They were great moms too.

Could Victoria Barkley (Barbara Stanwyck) (The Big Valley) qualify? The other moms ran modest suburban households. She was the owner and head of the Barkley ranch, and oversaw its profitable cattle empire.

She ran both with an unrelenting iron fist, and had the respect of all that knew her, or did business with her. One of my favorite TV westerns.

View attachment 43205

The post must be from someone under 60. Donna Reed was everyone’s favorite in my childhood; adults don’t care about TV moms.

 

[VAMike23]

Write-in candidate: Edith Bunker

 

[cohenzone]

Go waaaay back. Two mega TV shows featuring strong mother figures Peggy Wood as Marta Larsen in I Remember Mana (later known as the Abbess in Julie Andrews Sound of Music

Gertrude Berg as Molly Goldberg in the original The Goldbergs, nothing like the modern namesake show. It was done live and commercials were written into the script.

BTW., CBS has an excellent TV Radio museum in midtown Manhattan. It costs and I think you get 90 minutes to watch or listen to any the thousands of shows they have on the menu and your own console to use.

 

[Carnac]

Here's Wally and the Beaver.....................................

 

[Carnac]

If locked into the poll I have to go Peg Bundy. Having said that right now there is one the better half watches and I glance in on called Mom with Allison Janney.
Jean Stapleton was a great side kick for Archie Bunker as a wife and mom on All In The Family.
Can't leave out Isabel Sanford as Louise Weezy Mills Jefferson in The Jeffersons.....
Sorry I wondered from the poll....

Peg Bundy (like Al) was special.

 

[Orangutan]

Harriet Winslow - Family Matters. Worked a full time job and when she came home Urkel was there. She was a saint.