http://www.sitcomsonline.com/photopost/data/725/MTMS1BessYouIsMyDaughterNow6.jpg

Usually, for an adult comedy, the worst part of it is the child actor /actress. Was this the case of "Bess?" What are your personal opinions about the character?

Bess was mostly on in the first 2 seasons and more in season 2.

Starting in season 3, Phyllis started appearing less and so obviously did Bess. I think Bess was only on once in season 3 and don't know is she was on in season 4.

So, I don't feel that she was one too often to affect the show.

I've always wanted to ask, what ever happened to the actress?

I liked Bess,she was this togethor kid with a wacky Mother and the unseen

Lars,who was usually the voice of reason against Phyllis' wild ideas.

Its very sweet in the Phyllis pilot,how Phyllis is leaning on Bess at a tough

time,and Phyllis' line:

"...what a wonderful child you are,I must be a wonderful Mother!".

According to the internet,Lisa Gertissen,may now be a project manager,she quit acting

shortly after Phyllis was cancelled.

So let me ask you all this, if Bess wasn't all that bad, was there any character on the show that you did not like?

I like Bess and there wasnt anyone on the show I didnt like :eek:

I liked Bess a lot. I liked the way she was kind of Mary's (the iconic career woman) surrogate daughter, and that Mary was a more natural "mother" to her than her own mother.

I thought Bess was the rare example of a precocious kid on TV that I didn't want to throttle. She was smart but still vulnerable.

As to someone I didn't like...I liked all the main characters. I didn't like a lot of the guest stars, but I think most of them were people I wasn't supposed to like, lol.

I can't think of anyone on the show that I didn't like. The cast was perfect.

Bess wasn't on the show nearly enough to be the worst part of it (I can't think of any cast member/character I didn't like). I loved the episode where Lou babysat her and they wound up playing cards. They played for cookies. :lol:

I liked Bess and I always thought Lisa was a pretty good child actress.

Last I heard, she was retired from acting and the mother of triplets (!).

I found Ted annoying at the start of MTM but Ted changed and just got

funnier and funnier.

There were one off charcaters on MTM I couldn't take it like Mary's ex fiancee in the pilot although we were clearly not meant to.

The guy in "Keep Your Guard Up",I didn't really take to but agree with the other posts,all the other cast emmbers were great.

I've always wanted to ask, what ever happened to the actress?

I heard years ago that she was living in the Bay Area, working in the IT field, prefers to keep a very low profile, and doesn't like to talk about her childhood past as Bess Lindstrom. I guess she's moved on with her life, prefers not to be famous anymore or involved in showbiz, and doesn't want her life defined by what she did as a little girl four decades ago.

I heard years ago that she was living in the Bay Area, working in the IT field, prefers to keep a very low profile, and doesn't like to talk about her childhood past as Bess Lindstrom. I guess she's moved on with her life, prefers not to be famous anymore or involved in showbiz, and doesn't want her life defined by what she did as a little girl four decades ago.

Oh wow, just found her on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Gerritsen

I think this is her husband: http://www.santarosa.edu/theatrearts/staff/john.html
And husband and son (???): http://www.facebook.com/people/John-Rustan/100000988839721
It would be kind of late in life to have such a young son, but it happens these days.
And I think this is her: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/leisa-gerritsen/6/291/a21

So let me ask you all this, if Bess wasn't all that bad, was there any character on the show that you did not like?

I did not care for Georgette character. Too stupid acting. I have all the seasons and won't watch the shows where the story revolves around her and Ted.

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/photopost/data/725/MTMS1BessYouIsMyDaughterNow6.jpg

Usually, for an adult comedy, the worst part of it is the child actor /actress. Was this the case of "Bess?" What are your personal opinions about the character?


lol, that's a great picture, I remember that episode.

Was Bess the weakest part of the show? Maybe, but if she was, I don't think it's because she's a bad actress. It's just that everyone else on that show was so incredibly good. Lisa was a pretty good actress, but I do think that a kid just seemed out of place on that show, even as the daughter of one of the main characters. Still, I like a couple of eps she was on that have already been mentioned, and the writers didn't emphasize her a whole lot.

Prior to the cast breaking up, MTM was a near-perfect show. A lesser actress in Bess' part could have been a disaster. But Lisa held her own. Again, it's not easy to look good in the middle of all the other great actors on that show.

I think I might agree w/catwoman1 that the Georgette character could be annoying.

I actually kind of liked Bess. As mentioned earlier, she and Mary had a mother daughter type of relationship in a few of the episodes, which I enjoyed. I don't think she was all that out of place on TMTMS, it was still a family show.

Well, since you asked, the characters I liked the LEAST were Lou's Girlfriends. Most were either losers socially, or looked at least as old as he was. NOT counting the one time he and Mary had a DATE, OF COURSE.

Thanks everyone for the answers to my question "Whatever Happened
To?"

As for those not liking Georgette, do you remember in the 2nd season Ted was dating Chuckles the Clown's daughter? I liked her and preferred her to Georgette.

I liked the character of Bess and thought Lisa did a fine job with it.

Between Bess knowing how to deal with Phyllis and almost being "smarter" than her in some cases, Rhoda really zinging Phyllis, and Mary always able to hold her own with her, they were the big three in terms of letting Phyllis/Cloris do her wonderfully zany thing and then bringing her back down to earth. Very funny stuff!
And even Lou and Murray could puncture Phyllis's balloon at a moment's notice.

While Bess's maturity at such a young age stood out, to me she was a perfectly natural member of the cast. That scene where she plays cards with Lou is priceless. And her relationship with Mary was sweet.

And, of course, she had one of the more important lines in the history of the show. After the audience for the pilot didn't seem to like Rhoda and didn't laugh much in general, they redid the first show with a few minor changes. One of which, suggested by script supervisor Marge Mullen, was for Bess to say "I really like Aunt Rhoda", which got the audience to give her a chance!

Bravo, Lisa!

I totally agree Lisa's Bess was funny,sweet and the voice of reason in the Phyllis household.

It is nice to see Bess develop on the spinoff Phyllis she gets married and then is pregnant in the final episode.

There were one off charcaters on MTM I couldn't take it like Mary's ex fiancee in the pilot although we were clearly not meant to.

Was that Ted Bessell? He was in a couple of episodes as Mary's boyfriend, and quite unlikable.

Was that Ted Bessell? He was in a couple of episodes as Mary's boyfriend, and quite unlikable.


No I liked Ted Bessell,love it when he freaked when Mary was seeing an old

flame Dan,sadly Ted Bessell died back in 96.

No,I was talking about Angus Duncan (again sadly no longer with us)who

played Mary's ex fiance in the pilot,who was a total jerk,never could see him

and Mary as a couple.

Well there were characters on the show I didn't like as people like Ted and Sue Ann. But they were GOOD for the show and the served to balance out the niceness of Mary.

As for Bess, I really liked her but I don't think she was a major influence on the show one way or the other. In fact, after watching Bess, and comparing her to her pushy and passive-aggressive mother, I often wondered "Was Bess adopted?" lol