''That's My Mama'' is an American

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

that was originally broadcast on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

network from September 4, 1974 until December 24, 1975. There are 39 episodes of this series. ''That's My Mama'' was never a ratings success, having always been beaten by NBC's ''

Little House on the Prairie The ''Little House on the Prairie'' books is a series of American children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (b. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls). The stories are based on her childhood and adolescence in the Midwestern United States, American M ...

'' among other competing network programs. It was not one of the top 30 most-watched U.S. programs in the

Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

for either the 1974–1975 or 1975–1976 television seasons. As a result, the series ended on Christmas Eve of 1975. It was the first series to be produced by

Columbia Pictures Television Columbia Pictures Television, Inc. (abbreviated as CPT) was launched on May 6, 1974, by Columbia Pictures as an American television production and distribution studio. It is the second name of the Columbia Pictures television division Screen Gem ...

Synopsis

Set in a middle-class

African American neighborhood African-American neighborhoods or black neighborhoods are types of ethnic enclaves found in many cities in the United States. Generally, an African American neighborhood is one where the majority of the people who live there are African American ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, the program revolved around the character Clifton Curtis (played by

Clifton Davis Clifton Duncan Davis (born October 4, 1945) is an American actor, singer, songwriter, minister, and author. Davis wrote The Jackson 5's No. 2 hit " Never Can Say Goodbye" in 1971. He appeared on Broadway in the musicals '' Two Gentlemen of Vero ...

), a man in his mid-20s who worked as a

barber A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men's and boys' hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a "barbershop" or a "barber's". Barbershops are also places of social interaction and publi ...

at Oscar's Barber Shop, the family barber shop he had inherited from his late father. While Clifton enjoyed being a

bachelor A bachelor is a man who is not and has never been married.Bachelors are, in Pitt & al.'s phrasing, "men who live independently, outside of their parents' home and other institutional settings, who are neither married nor cohabitating". (). Etymo ...

, his loving, but tart-tongued and opinionated mother Eloise "Mama" Curtis, played by

Theresa Merritt Theresa Merritt Hines (September 24, 1922 June 12, 1998), known professionally as Theresa Merritt, was an American actress and singer. She's known for her role in '' That's My Mama'' (1974-1975) and for her film roles in ''The Wiz'' (1978) and ''B ...

, wanted him to settle down and find a nice wife. Additional characters – such as Clifton's two best friends—Earl, played by

Teddy Wilson Theodore Shaw Wilson (November 24, 1912 – July 31, 1986) was an American jazz pianist. Described by critic Scott Yanow as "the definitive swing pianist", Wilson had a sophisticated, elegant style. His work was featured on the records of ma ...

, an easy-going mailman and Junior, played by

Ted Lange Theodore William Lange III (; born January 5, 1948) is an American actor, director and screenwriter best known for his roles as bartender Isaac Washington in the TV series ''The Love Boat'' (1977-1986), and Junior in ''That's My Mama'' (1974-197 ...

, a suave and good-humored ladies' man—came and went over the course of a typical day at Oscar's Barber Shop. Other characters included Tracy, Clifton's little sister, played by

Lynne Moody Emmalyn Paulette Moody (born February 17, 1950), known professionally as Lynne Moody, is an American film and television actress. Beginning her career in the early 1970s, Moody is best known her roles as Tracy Curtis–Taylor in the ABC televisi ...

and later by

Joan Pringle Joan Pringle (born June 2, 1945) is an American actress known for her roles on ''General Hospital'' (1963), '' The White Shadow'' (1978), and ''Original Sin'' (2001). One of her best-known roles was that of vice principal (and subsequently princi ...

and her husband, Leonard, played by

Lisle Wilson Lisle Astor Wilson (September 2, 1943 – March 14, 2010), born Lisle Astor Wilson Jr., was an American actor known for playing Leonard Taylor on the ABC sitcom ''That's My Mama'' which ran from 1974 to 1975. His film roles included appearances ...

, as well as local seniors Josh and Wildcat, played by

DeForest Covan DeForest Covan (September 9, 1917 - September 8, 2007) was an American actor, dancer, and former black vaudeville performer. From his first film appearance in 1936, in ''The Singing Kid'', his acting career stretched to the 1990s. In early 1978, ...

and

Jester Hairston Jester Joseph Hairston (July 9, 1901 – January 18, 2000) was an American composer, songwriter, arranger, choral conductor and actor. He was regarded as a leading expert on black spirituals and choral music. His notable compositions include "Am ...

. Clifton Davis and Hairston would work together again years later in the hit sitcom, ''

Amen Amen ( he, אָמֵן, ; grc, ἀμήν, ; syc, ܐܡܝܢ, ; ar, آمين, ) is an Abrahamic declaration of affirmation which is first found in the Hebrew Bible, and subsequently found in the New Testament. It is used in Jews, Jewish, Christia ...

