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Maude(TV series)

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Maude
GenreSitcom
Created byNorman Lear
Directed by
Starring
Theme music composer
Opening theme"And Then There's Maude"
Performed byDonny Hathaway
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No.of seasons6
No.of episodes141(list of episodes)
Production
Executive producerNorman Lear
Producers
Production locations
Running time30 minutes
Production companyTandem Productions
Original release
NetworkCBS
ReleaseSeptember 12, 1972(1972-09-12)
April 22, 1978(1978-04-22)
Related

Maudeis an American televisionsitcomthat was originally broadcast on theCBSnetwork from September 12, 1972, until April 22, 1978. The show was the firstspin-offofAll in the Family,on whichBea Arthurhad made two appearances asMaude Findlay,Edith Bunker's favorite cousin. LikeAll in the Family,Maudewas a sitcom with topical storylines created by producersNorman LearandBud Yorkin.

Maudestars Bea Arthur as Maude, an outspoken,middle-aged,politicallyliberalwoman living in suburbanTuckahoe, New Yorkwith her fourth husband, household appliance store owner Walter Findlay (Bill Macy). Maude embraces the tenets ofwomen's liberation,always votes forDemocratic Partycandidates, and advocates forcivil rightsandracialandgender equality.Her overbearing and sometimes domineering personality often gets her into trouble when speaking about these issues.

Unusually for an American sitcom, several episodes (such as "Maude's Night Out" and "The Convention" ) featured only the characters of Maude and her husband Walter, in what amounted to half-hour "two-hander"teleplays. In the season four episode" The Analyst "(sometimes referred to as" Maude Bares Her Soul "), Arthur as Maude, speaking to an unseen psychiatrist, was the sole actor on screen for the entire episode.[1]

The show's theme song, "And Then There's Maude", was written byAlan and Marilyn BergmanandDave Grusin,and performed byDonny Hathaway.

Characters[edit]

Walter and Maude

Maude first appears in two season-two episodes ofAll in the Family:the first in December 1971 as a visitor to the Bunker home, and the second, abackdoor pilotsetting up the premise of theMaudeseries, in March 1972. She is Edith Bunker's (Jean Stapleton) favorite cousin who has been married four times. Her first husband, Barney, died shortly after their marriage. She divorced the next two, Albert and Chester. Albert was never portrayed on screen, but the episode "Poor Albert" revolved around his death, while her second former husband Chester appeared once on the show, played byMartin Balsam.

Her fourth and current husband, Walter Findlay (played byBill Macy), owns an appliance store called Findlay's Friendly Appliances. Maude and Walter met just before the1968 presidential election.Maude sometimes gets in the last word during their many arguments with her hallmarkcatchphrase,"God'll get you for that, Walter", which came directly from Bea Arthur.[2]Maude's deep, raspy voice is also an occasional comic foil whenever she answers the phone and explaining in one episode, "No, this is not Mr. Findlay; this is Mrs. Findlay! Mr. Findlay has a much higher voice."

Maude's daughter, Carol Traynor, played byAdrienne Barbeau– in theAll in the Familypilot episode the character was played byMarcia Rodd– is also divorced and has one child, like Maude. Carol and her son, Phillip (played by Brian Morrison in seasons 1-5 and byKraig Metzingerin the sixth), live with the Findlays. Though single, Carol maintains her reputation of dating many men.

She dates various men throughout the early seasons, later forming a serious relationship with a man named Chris (played byFred Grandy). Grandy left at the end of the second season. Like her mother, Carol is an outspoken liberal feminist who is not afraid to speak her mind, though they often clash. There are conflicting accounts as to whether Carol's father was Maude's first or second husband. In the series' first episode, "Maude's Problem", Maude reveals to Carol's psychiatrist that Carol's father was her second husband.

