http://boards.radio-info.com/smf/index.php?topic=82333.20

« Reply #25 on: October 09, 2007, 12:20:52 AM »
Even though he wasn't a character on the show, the reason why Mama's Family came to an end in 1990 was a direct result of a death. The death of producer Joe Hamilton.

Joe was suffering from cancer due to years of smoking. So bad that the cancer ate away a large part of his face. At the time of the last season of Mama's Family ( 1989-1990 ), Joe would walk around the set with a paper towel taped to his face to hid the damage done to his face from cancer, and he continued to smoke as well.

The sight of this upset Vicki Lawrence ( and the cast of Mama's Family ) and a decision was made to end the show Mama's Family so Joe would go home to die. Which he did almost a year later.

A lot of this was in Vicki's bio that came out several years ago.

I just found this:
http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=197058

I've read this before, and I've never bought it. Hamilton was a non-writing executive producer. Rick Hawkins was the executive producer in charge of the writers, and it could have continued with him in charge. The real issue was that the show was revived to get them over the 100 episode mark, so they could be stripped (i.e. run five days a week) in syndication. Once they got there, there was no reason to continue. Same with "It's a Living", which was revived for syndication and also ended after they got past the 100 episode mark.

I've read this before, and I've never bought it. Hamilton was a non-writing executive producer. Rick Hawkins was the executive producer in charge of the writers, and it could have continued with him in charge. The real issue was that the show was revived to get them over the 100 episode mark, so they could be stripped (i.e. run five days a week) in syndication. Once they got there, there was no reason to continue. Same with "It's a Living", which was revived for syndication and also ended after they got past the 100 episode mark.

I agree that it was the fact that Mama had reached 100 episodes was the reason why the series had ended. Its makes sense. That and Vicki Lawrence was in 1990 in the planning stage to launch her own talk show through Group W "Vicki". even had Rich Hawkins decided to continue with Mama's Family I have my doubts that Vicki Lawrence would had done both. Could be wrong though.

..now OTOH I do remember reading in Vicki's bio from the 90's "Fireball" and the comments made on local Denver radio by Jodi Hamilton ( she had lived in that city at the time and had made some radio appearences on KBPI and KOA ) as well as that weekend late night show about classic TV from the early 90's on KMOX out of St. Louis all more/less mentioning Hamilton's cancer as more/less the reason why the end of Mama's Family. My guess is that the reason why Vicki, Jody and KMOX had said this was that, well the average person really doesn't know how the broadcasting business works so perhaps those parties felt they had to tell the fans of the show something and the illness of Joe Hamilton, perhaps the viewers would believe it.

Kinda like radio. For 20 years I had worked in that business and many of times we had to change formats usually due to bad ratings but we couldn't tell the few listeners we had THAT since they really wouldn't get it or even take offense ( "..what the hell...I did listen !!" ) anyway we had to come up with another reason such as "...it was time for a change" or "..we can make more money doing this..." and it usually worked.