I see in later episodes Vicki Lawrence played the mom (of Jaimie) but in earlier episodes it's a chubby sort of woman.

Anyone ?

I am not sure, but I think that throughout the sereis, three different actresses played the part of Jamie's mother. The only thing that I know for a fact is that, by the end of the sereis, Carol Burnette played the part. Also in the later years, Carol O'Conner played her father. I do not know who played him in the earlier years. I think that Paul's sister Debbie might have also been played by more than one actress. In closing, I would like to mention one more thing that I do not know. This is whether Paul's sister Sharon was ever seen at all!

Sure Paul's sister was seen - her partner was Jamie's ob/gyn !

It was Paul's sister Debbie who took up with the female doctor. This sister lived right in Manhatten. In the middle portion of the sereis she was seen quite regularly. However, if you listen closely to what was being said on various episodes you will learn that Paul has two sisters. His other sister is named Sharon. I am not sure, but I think that it is implied that she lives in New Jersey. In any event, she is the one that I do not ever remember seeing!

Oh, okay. Funny that she wasn't in the documentary either.

Actually that wasn't Vicki Lawrence you saw - it would have been Carol Burnett. There was another actress early on playing her mom (in only one or two episodes) but she didn't even look like Carol (as Vicki did) and I think she had dirty blonde hair like Jamie.

I was a big fan of Mama's Family, too - and to this day I can't tell the difference bet. Vicki Lawrence and Carol Burnette on that show !!!!

At this point, I am about half-way through the list of pages that I usually visit and post on. So far, there is only one other post by me that has a response. This is on the "Gimme a Break" page and the thread is called "One Week Away". I gave it this title because, when I wrote it, we were only one week away from the day that the "Mamma Mia!" movie gets released on its two-disk DVD set! I am so excited. In any event, people who frequent here might also be interested in that show. This is especially true since back in 1982, Helen Hunt made a guest appearance!

Your comment really has nothing to do with this subject.

I was a big fan of Mama's Family, too - and to this day I can't tell the difference bet. Vicki Lawrence and Carol Burnette on that show !!!!


LOL - that's exactly how Vicki got the job. Apparently someone working for the Carol Burnett show saw her and thought they could be twins. She ended up getting the job and hadn't been in show business before at all.

Since they've aged though, Carol has remained quite thin, while Vicki did put a bit of weight on.

I have decided to bring this thread to the top of the page to see if I might be able to stimulate some more conversation about this fine sereis! This is the second page on this site in which I am doing this. The first was "Gimme a Break!" Less than fifteen minutes ago, I brought two old threads to the top of that page. In a little while, I will return to that page to see if I have already managed to generate some responses. Shortly after I am finished there, I will return here!

Least Jamie's mom was a nice person unlike Paul's mother who never missed an opportunity to treat Jamie like crap.