Dr. Arthur Harmon

The Findlays' next-door neighbors are Dr. Arthur Harmon (Conrad Bain), a stuffy, sardonicRepublican,and his sweet but scatterbrained second wife Vivian (Rue McClanahan). McClanahan confirmed in an interview with theArchive of American Televisionthat she was approached byNorman Learduring the taping of theAll in the Familyepisode "The Bunkers and the Swingers" (1972) to take on the role as a late replacement forDoris Roberts,the original choice for the part.[3]

Arthur has been Walter's best friend since the two served together inWorld War II.He was the one who brought Walter and Maude together in 1968 and "affectionately" calls Maude "Maudie." Vivian and Maude have been best friends since college. At the beginning of the series, Arthur is awidower.Vivian is introduced in a guest appearance that focused on her split with her first husband. She later got involved with Arthur as adivorcée.

The housekeepers[edit]

For the entire run of the show, Maude also has a housekeeper. At the beginning of the series, Maude hiresFlorida Evans(Esther Rolle), a no-nonsense black woman who often has the last laugh at Maude's expense. Maude often makes a point of conspicuously and awkwardly demonstrating how open-minded and liberal she is. Florida almost quits because of this. Despite Florida's status as a maid, Maude emphasizes to Florida that they are "equals," and insists she enter and exit the house via the front door, even though the back door is more convenient for Florida.

Maude and Mrs. Naugatuck

Rolle's character was so popular that, in 1974, she became the star of her own series,Good Times.In the second-season episode titled "Florida's Goodbye",Florida's husband Henry (John Amos) gets a promotion at his job, and Florida quits to become a full-time housewife. WhereasMaudetook place in New York,Good Timestook place inChicago,with numerous other differences in Florida's situation, such as her husband being called James Evans[4]– "Henry" being the name of James's long-lost father.

After Florida's departure in 1974, Maude hires a new housekeeper, Mrs. Nell Naugatuck (Hermione Baddeley), an elderly, somewhat vulgar, British widow who drinks excessively and lies compulsively. Unlike Florida, who commuted to work, Mrs. Naugatuck lives with the Findlays. She meets and begins dating Bert Beasley (J. Pat O'Malley), an elderly cemetery security guard, in 1975. In 1977, they marry and move to Ireland to care for Bert's mother. Mrs. Naugatuck's frequent sparring with Maude is, arguably, just as comically popular as Florida's sparring. The difference is that Mrs. Naugatuck often seems to dislike Maude, whereas Florida, on occasion, finds Maude frustrating.

Lear said the last name "Naugatuck" was taken directly from the town ofNaugatuck, Connecticut,which he found amusing. Due to the popularity ofMaude,Baddeley visited the town in the late 1970s and was given a warm, official ceremony at the town green.

Maude then hires Victoria Butterfield (Marlene Warfield),[5]a native of Saint Norman in theWest Indies,whom Maude initially accuses of stealing her wallet on the subway. Victoria remains until the end of the series in 1978. The character of Victoria was never as popular as her two predecessors, and she was seen only sporadically and was not credited as a series regular.

Series history, topicality, and controversy[edit]

The character of Maude Findlay was loosely based on creator Norman Lear's then-wifeFrances.[6][7]She first appeared on two episodes ofAll in the Familyas Edith Bunker's cousin. A "Cousin Maud," with a similar role, had also appeared on an episode ofTill Death Us Do Part,the British series on whichAll in the Familyhad been based. Maude represented everythingArchie Bunkerdid not: she was a liberal,feminist,upper-middle-class Democrat, whereas Archie was a conservative, prejudiced,working-classRepublican.

Maude's political beliefs were closer to those of the series creators than Archie Bunker's, but the series often lampooned Maude as a naive "limousine liberal".They did not show her beliefs and attitudes in an entirely complimentary light. Just before the show's premiere in September 1972,TV Guidedescribed the character of Maude as "a caricature of the knee-jerk liberal."

