Mama (American TV series)
Mama | |
---|---|
Genre | Comedy drama[1] |
Based on | Mama's Bank Account |
Written by | Frank Gabrielson and others |
Starring | Peggy Wood Judson Laire Rosemary Rice Dick Van Patten |
Theme music composer | Edvard Grieg |
Opening theme | Holberg Suite |
Ending theme | The Last Spring |
Composer | Billy Nalle |
Country of origin | United States |
No. of seasons | 8 |
Production | |
Producers | Ralph Nelson Carol Irwin |
Original release | |
Network | CBS |
Release | July 1, 1949 March 17, 1957 | –
Mama was a weekly
This old album makes me remember so many things in the past. San Francisco and the house on Steiner Street where I was born. It brings back memories of my cousins, aunts and uncles; all the boys and girls I grew up with. And I remember my family as we were then. My big brother Nels, my little sister Dagmar, and of course, Papa. But most of all, when I look back to those days so long ago, most of all, I remember ... Mama.[citation needed]
The show was originally broadcast live from CBS Studio 41 above the 42nd Street waiting room in
Characters and story
In addition to veteran stage actress Peggy Wood in the title role of Marta Hansen and Rosemary Rice as Katrin,[3] the cast included Judson Laire as Papa[3] and Dick Van Patten[3] as brother Nels. The youngest child, Dagmar, was portrayed by Robin Morgan (who later became a radical feminist activist and poet) and then by Toni Campbell after Morgan left the show. Also featured were Ruth Gates (as Aunt Jenny), Carl Frank, Alice Frost, Malcolm Keen, Roland Winters, Kevin Coughlin and Patty McCormack. Gates was the only member of the cast to have played her role in the original Broadway production in 1944.
The series was different from the play and film in that there were only three children instead of four, with the character of daughter Christine being eliminated. Also, Mama had two sisters instead of three, consisting of Jenny and, occasionally, Trina – Sigrid was never seen or referred to. The character of Mama's Uncle Chris (played by Roland Winters) made a few appearances on the program, but the character of Mr. Hyde was deleted from the series. However, in a 1957 episode, "The Seventh Age", a character was featured with a different name - Mr. Carlysle (played by actor Bramwell Fletcher) - who was very similar to Mr. Hyde, in that he was a kind man, although a down and out, penniless, aging actor whom the Hansens took in as a boarder.
Although earlier incarnations of I Remember Mama had focused primarily on the relationship between Marta and Katrin, the television series typically dealt with a specific family member's problem and eventually drew the whole family into helping with its resolution.
The program aired live,
From its premiere in 1949 to 1956, Mama proved to be not only a ratings winner for CBS, but it also became a Friday night tradition when millions of families across America (including children already dressed for bed) gathered around the television set at 8:00PM to tune into another episode of the Hansen family.[5]
From live to film
By the end of the 1955–56 season, even though the ratings for Mama were still respectable, viewership had decreased; Maxwell House, who co-sponsored the show, complained that not enough viewers were buying their coffee. This complaint led to CBS's cancellation of the show in July 1956. Carol Irwin, the show's producer, urged viewers to write the network demanding a return of the show. As a result, 175,000 letters poured into CBS, and the network immediately renewed the show. Unfortunately, with the prime-time schedule already filled, CBS scheduled Mama at 5:00pm on Sunday afternoons beginning December 16, 1956. This time, 26 episodes were filmed. The entire cast was reunited with the exception of actress Robin Morgan, who had portrayed the youngest daughter Dagmar beginning in 1950. Morgan opted not to continue with the role, wanting to pursue writing rather than acting. So, when Mama returned to CBS in December, 1956, the role of Dagmar was played by actress Toni Campbell. However, because of its less-than-desirable new time slot, Mama's ratings plummeted to the point of ultimately terminating its run three months later in March 1957, with several episodes left unaired.
Nevertheless, after eight years of playing Marta Hansen, Peggy Wood was honored with her first
In the fall of 1957, the complete 1956–57 filmed season of Mama aired on New York's
In 1985, the Museum of Broadcasting in New York City presented a retrospective of Mama by arranging screenings of several of the live television broadcasts (1949–56), which had been donated by various sources, as well as a seminar featuring the three actors who played the Hansen children - Rosemary Rice (Katrin), Dick Van Patten (Nels), Robin Morgan (Dagmar) - and longtime director, Ralph Nelson. The Museum also discovered all 26 episodes of the filmed season of Mama (1956–57) in a CBS storage facility in New Jersey; not only did these episodes become part of the screening exhibition, but they were also added to the Museum's collection. Rice donated several kinescopes she kept from the show for the exhibition.[3]
The opening and closing musical pieces were the "
Awards
The series received three Emmy nominations: one in 1951 for Best Dramatic Show and two for Peggy Wood's performance in 1953 and 1957.
Ratings
Mama was one of the first TV sitcoms to consistently finish in the
In the 1954–1955 seasons and afterward, Mama was not in the top 30 and its ratings data are not available.
References
- ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4.
- ISBN 978-0823083152. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
- ^ New York Times. Retrieved 2012-08-26.
- ISSN 0028-7369. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
- ^ "BRADBERRY: Most of all, I remember Mama | Opinion". niagara-gazette.com. 8 May 2013. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
- ^ "ClassicTVguide.com: TV Ratings > 1950's". classictvguide.com. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
- ^ "ClassicTVguide.com: TV Ratings > 1950's". classictvguide.com. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
- ^ "ClassicTVguide.com: TV Ratings > 1950's". classictvguide.com. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
- ^ "ClassicTVguide.com: TV Ratings > 1950's". classictvguide.com. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
Further reading
- Holden, Stephen. Mama Is Remembered", The New York Times, December 15, 1985
- "I Remember Mama (1948)". Reel SF. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
- "First Nighter: Kathryn Forbes' I Remember Mama Well Remembered | HuffPost". huffingtonpost.com. 31 March 2014. Retrieved 2017-12-18.