''. The original name for ''That's My Mama'' was ''The Furst Family of Washington.'' One year before the series debuted, ABC aired the pilot episode of this version, starring Merritt opposite

Godfrey Cambridge Godfrey MacArthur Cambridge (February 26, 1933 – November 29, 1976) was an American stand-up comic and actor. Alongside Bill Cosby, Dick Gregory, and Nipsey Russell, he was acclaimed by ''Time'' in 1965 as "one of the country's foremost celeb ...

as her son Oscar, as a one-off special.

''That's My Mama Now!''

In 1986, inspired by the success of ''

What's Happening Now!! ''What's Happening Now!!'' is an American sitcom sequel to the original ABC 1976–79 sitcom '' What's Happening!!'' focusing on its main characters as adults. It aired in first-run broadcast syndication from September 7, 1985 until March 26, 19 ...

'',

produced a pilot for a sequel series called ''That's My Mama Now!'' with

as the star. It lacked enough stations signing up to ensure revival.

Cast

as Clifton Curtis *

as Eloise "Mama" Curtis *

as Junior *

Theodore Wilson Theodore Rosevelt "Teddy" Wilson (December 10, 1943 – July 21, 1991) was an American stage, film, and television actor. He is best known for his recurring roles as Earl the Postman on the ABC sitcom '' That's My Mama'', and Sweet Daddy Wil ...

as Earl Chambers (season 1, episode 3 - season 2, episode 13, main) *

as Wildcat (season 1, main) *

as Tracy Curtis Taylor (season 1, main) *

as Josh (season 1, main) * Lisle Wilson as Leonard Taylor (season 2, main; recurring season 1) *

as Tracy Curtis Taylor (season 2, main) *

Helen Martin Helen Dorothy Martin (July 23, 1909 – March 25, 2000) was an American actress of stage and television. Martin's career spanned over 60 years, appearing first on stage and later in film and television. Martin is best known for her roles as Wand ...

as Laura (season 2, recurring) Ernestine Wade originally portrayed the role of Laura in two episodes: "Clifton's Sugar Mama" (season 1, episode 5) and "The Birthday Party" (season 2, episode 1).

Ed Bernard Ed Bernard (born July 4, 1939) is an American actor best known for his roles as Detective Joe Styles on '' Police Woman'', Principal Jim Willis on '' The White Shadow'', and as Lieutenant Bill Giles on ''Hardcastle and McCormick''. Career Be ...

originated the role of Earl Chambers in the first two episodes of season 1: "Whose Child Is This?" and "Honesty Day". Teddy Wilson took over the role in episode 3 of season 1, and was added to the main cast. In addition, Wilson appeared as a different character in the pilot episode while Bernard portrayed the role of Earl in that episode.

Episodes

Season 1 (1974–1975)

Season 2 (1975)

Catchphrases

*"Wooooooo, WHEE!! I got it, I got it, and I got to report it!"—Junior's (

) introduction whenever he had a bit of juicy gossip to tell Clifton and anybody else in the barbershop who happened to be listening.

Home media

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home video distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures lib ...

released both Seasons on DVD in Region 1 on August 23, 2005. The majority of episodes are presented on both DVD releases in their edited-for-syndication form. Only a handful of episodes are presented in their original unedited form. On June 13, 2017,

released ''That's My Mama- The Complete Series'' on DVD in Region 1.OooooWEE! I Got It! I Got It! And I GOT to Report It: 'The Complete Series'!

Cultural reference

In the movie ''

Coming to America ''Coming to America'' is a 1988 American romantic comedy film directed by John Landis and based on a story originally created by Eddie Murphy, who also stars in the lead role. The film also co-stars Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones, Shari Head ...

'',

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and singer. He rose to fame on the sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', for which he was a regular cast member from 1980 to 1984. Murphy has als ...

has a brief role as Randy Watson, who is explained by

Arsenio Hall Arsenio Hall (born February 12, 1956) is an American comedian, actor and talk show host. He hosted the late-night talk show, ''The Arsenio Hall Show'', from 1989 until 1994, and again from 2013 to 2014. He has appeared in ''Martial Law'', ''Comi ...

’s character, Reverend Brown, to have played “Joe the Policeman" in the (fictional) "What’s Going Down” episode of ''That's My Mama''. In the ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffin family, Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter Griff ...

'' episode "

Mr. Griffin Goes to Washington The third season of ''Family Guy'' first aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network in 22 episodes from July 11, 2001, to November 9, 2003, before being released as a DVD box set and in syndication. It premiered with the episode "The Thi ...

," Peter testifies before Congress. Trying to think of a snappy line with which to end his speech, he finally quips "Well, that's my mama!" (This was the tagline at the end of each ''That's My Mama'' episode's prologue.)

Syndicated Rebroadcast

Decades TV reran all 39 episodes of ''That's My Mama'' in their Weekend Binge programming for February 12-13, 2022.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0071065
''That's My Mama''
at Super70s.com 1974 American television series debuts 1975 American television series endings 1970s American sitcoms 1970s American black sitcoms American Broadcasting Company original programming Television series about widowhood Television series by Sony Pictures Television Television shows set in Washington, D.C.