Maude as theStatue of Liberty

While the show was conceived as a comedy, the scripts also incorporated much darker humor, drama and controversy.[8]Maude tookMiltown,a mild tranquilizer, and alsoValium;she and her husband Walter began drinking in the evening. Maude had an abortion in November1972,two months before theRoe v. Wadedecision made abortion legal throughout the U.S., and the episodes that dealt with the situation are probably the series' most famous and most controversial. Maude, at age 47, was dismayed to find herself unexpectedly pregnant. Her daughter Carol brought to her attention that abortion had become legal in the state of New York.[9]

After some soul-searching, and discussions with Walter, who agreed that raising a baby at their stage of life was not what they wanted to do, Maude decided at the end of the two-part episode that abortion was probably the best choice for their lives and their marriage. Noticing the controversy around the storyline, CBS decided to rerun the episodes in August1973,and members of the country's clergy reacted strongly to the decision. Thirty-nine stations pre-empted the episode.[9]The two-part episode was written bySusan Harris,who would work with Bea Arthur again later onThe Golden Girls.[10]

The producers and the writers of the show tackled other controversies.[11]In a story arc that opened the1973–74 season,Walter came to grips with hisalcoholismand subsequently had anervous breakdown.The beginning of the story arc had Maude, Walter, and Arthur enjoying a night of revelry. However, Maude panicked when she awoke the following morning to find Arthur in her bed. This alarmed her to the point that both of them swore off alcohol entirely. Walter could not do it ( "Dean Martingets a million dollars for his buzz ") and became so frustrated during his attempts to stop that he struck Maude. Afterward, he suffered a breakdown as a result of his alcoholism and guilt over thedomestic violenceincident. The arc, which played out in two parts, was typically controversial for the show but gained praise for highlighting howsocial drinkingcan lead to alcoholism.[12][13]

The first-season episode "The Grass Story" tackled the then-recentRockefeller Drug Laws,as Maude and her well-meaning housewife friends try to get arrested in protest over a grocery boy's tough conviction formarijuanapossession. The severity of the marijuana laws contrasted with the characters' lax attitudes toward drinking and prescription pill abuse.

In season four, Maude had a session with an analyst, in which she revealed insecurities about her life and marriage and talked through memories from her childhood. The episode was a solo performance by Beatrice Arthur.

During the fifth season, Walter suffered anothernervous breakdown,this time even attemptingsuicide,when he saw his business go bankrupt.

TheNielsen ratingsforMaudewere high, in particular, during the first seasons of the program, during the heyday of topical sitcoms, which its presence helped to create, when it was regularly one of the top-ten highest-rated American television programs in any given week.

InGreat Britain,Maudewas not shown nationally. It was shown beginning in 1975 in theITVregions ofScottish,[14]Westward,[15]Border,[16]Tyne Tees,[16]Anglia,[17]Yorkshire,[18]Granada[19]andChannel.[20]Satellite stationSky Oneran the series in the early/mid-1990s.

Series ending[edit]

In the fifth season,Maudedropped from No. 4 to No. 31 in theNielsen ratingsas its lead-insRhodaandPhyllisbegan to struggle. Public taste had abruptly shifted from "relevant" Norman Lear productions and the MTM company's sophisticated comedies toward escapist fare like ABC'sLaverne & ShirleyandThree's Company.In the sixth season, ratings dived further, and Lear revamped the format. In the last three episodes of that season, the fictional governor of New York appointed Maude as a congresswoman from Tuckahoe, as aDemocratduring the1978 U.S. midterm elections.She helped campaign for a congresswoman who unexpectedly died in her home. Maude and husband Walter moved toWashington, D.C.,and the rest of the regular cast would be written out of the show in a prospective season seven.[21]

In spring 1978, Bea Arthur said she would leave the series. At least one TV columnist reported that CBS had already decided to cancel the show because of low ratings, and Arthur's announcement was an attempt to save face.[22]Lear still liked the concept of a member of a minority group in Congress, and it evolved into the pilotMr. Dugan,withCleavon Littlereplacing Arthur as the lead character. The show was scheduled for a March 1979 premiere, but negative feedback from black members of Congress, granted an advance screening, resulted in CBS deciding not to air the three episodes taped. Lear reworked the project intoHanging In,withBill Macyplaying a former professional football player turned university president. Premiering in the summer of 1979, the show didn't find an audience and was canceled after four episodes.

