Phyllis: Relocating Was a Bad Move

December 8, 2025August 3, 2025 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

This month we are looking back at one-named sitcoms, and we can’t forget Phyllis. A spinoff from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, it aired in the fall of 1975 and ran for two seasons. James Brooks, The MTM producer, was involved slightly as a consultant but Ed Weinberger and Stan Daniels were in charge.

In this series, Phyllis Lindstrom (Cloris Leachman) and her daughter Bess (Lisa Gerritsen) leave Minneapolis and move to San Francisco after Phyllis’ husband passes away. Her in-laws still live out west in the area where she and Lars lived as newlyweds. Even though Lars was a doctor, his death left his family broke. Life is interesting with three generations under one roof. Lars’ father Judge Jonathan Dexter (Henry Jones), Lars’ mother Audrey (Jane Rose), and Phyllis and her daughter navigate life with their grief, new surroundings, and complicated life situations.

Phyllis applies for an assistant in a photography studio. Her first boss is Julie (Barbara Colby). After Colby was murdered, Liz Torres took on the role and Valerie Harper’s (who played Rhoda on the MTM show) ex-husband Richard Schall plays Leo, a photographer at the studio who doesn’t make life easy for anyone. Phyllis is not only used to being pampered and not working, she also never was shy about sharing her opinions with anyone around her.

The network scheduled the show on Monday nights after Rhoda and before All in the Family, so it became an instant top ten hit. Leachman was nominated for lead actress in a comedy but lost the Emmy to Mary Tyler Moore. In addition to Moore, Leachman’s competition included her previous coworker Valerie Harper for Rhoda, Lee Grant for Fay, and Bea Arthur for Maude.

Once again, as we’ve seen a few times this month, when ratings began to slip a bit, the network turned the show upside down. For season two, the photography studio was sold, and Phyllis was without a job again. She then goes to work for the San Francisco City Supervisor and is put into the middle of political chaos. Rhoda was also having some trouble with ratings and was rehabbed. Their competition was Little House on the Prairie which continued to rake in lots of viewers.

By 1976, Rhoda had regained many of its viewers, but Phyllis was continuing to decline. It was dropped for the next season. At one point, Mother Dexter (Judith Lowry), the judge’s mother, has a boyfriend Arthur Lanson played by Burt Mustin who later becomes her husband. Henry Jones and Burt Mustin’s scenes are probably the highlights of the shows.

Alan Burns discussed casting the role of Phyllis on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. He said Leachman’s instincts were terrific, and she made the role amazing. James Brook said that Marlin Brando called Leachman the best actor he ever saw come out of The Actor’s Studio. Obviously, the character of Phyllis was a successful and popular one. I think that The Mary Tyler Moore Show was so well loved for the ensemble cast. Pulling Phyllis out of that “family,” and placing her across the country probably wasn’t the formula for a successful spinoff. They would have been better off to give her a brand new show of her own which could feature her highly rated acting ability.

Dick Schaal: What a Character

December 2, 2024March 16, 2024 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

Today we began our “What a Character” blog series. Typically, when we discuss character actors, we are looking at actors who were busy in the forties, fifties, and sixties, but in the past sixty years, there have been a lot of great character actors as well. Today we are looking at the career of Richard Schaal.

Schaal was born in Chicago in 1928. His dad was a machinist, and his mom was a telephone operator. After he graduated, he ran a construction company before joining the Second City comedy troupe in 1959, not long after it began.

In 1950 he married Lois Treacy. I could not find a divorce date, but it was some time before 1964. They had a daughter Wendy who is also an actress.

Eventually he made his way to California. He had seventeen film credits on his resume; most of them were not too memorable, but he was in The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming and Slaughterhouse Five.

Television is where he made most of his acting appearances. He began his TV career in 1964 in East Side/West Side. This was a show I had not heard of before. Apparently, it was on for one year and starred George C. Scott as a social worker trying to help his clients in the mix of cultures that makes up New York City.

