Mama Malone
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''Mama Malone'' is an American sitcom that aired on
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
from March 7 to July 21, 1984. It was created by playwright
Terrence McNally Terrence McNally (November 3, 1938 – March 24, 2020) was an American playwright, librettist, and screenwriter. Described as "the bard of American theater" and "one of the greatest contemporary playwrights the theater world has yet produced," M ...
, featured a theme song by
Kander and Ebb Kander and Ebb were a highly successful American songwriting team consisting of composer John Kander (born March 18, 1927) and lyricist Fred Ebb (April 8, 1928 – September 11, 2004). Known primarily for their stage musical theatre, musicals, whi ...
, and starred
Lila Kaye Lila Kaye (7 November 1929 – 10 January 2012) was an English actress. She spent a number of years working in the United States, on Broadway and in television, before returning to England. She often played motherly and/or comedic characters ...
in the title role as a New Yorker with a cooking show.


Premise

The series' main character was Renate Malone (surname rhymed with "''baloney''"), Italian-American widow of an Irish-American policeman, thus the unusual pronunciation of her married name. She was the hostess of a home cooking show called ''Cooking with Mama Malone'' that was telecast live from her fourth-floor apartment in a
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
tenement. Each episode began with her instructing her viewers on a recipe that was never completed because a parade of family members, friends, and acquaintances kept popping in to interrupt her and eat up the show's running time. Family problems and moral and social issues were discussed, and each episode played out in real-time.


Production

Terrence McNally knew that there was money in television and aspired to give up life as a playwright and have a cushy life as a TV writer in Malibu.A Man of Much Importance: The Art and Life of Terrence McNally by Chris Bryne
/ref> There was snobbery in theatre groups over TV writers, so McNally hitched his star to the wagon of
Norman Lear Norman Milton Lear (July 27, 1922December 5, 2023) was an American screenwriter and producer who produced, wrote, created, or developed over 100 shows. Lear created and produced numerous popular 1970s sitcoms, including ''All in the Family'' (1 ...
, who was an uncredited producer and assembled a crew of veterans of ''
All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American sitcoms in the United States, sitcom television series that aired on CBS for nine seasons from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979, with a total of 205 episodes. It was later produced as ''Archie Bunker's Pla ...
'', including
Paul Bogart Paul Bogart (né Bogoff; November 13, 1919 – April 15, 2012) was an Americans, American television director and producer. Bogart directed episodes of the television series 'Way Out (TV series), Way Out'' in 1961, ''Coronet Blue'' in 1967, '' ...
, who directed all 13 episodes. Not knowing how television worked, McNally initially insisted on writing all of scripts himself, but he ultimately penned seven of the teleplays, with the others knocked out by established TV writers, as well as fellow playwright
Leonard Melfi Leonard Melfi (February 21, 1932 – October 28, 2001) was an American playwright and actor whose work has been widely produced on the American stage. Life and career Leonard was the eldest child of Leonard and Louise Melfi, who owned and ...
. Although the series is uncannily reminiscent of another ethnically based radio/TV series, '' The Goldbergs'', McNally claimed that he was inspired by TV's ''French Chef'',
Julia Child Julia Carolyn Child (Birth name#Maiden and married names, née McWilliams; August 15, 1912 – August 13, 2004) was an American chef, author, and television personality. She is recognized for having brought French cuisine to the American pu ...
.Terrence McNally: Mama Malone: A television series
/ref> Initially, the show was slated to premiere in the fall of 1982, but it was dropped from the schedule to make a slot for '' Filthy Rich'', which was an unexpected hit when its pilot episodes were burned off that summer. It was rescheduled four times over the next year-and-a-half, before ultimately debuting in the spring of 1984, two years after the pilot was produced.Producer of 'Mama Malone' mystified by delays, Defiance Crescent News, 22 February, 1984
/ref> By the time it premiered in the USA, it had already concluded its run in 17 other countries. CBS paid to keep the cast under contract, and there were concerns that Frankie would jump from age 12 to 14 if they show returned that fall, but these proved to be unwarranted since the show debuted near the bottom of 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 ...
and remained there for the entirety of its run. The series originally aired between '' One Day at a Time'', which was wrapping up its nine-season run, and the ''CBS Wednesday Night Movie''. After six episodes were broadcast, it was officially canceled. Additional episodes and a few reruns were broadcast that summer on Saturday nights.