Episodes[edit]

SeasonEpisodesOriginally airedRankRating
First airedLast aired
122September 12, 1972(1972-09-12)March 20, 1973(1973-03-20)424.7
224September 11, 1973(1973-09-11)March 5, 1974(1974-03-05)623.5
323September 9, 1974(1974-09-09)March 31, 1975(1975-03-31)924.9
424September 8, 1975(1975-09-08)March 15, 1976(1976-03-15)425.0
524September 20, 1976(1976-09-20)April 4, 1977(1977-04-04)31[23]19.9[23]
624September 12, 1977(1977-09-12)April 22, 1978(1978-04-22)75[24]15.2[24]

Home media[edit]

Sony Pictures Home Entertainmentreleased the first season ofMaudeonDVDinRegion 1in March 2007.

In August 2013, Mill Creek Entertainment announced it had acquired the rights to various television series from the Sony Pictures library includingMaude.[25]Mill Creek re-released the first season on DVD inn February 2015.[26]

In December 2014,Shout! Factoryannounced it had acquired the rights to the series. It released the complete series on DVD in March 2015. Among the bonus features, the set includes the two Second season episodes ofAll in the Family,which introduced Maude ( "Cousin Maude's Visit" and "Maude" ); two previously unaired episodes ofMaude( "The Double Standard" and "Maude's New Friends" ); the Syndicated Sales Presentation, hosted by Norman Lear; as well as three featurettes called "And Then There's Maude: Television's First Feminist"; "Everything but Hemorrhoids: Maude Speaks to America"; and "Memories of Maude" with interviews by Adrienne Barbeau and Bill Macy, along with newly discovered interviews with Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan andMaudedirector, Hal Cooper.[27]

In 2015, Shout! began releasing individual season sets. The second season was released in August 2015, the third season in November 2015,[28]the fourth season in March 2016,[29]the fifth season in June 2016,[30]and the sixth and final season in August 2016.[31]

DVD Name Ep # Release Date
The Complete First Season 22 March 20, 2007
February 3, 2015 (re-release)
The Complete Second Season 24 August 11, 2015
The Complete Third Season 23 November 10, 2015
The Complete Fourth Season 24 March 22, 2016
The Complete Fifth Season 24 June 14, 2016
The Complete Sixth Season 24 August 9, 2016
The Complete Series 141 March 17, 2015

Awards and nominations[edit]

Year Award Category Nominee(s) Results Ref.
1972 Directors Guild of America Awards Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series Bill Hobin(for "Maude's Dilemma") Nominated [32]
1973 Hal Cooper Nominated [33]
1975 Nominated [34]
1976 Hal Cooper(for "Vivian's First Funeral" ) Nominated [35]
1972 Golden Globe Awards Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy Nominated [36]
Best Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy Bea Arthur Nominated
1973 Nominated
1974 Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy Nominated
1975 Best Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy Bea Arthur Nominated
Best Supporting Actress – Television Hermione Baddeley Won
1976 Adrienne Barbeau Nominated
1977 Best Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy Bea Arthur Nominated
1998 Online Film & Television Association Awards Television Hall of Fame: Productions Inducted [37]
1973 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Comedy Series Norman Learand Rod Parker Nominated [38]
Outstanding New Series Nominated
Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Comedy Series Bea Arthur Nominated
1974 Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Nominated
1976 Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Nominated
Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series Hal Cooper(for "The Analyst" ) Nominated
Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series Jay Folb(for "The Analyst" ) Nominated
1977 Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Bea Arthur(for "Maude's Desperate Hours" ) Won
Outstanding Art Direction or Scenic Design for a Comedy Series Chuck Murawski(for "Walter's Crisis: Part 1 & 2" ) Nominated
1978 Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Bea Arthur Nominated
Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series Hal Cooper(for "Vivian's Decision" ) Nominated
Outstanding Art Direction for a Comedy Series Chuck Murawski(for "The Wake" ) Nominated
2001 Producers Guild of America Awards PGA Hall of Fame – Television Won
2004 TV Land Awards Favorite Cantankerous Couple Bill Macyand Bea Arthur Nominated
Favorite Made for TV Maid Esther Rolle Nominated
1972 Writers Guild of America Awards Episodic Comedy Alan J. Levitt(for "Flashback" ) Nominated [39]
1973 Bob SchillerandBob Weiskopf
(for "Walter's Problem: Part 1 & 2" )
Won