Schaal would find a few more roles in the sixties on several shows including The Dick Van Dyke Show, That Girl, and I Dream of Jeannie.

In the sixties, Schaal met Valerie Harper and they married in 1964.

During the seventies, he collected roles on many sitcoms including The Doris Day Show, The Partridge Family, Love American Style, The Bob Newhart Show, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

On The Mary Tyler Moore Show, he played Howard Arnell, Paul Arnell, Chuckles the Clown, and Dino. Not surprisingly, he made appearances on Rhoda and Phyllis.

In 1970, Schaal and Harper wrote a script for Love American Style for “Love and the Visitor” which aired on season two, episode 5 where a bridegroom ends up in the wrong girl’s bedroom. Harper said they were part of the Writers Guild, but their hearts were in acting and once she got the part of Rhoda, the writing stopped.

Harper discussed Schaal during an interview with the Television Academy. She describes him as her former husband and good friend. She said she and Schaal hosted a talk show with Skitch Henderson for about a year in the mid-sixties. They did interviews and sketches. She said after that they decided to move to Los Angeles.

📷imdb.com The Russians Are Coming The Russians Are Coming

The seventies were also a busy time for Schaal who continued to find roles on television. You can see him on dramas such as Nero Wolfe and Hardcastle and McCormick. He also was on sitcoms including Harper Valley PTA and Just Our Luck. He had a recurring role during this decade on Trapper John MD from 1981-85. The show was a sequel of M*A*S*H and portrayed Trapper later in life. Schaal played Dr. David Sandler. He also accepted a role on It’s a Living in 1980. His daughter Wendy was part of the cast. She has a very successful career and has appeared in many popular series. From 2005-2023, she was one of the voices in American Dad.

In 1980 he tried marriage a third time with Tasha Brittain. They would divorce in 1989.

Schaal retired in 1990 and passed away in 2014 in Los Angeles. No cause of death was provided. He did have spinal surgery in the late 90s and was in a wheelchair after that.

Sadly, I could not find a lot of information about Schaal or his personal life. He had a successful career, but it’s too bad there wasn’t more improvisational work at the time. It sounds like he was very gifted in that area. He didn’t have as much luck in love, but at least, according to Valerie Harper, he was a great guy and they remained good friends. He was one of those character actors who added so much to the television industry, especially in the sixties and seventies.

Valerie Harper: You Will Be Missed

January 6, 2020 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

This month, my blog’s theme is “Valerie.” I apologize ahead of time to any of you who have the lyrics of the Amy Winehouse song running through your head all month. It’s a great song, but every January blog I wrote kept the song in my brain for a few days.

I decided to begin the series, and the new year, looking at the career of Valerie Harper who passed away in 2019.

Valerie Harper lived to be 80, despite being diagnosed with brain cancer in 2013.

Harper recalled attending an ice-skating show as a child and deciding she wanted to be involved in show business of some type. She loved the lighting, the audience, and the entire theatrical experience. She began her career as a dancer. Joining the Radio City Hall dancers, she transitioned into acting.

She eventually made her way to the Second City troupe in Chicago. After perfecting her comedy skills, she was on to Broadway, appearing in Dear Liar, Story Theatre, Something Different, and Metamorphosis.

Valerie appeared in a few movies and television series during the late ‘60s and early ‘70s.

Photo: thenewyorktimes.com
Richard Schaal and Valerie Harper

From 1964-1978, she was married to Richard Schaal. The couple wrote a script for Love American Style in 1969 called “Love and the Visitor.” Harper also acted in the segment “Love and the Housekeeper” in 1971.

Her big break came when she was offered the role of Rhoda Morgenstern on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Ethel Winant spotted her in a play and asked her to audition for the role. For four years, she played Mary’s best friend who lives upstairs. Rhoda was a window decorator for a large department store. The characters of Mary Richards and Rhoda Morgenstern were total opposites, but they had a tremendous chemistry and became best friends.

