Enjoy this classic Cloris Leachman scene from The Mary Tyler Moore Show episode, "The Lars Affair." (c) 1973 MTM Enterprises No copyright infringement intended
What strikes me about this scene is the pacing. I love that the actresses are given the time and space to explore the scene and add so many lovely grace notes -- gestures, pauses, and facial expressions. Nothing is rushed; it all unfolds in the most elegant manner.
"Did you know that his clothes are cleaner when he comes home at night than they are when he leaves in the morning?" The writing on this show was comedic genius!
The Swedish phrase Phyllis quotes Lars as saying after their "incredible" lovemaking--"Phyllis, Jag är slutat"--translates as "Phyllis, I am finished."
This is from one of my favorite MTM episodes. It is proof of Cloris Leachman's amazing comedic skill. The part of the scene where Phyllis is tasting her own pie...you hear the laughs building with just a few changes in expression. It's priceless!
Such a brilliant comic scene. Cloris’ line reading of “and Rhoda” at 2:38 is hilarious and the business of how they dealt with Phyllis’ flour-caked hands was so subtle and funny in its realness. A perfectly thought-out and well-rehearsed scene - a comedic master-class really.
I was also a teen viewer, growing up in rural Alabama. I couldn’t find anyone else who appreciated the show. The Hee Haw crowd just didn’t get it. But the show helped me to realize that I was better suited for the big city, and after college I moved to LA. No regrets.
I love how this scene typifies the way Ms. Leachman made Phyllis Lindstrom relatable and aloof at the same time. This character was like a grown-up Mean Girl, and was often at odds with her tenants Mary Richards and Rhoda Morganstern, both of whom she kept at arms' length while occasionally letting them into her feelings. A complex character, played by a great comic actress who always made her funny, like in that take between lines where she eats some of the pie. She was wonderful in other projects as well, but the Mary Tyler Moore Show is where I first discovered her. RIP Cloris Leachman.
Yes! And do you remember that scene where she tells Rhoda and Mary about her prom night? She was stood up and had to take herself out to the movies to spend her time ... both ladies looking at Phyllis with deep concern, and then Phyllis turns around and says that was cathartic! Such tragicomedy!
A fantastic study in character-based comedy - Mary trying to be supportive, even to the point of hiding her revulsion at the taste of the pie; Rhoda, even though always sparring with Phyllis, feels sorry for her and heaps fake praise on the pie; and Phyllis, recognizing that even Rhoda has taken pity on her and confesses the problems in her marriage but, being Phyllis, laughably claims she's "partially" to blame because she's "too much woman". Brilliantly written and acted.
The best episode in an amazing series. This scene is my very favorite. The look on Cloris Leachman’s face when she realized how awful the pie really was. When I met Cloris a few years ago, I told her how much I loved this scene.
How nice you had the opportunity to meet Cloris and tell her that! I had the chance to meet Valerie in 2001 and she was such a doll. Of course I had to tell her that Rhoda was my favorite, but she mentioned how well they all worked together and that Mary set the example, a great 'team leader.'
The face after the taste of pie, then the Swedish accent- genius! I remembered this episode all these years, good to see it again now. Thank you Cloris!
This is the first scene I thought of when I'd learned Cloris had passed. A brilliant star joins her two equally amazing co-stars from my all-time favorite show. RIP Cloris, Valerie and Mary 💔
I had watched the Mel Brooks movie "High Anxiety" earlier that day. My dad and I were talking about Cloris Leachman (he didn't recognize her), and then later that evening he called to tell me the bad news. I coped by neighing like a horse everytime someone mentioned the name of her character in Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein," Frau Blucher (neeeiiiiggghhhh!!!!)
I thought of the episode where Lars' relatives visited from Sweden and she quoted them in pseudo Swedish. Then I also thought of the best scene where she yells at Rhoda through the hair dryer. Then there's the one where she is upset that Rhoda is "dating" her brother, then learns he is gay. So many great Cloris Leachman scenes... too many to list.
