Julia (1968 TV series)

Julia is an American television sitcom and the second weekly series to star an African-American woman in a non-stereotypical role. Previous television series featured African-American lead characters, but the characters were usually servants. The show starred actress and singer Diahann Carroll, and ran for 86 episodes on NBC from September 17, 1968, to March 23, 1971. The series was produced by Savannah Productions, Inc., Hanncarr Productions, Inc., and 20th Century-Fox Television.

Julia
Diahann Carroll, Lloyd Nolan, and Marc Copage.
GenreSitcom
Created byHal Kanter
Directed byDon Ameche
Luther James
Fletcher Markle
Coby Ruskin
Barry Shear
Ezra Stone
Bernard Wiesen
Hollingsworth Morse
StarringDiahann Carroll
Lloyd Nolan
Marc Copage
Michael Link
Betty Beaird
Lurene Tuttle
Theme music composerElmer Bernstein
ComposersJeff Alexander
Elmer Bernstein
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes86 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producerHal Kanter
ProducerHal Kanter
Camera setupSingle-camera
Running time24 minutes
Production companiesHanncarr Productions
Savannah Productions
20th Century-Fox Television
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseSeptember 17, 1968 (1968-09-17) –
March 23, 1971 (1971-03-23)

During pre-production, the proposed series title was Mama's Man.[1] The series was among the few situation comedies in the late 1960s that did not use a laugh track; however, 20th Century-Fox Television added one when the series was reissued for syndication and cable rebroadcasts in the late 1980s.

Julia was among the first acquisitions made by ASPiRE for its inaugural season in 2012.[2]

Synopsis

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Julia and Corey at home.

In Julia, Carroll played widowed single mother, Julia Baker (her husband, Army Capt. Baker, an O-1 Bird Dog artillery spotter pilot had been shot down in Vietnam), who was a nurse in a doctor's office at a large aerospace company. The doctor, Morton Chegley, was played by Lloyd Nolan, and Julia's romantic interests by Paul Winfield and Fred Williamson. Julia's son, Corey (Marc Copage) was approximately six to nine years old during the series run. He had barely known his father before he died. Corey's best friend was Earl J. Waggedorn, whom Corey almost always addressed and referred to precisely by his full name, though other characters (particularly his mother) would refer to him simply as Earl. The Waggedorns lived downstairs in the same apartment building, with father, police officer Leonard (Hank Brandt), stay-at-home mother Marie (Betty Beaird), and two sons, Earl and an infant whose first name is never revealed.

The first two seasons included nurse Hannah Yarby (Lurene Tuttle), who left to be married at the beginning of the third season, just as the clinic's manager, Brockmeyer, ordered downsizing — and removal of minorities from employment. (Chegley let Yarby go but kept Julia in defiance of the manager's edict. She was also kept after Chegley reminded Brockmeyer that such a move was a violation of the Civil Rights Act, which was just five years old at that point.) The second and third season included Richard (Richard Steele), a boy some one or two years older than Corey. Chegley's uncle, Dr. Norton Chegley (also played by Lloyd Nolan), made three appearances. The series' first episode was filmed in October 1967, a year before the pilot was picked up.

Cast

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Controversy

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Although Julia is remembered today as groundbreaking, during its original run the series was derided by many critics for being apolitical and unrealistic. In 1968, Diahann Carroll remarked: "At the moment we're presenting the white Negro. And he has very little Negroness."[4] The Saturday Review's Robert Lewis Shayon wrote that Julia's "plush, suburban setting" was "a far, far cry from the bitter realities of Negro life in the urban ghetto, the pit of America's explosion potential."[5] Gil Scott-Heron's "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" refers to Julia in the same breath as Bullwinkle, implying that the character was something of a cartoon. Ebony published a somewhat more supportive assessment of the program: "As a slice of Black America, Julia does not explode on the TV screen with the impact of a ghetto riot. It is not that kind of show. Since the networks have had a rash of shows dealing with the nation's racial problems, the light-hearted Julia provides welcome relief, if, indeed, relief is even acceptable in these troubled times."[6] The series also came under criticism from African-American viewers for its depiction of a fatherless Black family due to the father's death in American military service. Excluding a Black male lead, it was argued, "rendered the series safer" and "less likely to grapple with issues that might upset white viewers."[7]

Nielsen ratings

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Season Rank Rating
1) 1968–1969 #7 24.6
2) 1969–1970 #28 20.1
3) 1970–1971 Not in the Top 30

Cancellation

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Julia received good ratings the first two seasons but dropped out of the top 30 most-watched shows during season 3. In 1971, the series was canceled, reportedly because of Carroll's and series creator and executive producer Hal Kanter's desire to work on other projects.[8] Kanter created and produced the short-lived The Jimmy Stewart Show for NBC the following season.

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Result Category Recipient
1969 American Cinema Editors Nominated Best Edited Television Program John Ehrin (For episode "Mama's Man")
Emmy Award Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role Ned Glass (For episode "A Little Chicken Soup Never Hurt Anybody")
Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Comedy Series Diahann Carroll; this nomination made Carroll the first African-American woman to earn an Emmy nomination in this category[9]
Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Comedy Series Lloyd Nolan
Outstanding Comedy Series Hal Kanter
1970 Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in Comedy Lurene Tuttle
1969 Golden Globe Award Best Television Series
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Won Best TV Star – Female Diahann Carroll
1970 Nominated Best TV Actress – Musical/Comedy Diahann Carroll
1969 Photoplay Magazine Medal Won Actress of the Year Diahann Carroll
2003 TV Land Awards Won Groundbreaking Show Diahann Carroll

References

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  1. ^ Weiner, Ed (1992). The TV Guide TV Book: 40 Years of the All-Time Greatest Television Facts, Fads, Hits, and History. New York: Harper Collins. p. 174. ISBN 0-06-096914-8.
  2. ^ "Magic Johnson's Multi-Million Dollar Aspire Network Projected To See Great Success". MadameNoire.
  3. ^ "Few Movies Have Escaped Cop on 'Julia'". Muncie Evening Press. Muncie, Indiana. February 15, 1969. p. 35. Retrieved November 13, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Morreale, Joanne; Aniko Bodroghkozy (2003). Critiquing The Sitcom. Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press. p. 138. ISBN 0-8156-2983-4.
  5. ^ Farber, David R.; Beth L. Bailey (2001). The Columbia Guide to America in the 1960s. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 400. ISBN 0-231-11372-2.
  6. ^ "'Julia': Television network introduces first black family series". Ebony. Johnson Publishing Company. November 1968. p. 68.
  7. ^ Spigel, Lynn; Denise Mann (1992). Private Screenings: Television and the Female Consumer. Minneapolis, Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press. p. 161. ISBN 0-8166-2052-0.
  8. ^ Acham, Christine (2004). Revolution Televised: Prime Time and the Struggle for Black Power. University of Minnesota Press. p. 126. ISBN 0-8166-4431-4.
  9. ^ Kate Stanhope (23 September 2013). "Diahann Carroll on African-American Emmy Nominees: "We're a Little Behind"". TVGuide.com.
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