Although Mary was the nicest person on the show, we all wanted Rhoda to be our best friend. Her humor and attitude toward life made the world a more fun place to be.

In 1974, Valerie was rewarded with her own show, Rhoda. She marries and returns to New York. Harper won four Emmys during her time as Rhoda between the two shows. After capturing Rhoda’s Jewish persona so accurately, many people were surprised to learn she was not Jewish and grew up Catholic.

Some of the funniest moments on either of the sitcoms was Rhoda’s relationship with her mother Ida, played by Nancy Walker. Rhoda loved her mother, but was driven absolutely crazy by her.

When Rhoda was abruptly cancelled, Harper made a cluster of made-for-tv movies.

In 1986, Harper was cast as the lead in the show Valerie’s Family. After being abruptly fired from the show in 1987, she was replaced with Sandy Duncan as the children’s aunt. The plot line was that Valerie died in a car accident and Sandy comes to help out. The show changed its name to The Hogan Family and continued until 1991. Harper sued Lorimar Productions for breach of contract and was awarded $1.4 million plus part of the show’s profits.

In 1990, City debuted starring Harper. The show only lasted one season. I have never seen this show, but most of the reviews I read were by people who loved it. One write-up on imdb.com concluded “This was the funniest sitcom Valerie Harper has done (except of course for the Mary Tyler Moore Show). The city manager’s office that provided the setting is the perfect locale for the parade of crazies that give comedic impetus to this type of show, The funniest was James Lorinz as the security guard (in one episode, he was convinced that white-out was being stolen to aid illegal immigration; to prove his point, he painted his entire body with it). One of the Mysteries of the Universe is why this failed while “The Hogan Family,” a profoundly mediocre show, lasted several years.”

From that point on, Harper did not star in any other television series, but she did show up in a variety of series and made-for-tv movies, including a recurring role on The Office in 1995.

Valerie contributed to many causes during her career. She was a big advocate of the Equal Rights Amendment in the ‘70s and ‘80s. She co-founded L.I.F.E. with Dennis Weaver, a nonprofit that gave food to the hungry in Los Angeles.

Valerie re-married in 1987, wedding Tony Cacciotti whom she remained with until her death.

Harper continued in stage work throughout her career. From 2005-2006, she portrayed Golda Meir, touring throughout the US.

She accepted the role of Claire Bremmer on Desperate Housewives in 2011. In 2013, she returned to her dancing roots, appearing on Dancing with the Stars, partnered with Tristan MacManus.

In 2009, Valerie was diagnosed with lung cancer. She fought the illness, but in March of 2013, she was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, given only months to live. Those couple of months turned into six years. Harper discussed her disease in 2015: “I talk to the cells all the time. I say, ‘What the hell are you doing? Not only are you destructive, coming in and ruining all my plans, but you are dumb! You are killing the host. If you take a low profile, I can live with you, here on the edge of the sword. You can fall one way or the other.’ Right now, things are working fantastically. Tomorrow, I don’t know.” Her philosophy was “We’re all terminal; none of us are getting out of this alive.”

Harper was fondly remembered by her co-stars when she passed away. Mary Tyler Moore who died before Harper, said she was devastated the day Valerie called her to tell her about the cancer. Ed Asner, who played Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Show, remembered his years working with Harper: “A beautiful woman, a wonderful actress, a great friend. . . . Her brilliance burst through and shined its light upon all of us. Goodnight beautiful. I’ll see you soon.”

Alyssa Milano who played her daughter on an episode of Melrose Place, said “Valerie Harper was always the most gracious and kindest actor on the set. She will be missed. Rest in Peace. ”

Valerie Harper had a unique gift of making us laugh, not at her characters, but with her characters. We could all relate to her. She was a role model for how to keep a positive attitude about living with a terminal illness. It’s a rare person who learns to work hard while making it look easy, fight for causes that help others, inspire others to live better while she was dying, and infuse laughter into every aspect of her life. We will truly miss you Valerie Harper, but we will remember you for all the gifts you left behind for us.