Syndication and streaming[edit]

Maudeaired onTV Landin 1999 for a brief time, including an introductory "Maude-a-thon" marathon.Maudewas later seen onNick at Nitein the United States in 2001. Reruns ofMaudeare occasionally shown on Canwest's digital specialty channel,DejaViewin Canada. In 2010,Maudebegan reruns in Chicago, onWWME-CA'sMe-TV.In 2011,Maudebegan airing onAntenna TV,a digital broadcast network, which has since run the entire six season cycle of the show.

In 2015, reruns ofMaudebegan airing onLogo TVduring late night/early morning. It airs weeknights onFETV,Family Entertainment Television. As of April 2021, Maude is on CHCH TV in the Toronto (Hamilton) Ontario area as part of their afternoon retro sitcom lineup. It is available in a heavily edited format on theCTVapp for free with ads as part of its “Throwback” library.

As of July 2021, Maude is available for streaming onAmazon Freevee.

Adaptations[edit]

Maudewas adapted in Italy airing on Canale 5 in 1982.

Maudewas adapted in France asMaguy[fr].Maguyaired on Sundays at 19.30 from September 1985 to December 1994 onFrance 2for 333 episodes.[40]

Maudehad previously been adapted in 1980 byITVin the United Kingdom asNobody's Perfect.[41]StarringElaine StritchandRichard Griffiths,the show ran for two series with a total of 14 episodes. Of the 14 episodes, Stritch herself adapted 13 originalMaudescripts and Griffiths adapted one.[42]The original series was screened by certain ITV companies.[43]

References[edit]

