I'm 52 and a big fan of 70s pop culture and 70s enthusiast. I'm really intrigued w/ the decade in which I was born, but too little to have really experienced...I ran across Phyllis in the mid-80s, late one night on WGN Channel 9 back home in Chicago. I was 16. Found out that it was a spin-off of MTM. This might not be side-splittling funny, but it is funny and a fun trip to the mid-70s. I love it. Who knows when or if this will ever see the light of day on DVD or whatever...so thanks so much George Hunt for posting these. I'm loving 'em!!!!
Actor Leigh McCloskey, who played Bess' BF, Donald Ralson in this ep, has had quite a life! He's currently married, 65, and lives in Malibu. After a few years "doing the acting thing," he went on to try his hand in such endeavors as painting, philosophy, and writing! Too much to detail here, but if you're interested, his is a bio worth pursuing!
I love Phyllis. They don't make shows like this anymore I appreciate all the show from before I was born they had good humor and great actors. Love Ellinor Colby just wish she would have not been murdered so early on in the series. Thank you for posting Phyllis.
The dynamics in this episode are really interesting for a show of that time - Cloris certainly gets her share of laughs, but she's just great at setting up Lars's mother for some great punchlines. So sorry to hear of her passing. We're going to pull out "Last Picture Show" and see that tonight, even though it's not all that easy to watch.
@@cherylcampbell9369 There were other gang-related murders that night around the same area, too. Her companion died, as well. BC died instantly, he didn’t. He died about an hour later. There was a woman killed that same night in the same funeral home having the same time BC was having her funeral, too.
There was SO much more to Cloris than Phyllis, seriously... A lot of her was Phyllis but a lot wasn't. She was just that versatile. The problem with her sitcom was that without Mary and Valerie, she usually sank. Phyllis became the butt of her own bad joke. Another problem was that a lot of it just wasn't well-written. I just wonder what the show would've been if Barbara Colby had lived, although Liz and Richard did well with their roles as photographers. Moving her to the City Supervisors office in Year 2 was a good move though.
I watched some of the eps when new, but I didn't think it was very funny. I was a little kid when Bess was the kid on that sitcom "My World and Welcome to it", William Windom played her dad. I watched that show when new.
18:10 “It was Lars who taught you and her the facts of life” that’s funny…. Look where you ended up on 12 years later… THE FACTS OF LIFE LOL Surprised no one caught that lol
All spin-offs ret-con to some extent. Rhoda had other siblings, Phyllis has a never seen again brother... (Too bad because considering that the story being set in San Francisco, a gay brother would have been an interesting addition. A tie-in with “Tales of the City.”) Bottom line: continuity is less important than an interesting setting or a good story. I’m a Trekkie, believe me, you learn to deal with frustrations with “errors in canon.”🙄😉
ON MTM Phyllis complains Lars's family is talking about her in Swedish. Mary asks how Phyllis knows since she doesn't speak Swedish. And Phyllis says you don't have to know, when they are saying "Gute helpe Lars"
Great as she was as support she had not the heart , dear nymph, to persuade the television audience. Cloris the talent without the heart. What were they thinking?
On Maude, Carol called her mother Maude but then later switched between "Mother" and "Maude." It was a 70s thing to have your child call their parents by their first name. Greg Brady tried it and was shot down right away by Carol and Mike
Enjoy Cloris immensely, but that hairstyle change made her look older IMO. But I guess the Betty Ford look was popular with someone in charge. That aside, great cast; too bad they didn't have more time on the air.
