Howdy!

Did anyone especially men thought it was ridiculous that any heterosexual man would sleep in a different bed from his wife? What was the big deal?

I bring this on this page because Mary Tyler Moore was soooooooo fine at that age. She was about 10 years younger than Dick Van Dyke himself. In real life, this man would be lucky to score this chick. And to have us, in the years of Kennedy that these two people slept in different beds seems a bit ridiculous.

Mary was too hot for DVD. The show even alluded to this fact a few times. What was the big deal in early 1960's America that a couple could not be in the same bed. Maybe the DVD show revealed the ridiculous of this.

...dictated that married couples were to be shown sleeping in twin beds- to avoid any suggestion of "sexuality" between two people. That's how TV worked back then, 'Yong' [but that didn't stop "Herman & Lily Munster" from sharing a bed on "THE MUNSTERS"; probably, CBS decided since they weren't "human", and in a "fantasy context", it was okay for them to sleep together]. In fact, sponsor Procter & Gamble initially didn't like "Laura Petrie" wearing "Capri pants" during the episodes because they looked "too snug" on her, and insisted she wear dresses for a brief period (1962). Finally, creator/producer Carl Reiner managed to "sneak" them back on her, and the matter was never mentioned again. But P&G did tell Carl to, quote, "watch the undercupping" whenever she wore those pants on camera....

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The first American television show that protrayed a loving married couple in bed together was Bewitched. Elizabeth Montgomery insisted on it. Anyway-the Bob Newhart Show also went to great lengths to show Bob and Emily in bed together. I must say America is so uptight about the wrong things even today-look at what a commotion was made over Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction. That is no worse than the girls gone wild ads-in fact it was not even nearly as nasty as those std infected girls.

no, the first show was an early sitcom called "MARY KAYE & JOHNNIE" in the early 50s. However, some people don't consider that because they were really married.
Also, Fred & Wilma Flinstone were shown sharing a bed sometimes on "THE FLINSTONES" which debuted BEFORE "BEWITCHED". Again though, some people don't count that because they were animated, and sometimes they had twin beds and sometimes a double bed.

Also, there was a scene in an "I LOVE LUCY" episode from 1954 where they showed Fred and Ethel sharing a bed.

The first American television show that protrayed a loving married couple in bed together was Bewitched. Elizabeth Montgomery insisted on it. Anyway-the Bob Newhart Show also went to great lengths to show Bob and Emily in bed together. I must say America is so uptight about the wrong things even today-look at what a commotion was made over Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction. That is no worse than the girls gone wild ads-in fact it was not even nearly as nasty as those std infected girls.

If the moral watchdogs and the media hadn't made such a big deal about it, no one would have cared and it would have gone away in a few days.

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet also (at times) had the two in a (queen-size ?) bed. (One early episode had Harriet warming her feet on Ozzie's back !) Other times they were in twins. I'm not sure of the chronology, but perhaps it started with them together in one bed (which the sensors allowed because they were, in fact, married in real life) but then changed it to twins for some reason. ???

So, apparently there were exceptions along the way to the idea that marrieds must be shown in twin beds.

a) Ozzie Nelson had complete control over his series, and wasn't about to let ABC [or anyone else] tell him that he and Harriet had to be seen sleeping in twin beds. He assumed that viewers KNEW he and Harriet were happily married for so many years, and that there was nothing "immoral" about them sharing a bed together...or allow Harriet to warm her tootsies on Ozzie's back because that was not only a form of "visual humor"- couples in real life did that as well. Sometimes, he did feature them in separate beds...

b) In the case of "BEWITCHED", it may have perfectly acceptable for Samantha & Darrin to share the same bed because ABC probably believed the whole situation involving them was a "fantasy", and that she wasn't "human".
"Real life" couples, on the other hand....

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It's funny because now they do everything but get fully naked in bedroom scenes. The only thing they can't show is people actually having sex, which is why you see semi-clothed people lying next to each other after the fact.

I remember seeing some of those old shows where the couple slept in separate beds and wondered how they had kids if they weren't in the same bed.:confused:

Yeah I always thought it silly cause they were MARRIED.

The Real McCoys debuted in 1957 and showed only one bed in Luke and Kate's bedroom. I don't think they were ever shown in it together, but it was definitely only one bed.

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I bet Rob and Laura pushed their beds together a lot.

I bet Rob and Laura pushed their beds together a lot.

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I bet Rob and Laura pushed their beds together a lot.

Oh, I don't know.... If they kept them apart, every night Rob could say, "Your place or mine ?"