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

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

that 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 company. It is the second name of Columbia Pictures' television division Screen Gems ...

and originally broadcast for 39 episodes on ABC from September 4, 1974, to December 24, 1975. ''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 comprise a series of American children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (b. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls). The stories are based on her childhood and adulthood in the Midwestern United States, Americ ...

'' among other competing programs, and was not among the 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 1975.

Synopsis

Set in a middle-class African American neighborhood in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, 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 has numerous Broadway credits, including ''Hello, Dolly! (mus ...

), 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 hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a barbershop or the barber's. Barbershops have been noted places of social interaction and public discourse ...

at Oscar's Barber Shop, the family barber shop he had inherited from his late father. While Clifton enjoyed being a bachelor, his loving, but tart-tongued and opinionated mother Eloise "Mama" Curtis, played by Theresa Merritt, 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 music, swing pianist", Wilson's piano style was gentle, elegant, and virtuosic. His style was high ...

, an easy-going mailman and Junior, played by Ted Lange, 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, 1945), 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 and her husband, Leonard, played by Lisle Wilson, as well as local seniors Josh and Wildcat, played by DeForest Covan 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 " A ...

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

Amen Amen (, ; , ; , ; , ) 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 Jewish, Christian, and Islamic practices as a concluding word, or as a respons ...

''. The original title 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 cel ...

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 American Broadcasting Company, ABC 1976–1979 sitcom ''What's Happening!!'' focusing on its main characters as independent people. It aired in first-run broadcast syndicati ...

'',

produced a pilot for a sequel series called ''That's My Mama Now!'' with Ted Lange as the star. It lacked enough stations signing up to ensure revival.

Cast

as Clifton Curtis * Theresa Merritt as Eloise "Mama" Curtis, the widowed mother of Clifton and Tracy, Oscar's widow * Ted Lange as Junior, childhood best friend of Clifton and Earl, who attends college later in the series * Theodore Wilson as Earl Chambers, Clifton's best friend and army buddy who works for the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

, and later a fellow barber alongside Clifton in Oscar's Barber Shop ** Ed Bernard originally portrayed Earl in the episodes "Whose Child Is This?" (pilot) and "Honesty Day" (season 1). Wilson portrayed a character named "Teddy" in the pilot and took over the role of Earl in the third episode thereafter. *

(season 1) and Joan Pringle (season 2) as Tracy Curtis Taylor, Clifton's younger sister is a

graduate student Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of Academic degree, academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by higher education, post-secondary students who have ...

as Wildcat (season 1, main) * DeForest Covan as Josh (season 1, main) * Lisle Wilson as Leonard Taylor, Tracy's husband who is an accountant ** Ilunga Adell portrayed Leonard in "Honesty Day" (season 1, episode 2) * Helen Martin as Laura (season 2, recurring) ** Ernestine Wade portrayed Laura in "The Birthday Party" (season 2, episode 1). Wade portrayed a different character in "Clifton's Sugar Mama" (season 1)

Episodes

Season 1 (1974–1975)

Season 2 (1975)

Home media

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Inc. (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home entertainment distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures libra ...

released both seasons on DVD in Region 1 on August 23, 2005. The majority of the 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, with the same amount of edited episodes as the season sets.OooooWEE! I Got It! I Got It! And I GOT to Report It: 'The Complete Series'!

Cultural references

In the movie ''

Coming to America ''Coming to America'' is a 1988 American romantic comedy film directed by John Landis, based on a story originally created by Eddie Murphy, written by David Sheffield and Barry W. Blaustein, and starring Murphy (in various roles), Arsenio ...

'',

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He had his breakthrough as a standup comic before gaining stardom for his film roles; he is widely recognized as one of the greatest comedians of all time. H ...

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 a 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 Goin' Down” episode of ''That's My Mama''. In the ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. Th ...

'' episode " Mr. Griffin Goes to Washington," 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 (now Catchy Comedy) aired ''That's My Mama'' during its Weekend Binge marathon block on February 12–13, 2022, on February 3, 2024 and again on February 23, 2025.

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 1970s American black television series American English-language television shows Television series about widowhood Television series by Sony Pictures Television Television shows set in Washington, D.C. American Broadcasting Company sitcoms