  1. ^"Maude: Maude Bares Her Soul (Tv)".Paleycenter.org. 1975-11-10.Retrieved2022-08-29.
  2. ^Herman, Karen (March 15, 2001)."Beatrice Arthur, Actress".Archive of American Television.Retrieved31 May2017.
  3. ^Colucci, Jim (May 4, 2006)."Rue McClanahan: Actress".Television Academy Interviews.Retrieved21 August2018.
  4. ^"10 Things You Might Not Know About Good Times".mentalfloss.2018-05-16.Retrieved2020-09-08.
  5. ^"Maude | Encyclopedia".encyclopedia.Retrieved2020-09-08.
  6. ^Nemy, Enid (October 1996)."Frances Lear, a Mercurial Figure of the Media and a Magazine Founder, Dead at 73".The New York Times.Retrieved2021-02-28.
  7. ^Archived atGhostarchiveand theWayback Machine:"Norman Lear on introducing Bea Arthur as" Maude "on All in the Family, and similarities betwee..."YouTube. 2009-08-26.Retrieved2021-02-28.
  8. ^Lurie, Karen (2013). "Maude".St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture.Gale.
  9. ^abSharbutt, Jay (August 22, 1973)."'Maude' Abortion Furor in Repeat ".Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.Retrieved2010-06-03.
  10. ^Kettler, Sara (16 March 2020)."How Bea Arthur and 'Maude' Changed the Way Women Were Portrayed on Television".Biography.Retrieved2020-09-08.
  11. ^Honeycutt, Kirk (1978-04-16)."'We Ran Out of Controversy' Bea Arthur Says Farewell to 'Maude'".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved2020-09-08.
  12. ^Sharbutt, Jay (September 10, 1973)."'Maude' debut on drinking ".Park City Daily News.Retrieved2010-06-03.
  13. ^Sharbutt, Jay (September 11, 1973)."'Maude' two-parter is funny, but serious look at alcoholism ".The Herald.Rock Hill, South Carolina.Retrieved2010-06-03.
  14. ^"TV Listings 04-02-1980".Glasgow Times.Glasgow.Retrieved2020-08-03.
  15. ^"TV Listings 07-10-1975".Daily Mirror.London. Archived fromthe originalon 2011-10-07.Retrieved2010-01-24.
  16. ^ab"TV Listings 04-03-1975".Daily Mirror.Archived fromthe originalon 2011-07-26.Retrieved2010-01-24.
  17. ^"TV Listings 07-31-1975".Daily Mirror.Archived fromthe originalon 2011-07-26.Retrieved2010-01-24.
  18. ^"TV Listings 10-10-1975".Daily Mirror.Archived fromthe originalon 2011-10-07.Retrieved2010-01-24.
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  20. ^"TV Listings 03-12-1975".Daily Mirror.Archived fromthe originalon 2011-10-06.Retrieved2010-01-24.
  21. ^Archived atGhostarchiveand theWayback Machine:Pop Goes the Culture TV (2017-04-04)."Bea Arthur talks about Golden Girls Part 2 of 4".YouTube.Retrieved2020-05-27.
  22. ^"The Charlotte Observer 10 Apr 1978, page 17".
  23. ^abhttps:// americanradiohistory /hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/77-OCR/BC-1977-04-25-OCR-Page-0038.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  24. ^abhttps:// americanradiohistory /hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/78-OCR/1978-05-01-BC-OCR-Page-0036.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  25. ^"Mill Creek Entertainment Signs Deals With Sony Pictures Home Entertainment To Expand Their Distribution Partnership".TV Shows on DVD(Press release). Mill Creek Entertainment. Archived fromthe originalon 6 October 2014.Retrieved23 September2014.
  26. ^"'The Complete 1st Season' to Get a Value-Priced Re-Release ".TV Shows on DVD(Press release). Mill Creek Entertainment. Archived fromthe originalon 24 December 2014.Retrieved11 December2014.
  27. ^"Maude: The Complete Series".Shout! Factory.Retrieved2014-12-01.
  28. ^"Maude - DVD Set for 'The Complete 3rd Season' is Scheduled for Fall".TV Shows On DVD(Press release). Shout! Factory. August 19, 2015. Archived fromthe originalon 2015-08-21.
  29. ^"Maude - Shout! Factory Schedules 'The Complete 4th Season'".TV Shows On DVD(Press release). Shout! Factory. December 7, 2015. Archived fromthe originalon 2015-12-10.
  30. ^"Maude - The Penultimate 'Complete 5th Season' Gets Scheduled for DVD!".TV Shows On DVD(Press release). Shout! Factory. March 1, 2016. Archived fromthe originalon 2016-03-05.
  31. ^"Maude - Shout! Factory's 'Complete 6th and Final Season' is Announced for DVD!".TV Shows On DVD(Press release). Shout! Factory. May 6, 2016. Archived fromthe originalon 2016-05-08.
  32. ^"25th Annual DGA Awards".Directors Guild of America Awards.RetrievedApril 29,2024.
  33. ^"26th Annual DGA Awards".Directors Guild of America Awards.RetrievedApril 29,2024.
  34. ^"28th Annual DGA Awards".Directors Guild of America Awards.RetrievedApril 29,2024.
  35. ^"29th Annual DGA Awards".Directors Guild of America Awards.RetrievedApril 29,2024.
  36. ^"Maude".Golden Globe Awards.RetrievedApril 29,2024.
  37. ^"Television Hall of Fame: Productions".Online Film & Television Association.RetrievedApril 29,2024.
  38. ^"Maude".Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.RetrievedApril 29,2024.
  39. ^"Awards Winners".Writers Guild of America Awards.Archived fromthe originalon December 5, 2012.RetrievedJune 6,2010.
  40. ^"Séries et feuilletons à la recherche de la" qualité européenne "".Le Monde.fr(in French). 1987-06-21.Retrieved2022-03-04.
  41. ^Winship, Frederick M. (January 15, 1981)."Elaine Stritch Defends London Theater".TimesDaily.Florence, Alabama.Retrieved2013-03-10.
  42. ^"Nobody's Perfect".British Film Institute.Archived fromthe originalon 2009-01-25.Retrieved2013-03-10.
  43. ^https://news.google /newspapers?id=Yk5BAAAAIBAJ&sjid=iqcMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2415%2C5274821P16 Glasgow Evening times for 2nd Jan 1980 Listings

External links[edit]