Phyllis is so disgusted with the pie she can barely push it away. This show exemplifies the remarkable achievements that can be attained with exceptional actors, talented writers, and a skilled director. Undoubtedly, it stands as a resounding triumph.
Cloris Leachman was reportedly somewhat difficult to work with, but everyone in the show gladly tolerated that because of her brilliant comedic timing and delivery.
@@ajs11201 I've never heard any suggestion of that before. She wouldn't sign a contract as a regular because she wanted the freedom to make movies, and she initially had problems hitting her marks as she liked to move around the set, but she never clashed with other cast members.
“My hands. Hands that once touched the notes of Chopin...”. For me, this episode THE LARS AFFAIR even tops CHUCKLES BITES THE DUST. Of course, in this episode we are introduced to SueAnn Nivens, the Happy Homemaker. Brilliant all around. Like Jack Benny, note how MTM gives all the funny lines to her co-stars. Smart!
@@jamesmcinnis208 I don't think Mary actually wrote for the show, but as the show is named after her, she certainly carried a lot of influence, to say the very least. And, yes, she was well known for wanting the very best COMEDY--even when that meant giving the funny lines to someone else. So during table reads and rehearsal week, she'd often "hint" that a line might be funnier if someone else delivered it--and naturally the writers and cast obliged her.
You wanted to be home on a Saturday nite. All in the Family, Mash, MTM, Bob Newhart & Carol Burnett. CBS lineup. Has there every been a better nite of TV. MTM, one of the best written, acted shows ever.
I love Newhart! I'm only 27 but when I was staying with my dad back in 2016, he got me watching it. It used to come on really late every night on some local channel.
Me too.I was 8 yrs old and loved that great lineup of shows.Still watch all of them now.MTM Show and Bob every day.I watch All in the Family on dvd and Carol Burnett on Sunday nights.Great writing and acting back then.Miss those days.Really miss the whole MTM gang.
Cloris was brilliant! She was excellent in both comedy and drama. She excelled on TV, in films, and on the stage. She kept going and going and going. She left a legacy of wonderful performances on film and videotape.
These were the best kind of shows.....I miss the good 'ol days. Thanks for the laughs Cloris. You and these other 2 wonderful ladies can have a ball now 😆
It is so true. They had to crank out a new episode each week and had to focus on getting the job done. On stage, actors see the results right there. With TV their images flit into people’s homes, but they don’t get that instant feedback. I am so thankful for RU-vid and the ability to relive these moments so easily.
My favorite episode -- Cloris Leachman as Phyllis conducts a master class in comedy. Absolutely perfect. When I'm feeling down, I watch this episode, it never fails to cheer me up.
I love how Rhoda and Phyllis would verbally bash eachother and poor Mary was stuck in the middle. Can't believe these three beautiful ladies are gone now.
48 years later, and as fresh and funny as ever. One of my favorite Phyllis quotes was her comments when Mary debates leaving her Newsroom job: "Mary, life is a series of leavings [a word with 2 very different meanings] "You leave your home, you leave your family, you leave your fiancée, your job....." Then Mary interjects, "Phyllis, leave me alone."
The best scene from the best episode of the series. You can see Cloris very nearly missed the line "I'm just too much of a real woman" as she had started to react to the pie before pulling back and delivering the line.
These three wonderful ladies gave me and millions so much unending joy and laughter; we sure could use a big dose of that now! They were a gift to humanity and with their passing the world is diminished. Thank you all for the memories. 🌹 🌻 🌺
RIP Cloris. You and the ladies brought laughter to my living room when I was a kid in the 70's. Betty Whites the only one of the ladies left, at 99 years young. Georgette and Rhoda both died in 2019. Lou is 91 years old, and Murray is 90.
Just brilliant writing and acting in the MTM show. It shows you how much writing, especially and comedic writing has deteriorated. So clever witty and brilliant All these fabulous stars now gone. R.I.P.
