The actor playing the brother of Eunice is the legendary Roddy McDowall. He was a talented actor, voice artist, film director and photographer. He was 10 years old when he started in the industry. He was a very good friend to Elizabeth Taylor and it was said he was a kind man... He past at the age of just 70 years old...
Rod was terrific in everything he did-- How Green Was My Valley, Night Gallery, Planet of the Apes, It!, Batman, and so much more. I believe he played Eunice's brother the writer three times during her show.
They cut out part of this one. The part where Philip tells Mama he'll take her to see the studio and all she's upset about is missing another episode of 'Weathering the Storm' and they find a TV Guide to tell her what time it comes on.
Well, this was a ground-breaking tv show no doubt about it....... Great acting...of course the portrayal of the "Backwards, Simple-minded southern relatives is always a trip to watch... Especially being that I'm from Mississippi.... Where would the world be without Hollywood to promote such stereotypes???? A better place maybe??
Well, hi, neighbor, I'm also from Mississippi. For the record, Vicki Lawrence and Carol Burnett were both Texas natives, hence who they are imitating. Eunice and Thelma are very strongly based on Carol's mother and grandmother.
@@ChildrensRightsFirst947 Carol Burnett is portraying her own mother, Ina Louise Burnett, while Vicki is portraying Carol's grandmother, Nanny. Huh, what was Nanny's name. Carol is near 20 years older than Vicki, so originally, Vicki was going to be 'Eunice' and Carol would be 'Thelma'. Carol made all the changes; letting Carol be the daughter and Vicki be the mother, making them southern (Texas is close enough) and as Carol described it, making them Tennessee Williams on acid.
Its hard to believe Vicki Lawrence was going to college when she was doing this show(!!). And she even recorded a top ten hit; The Night The Light Went Out In Georgia. And she won an Emmy on this show; and SHE was the one who spun off into her own hit series.
Eunice does realize that Talia Shire was a trained, professional actress prior to the Godfather, and she was given that role do to being right for the part; no way would FFC have cast her if she wasn't talented and experienced, no?
She was always looking for a shortcut to stardom: unwilling and unable to put in the work. And of course, lacking any real confidence, thanks to her awful parents.
Actually, he played Cornelius in the first Planet of the Apes movie and in Escape From The Planet of The Apes. He then played Caesar (Cornelius and Zira's child) in Conquest of the Planet of the Apes and Battle for the Planet of the Apes. Later he played the ape Galen in the tv series based on the movies.
I wish they'd kept the Phillip character, instead of creating 'Vinton', when 'Mama's Family' became a sitcom. Whether Roddy McDowell played the part, or Ken Berry, it would have been more interesting and compelling than 'Vinton' (we won't even mention those hideous, rat-faced, 40-year-old "teenagers" who nearly killed the show, playing Vinton's "kids"). We have empathy for Phillip. With Vinton, we just want him to shut up and get out of the way, or fall off a cliff or something.
I couldn't stand the sitcom show. They softened up Mama way too much. Evidently, Harvey Korman, who produced or directed the show, felt audiences would get tired or wouldn't believe that Mama could be so vile and crabby all the time. That crabbiness made half the laughs. And frankly, without Eunice in the show as well, it wasn't the same. Vinton was irritating as all...dopey and dumb acting. You are totally right, Bunny.
Bunny Biedenharn Proud to say I never watched one episode of Mama’s Family. The Family sketches only worked as well as they did because of the combined talents of Carol, Vickie, Harvey, and Tim.
@@sandee3073 I can see why you wouldn't have watched Mama's Family. If Ed or Vinton (or Buzz or Sonya) were the first people you saw, then you were right in changing the channel. However, Rue McClannahan (as Thelma's more cultivated "old maid" sister) was interesting - particularly as counterpoint to Thelma: one sister having chosen to develop her mind, while the other married beneath herself and plunged headlong into DOWNWARD MOBILITY. And, of course, Carol Burnett, when she'd make appearances, was brilliant, as was Vicki Lawrence. Eunice's performance of 'Oh Promise Me', during Naomi's wedding, is one of the most hilarious moments on TV - ever. And Naomi had a lot of good lines, even in her first season on the show. And, of course, Betty White's portrayal of Ellen, was brilliant - her darkness managing to survive into the sitcom. But a lot of it WAS cheap/tacky/saccharine/maudlin/trite - thanks, apparently, to Harvey Korman (Ed), who was a power behind the scenes. However, once Iola and Bubba appeared, the show was SAVED. Bubba's looks were enough to stop someone flipping channels. And once they were stopped, they saw Iola. There's a little Iola in all of us, and I find her to be up there with Ugly Betty, as one of the most compelling characters ever on TV. Beverly Archer BECAME Iola, with a purity and intensity that has never been surpassed, by anybody playing ANY role.
You are right Bunny. Roddy McDowell plays a far more interesting character, and is a different sort of actor than Ken Berry. "Phillip" only appeared in two episodes that I know of. "Mama's Family" was funny, but only because of Vickie Lawrence. Iola was unnecessary.
He never did in the show. That is correct. But Ken did an excellent job in the Eunice teleplay as Phillip. There were two other brothers in the Eunice canon played by Alan Alda and Tommy Smothers
@@Portugal2025 You know your onions. Kudos on that. Ken Berry was solid in the Eunice TV-movie (which happily was a bonus on the Mama's Family season 2 DVD set). That was a fascinating dramedy special. Moments of hilarity, melodrama, and that sad ending which always breaks my heart a little. The writers really got to pepper the TV special with some fun Eunice bits from the sketches. I love the family skits from Carol's show, they will always be hilarious to me. And Vicki's sitcom was okay, but it gradually drifted far far away from the tone of the source material. You probably already know that Harvey Korman had advised Vicki and the writers (once they were about to go into syndication) to make Mama sweeter because supposedly the TV audience wouldn't relate well to an old crab. I disagree with that notion. I loved grumpy Mama, the Mama who would never have dreamed of singing in a contest or helping others, LOL. One more thing: Ken Berry borrowed liberally from the physical comedy stylings of Don Knotts when Berry made Vint a doddering doofus as the series went into its third season (after Fran died, and when Bubba and Iola were introduced). It was a blatant ripoff (or homage?), especially the deep inhales through the nose when Vint was proud of himself or tried looking important. 😄
Philip couldn't afford to fly them to his home? He's Rich isn't he? He made his senior citizen mom and his sister and her husband drive across the country?