Cast

*
Lila Kaye Lila Kaye (7 November 1929 – 10 January 2012) was an English actress. She spent a number of years working in the United States, on Broadway and in television, before returning to England. She often played motherly and/or comedic characters ...
as 'Mama' Renate Malone - The widow of an alcoholic policeman and the child of Italian immigrants, Renate is referred to as 'Mama' by most everyone (except her priest, who calls her 'The Godmother'). She can be brash (frequently asking, "Who else is gonna tell you these things?"), but she's the glue that holds her community together, and her loving nature tends to win everyone over. She has a bizarre obsession with actor
James Garner James Scott Garner (né Bumgarner; April 7, 1928 – July 19, 2014) was an American actor. He played leading roles in more than 50 theatrical films, which included ''The Great Escape (film), The Great Escape'' (1963) with Steve McQueen; Paddy Ch ...
. *
Randee Heller Randee Heller (born Randee Antzis; June 10, 1947) is an American television and film actress. Her first high-profile role was as Alice in the 1970s sitcom ''Soap'', portraying one of television's first lesbian characters. Heller is also known f ...
as Connie Malone Karamkopoulos - Mama's headstrong daughter, who works at Paulo's Pizza Patio. She was briefly married a Greek man, but she left him when she discovered he was cheating on her. Has a crush on Father Jose. *Evan Richards as Frankie Karamkopoulos - Connie's 12-year-old son. *
Don Amendolia Don Amendolia (born 1944) is an American actor. Career Born in 1944 in Woodbury, New Jersey, Amendolia was raised in Glassboro, New Jersey. He had a minor part in a school play at Camden Catholic High School and started acting as a student ...
as Dino Forresti - Mama's brother, a lounge singer who likes to create the illusion that he's more famous than he actually is. He drives an ostentatious car with a horn that plays the theme from ''
The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American Epic film, epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling The Godfather (novel), 1969 novel. The film stars an ensemble cast inc ...
'', has a mirrored ceiling in his apartment, and wears a toupee to disguise his bald head. He frequently stares into the camera and exclaims, "I didn't know that! Did you know that?" *
Sam Anderson Sam Anderson (born c. 1946/1947) is an American actor. He is best known for his character roles such as Sam Gorpley on '' Perfect Strangers'', Principal Willis DeWitt on '' Growing Pains'', Holland Manners on ''Angel'', dentist Bernard Nadler o ...
as Stanley - The show's announcer, who has a master's degree in drama from
Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...
and feels his talents are being wasted. *Raymond Singer as Austin - The show's director, who tries in vain to ensure Mama Malone completes a recipe. *Pendleton Brown as Ken - The show's associate director. *Joey Jupiter-Levin as Jackie - The show's production assistant.


Recurring

*
Ralph Manza Ralph Manza (December 1, 1921 – January 31, 2000) was an American character actor who made over 160 appearances in American film and television shows. Early years Manza was born in San Francisco on December 1, 1921. His Italian parents wanted ...
as Padre Guardiano - The senile priest has so much difficulty climbing the stairs to Mama's apartment that he's too winded to communicate. *
Richard Yniguez Richard Yniguez (born December 8, 1946) is an American actor and director mainly known for ''Boulevard Nights'', ''What's Cooking?'' and ''The Deadly Tower ''The Deadly Tower'' (also known as ''Sniper'') is a 1975 American made-for-television ...
as Father Jose Silva - The hip new Puerto Rican priest is the opposite of the decrepit padre; he insists on being called Jose rather than Father, wears short-shorts to play basketball with the local youth, and even sports a T-shirt with the poster art from ''
The Exorcist ''The Exorcist'' is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin from a screenplay by William Peter Blatty, based on The Exorcist (novel), his 1971 novel. The film stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Jason Miller (play ...
''. *
Alice Ghostley Alice Margaret Ghostley (August 14, 1923 – September 21, 2007) was an American actress and singer on stage, film and television. Ghostley was best known for her roles as bumbling witch Esmeralda (1969–72) on '' Bewitched'', as Cousin Alice ...
as Nedda Cavalli - Mama Malone's gloomy best friend; the two have a catty love/hate relationship. *
Paul Benedict Paul Bernard Benedict (September 17, 1938 – December 1, 2008) was an American actor who made numerous appearances in television and films, beginning in 1965. He was known for his roles as The Number Painter on the PBS children's show ''Sesame ...
as Calvin Klinger - The building's newest resident, who's initially repulsed by Mama Malone's media circus, although he's ultimately seduced by her charms. Note: Manza and Yniguez both received star billing, but they only appeared in a handful of episodes.


US television ratings

Note: The rating presented here comes from the TV ratings guide website and may not be completely accurate.


Episodes


Reception

Reviews were mixed. Both McNally and producer Richard Lewis claimed that the early notices were glowing, with Lewis claiming that CBS president Harvey Shephard was so impressed that he showed it at his class reunion, and that a Hong Kong critic wrote that he felt "happily compelled to stand up and salute" the show. However, it was speculated that it sat on the shelf so long due to a poor critical reaction, and one viewer at an ad-buyer's convention was quoted as saying, "It doesn't belong on the air." Critic William Beamon wrote, "I didn't like ''Mama Malone'' way back when it was supposed to join the network's schedule during the 1982 fall season. Nearly a year and a half later, I still don't." On the flipside,
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
' John J. O'Connor gave it a favorable review, stating, "Miss Kaye is a marvel." Associated Press critic Fred Rothenberg remarked that it's "not an especially funny sitcom, but it is worth a look anyway because of its innovative format, family warmth (though exaggerated), and the dynamic performance of its star."'Mama Malone' Well Worth Watching, Kentucky New Era, March 8, 1984 p.7C
/ref>


References


External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0086754, title=Mama Malone 1984 American television series debuts 1984 American television series endings American English-language television shows 1980s American sitcoms Television shows set in New York City Television series by Sony Pictures Television CBS sitcoms