Thanks for posting. I was little when these shows were on. I always got the sense with these characters that growing up wouldn't be so scary and you could actually make it after all.
I like the way the scene is really designed to showcase Phyllis (and Cloris Leachman's great comedic acting), but while Mary and Rhoda are very much supporting players they also get funny lines and reactions true to their characters (handled superbly by Mary Tyler Moore and Valerie Harper). Such great writing on this show!.
Thanks for posting my favorite scene ever from this show. I was lucky enough to see this episode filmed live (and many other shows) as I lived in area and used to go a lot. I was 17! Such amazing/fun memories of the cast/crew, the walls moving from set to set, cameras reloading film, etc. But yep, I was one of the people applauding early on when she tasted that pie!
Great scene.Love Cloris.The 3 of them along with Ted were and always will be my favorites on this timeless show.Best writers ever in my opinion.Still watch every day because this non stop joke machine never gets old.Been watching since day one.Miss the whole gang alot!!
Cloris played a whole different role in the lead of a One Step Beyond episode in the late 50s, already over 30 years old. A few years later Cloris played "Mrs. Fremont" in the original Twilight Zone and 40 years later played the same character in an updated version.
These ladies were so talented, watched the MTM show growing up. Makes me sad to remember that and sad that these wonderful actors have now passed. Thank you for the laughs MTM, Ms Harper and Ms Leachman. ❤️❤️❤️
What a delight Cloris Leachman was and sad to hear that she has died. The only female character still alive is Sue-Ann Nivens played by Betty White who is 99.
was contemplating that the other day, only to realize that Ed Asner, Gavin MacLeod, John Amos and Betty White are still around. Trying to keep it positive.
I must admit, i really watched Rhoda if at all. However seeing Cloris Leachman in that role made her a very good actress. I remember watching Young Frankenstein. She was Frau Blücher. She played that character very well. I was hoping She would have had a bigger role in American Gods but she was killed off possibly because of her age and health. Rip Cloris aka Frau Blücher as I lovingly hear the horses neigh
What a classic! RU-vid is amazing: Just the other day, I was listening to some Chopin, and I thought of Phyllis's words about "my lovely hands, that once touched the notes of Chopin" -- and today, here it is in my list of suggestions! It's like it's psychic, or something...
What about the time that Lar's family came and visited from Sweden and his grandmother just rocked back and forth in a rocking chair while she repeatedly said, "Gott helfen Lars!"
@@Marchant2 I don't remember them not having an accent; however, I do remember they were Swedish, not Swiss. Lindstrom is a Swedish names and so is Lars. And it makes sense that they were Swedish because there are many people of Swedish descent in Minnesota, even now.
That's the ski instructor episode, and I think it's as funny as this episode. Phyllis is mesmerized by the hunk that Mary is dating. It's a hilarious episode about the reaction to good-looking people from both sexes.
Before there was Frasier, there was Phyllis, so full of herself. So full of apple pie. Rhoda was and always will be my favorite, even the Rhoda show, but Cloris Leachman was amazing.
Cloris Leachman is at her best here. Brilliant and funny portrayal of a pretentious person whose insecurities come shining through despite her histrionic, flowery exterior.
She was indeed a class act! Once, when she was performing on stage in Vancouver, she walked into a local restaurant to have dinner. When a girl ran over to tell her how much she had loved her in everything she'd been in, she was so gracious and kind, chatting with her in a relaxed and friendly manner.
Thanks for the Upload 👍 !! I loved Cloris Leachman on the Facts of Life from 1986-88.. XD I love how the show mentions another CBS show at the time Hawaii -Five O..!! XD
That bit where Phyllis pushes the pie plate around the table was Cloris Leachman's ad lib. When the camera switches to Rhoda and Mary, you can see Valerie Harper start to break up. She turns to look at Mary to hide her face, but you can see her smiling at Mary.
