Candice Bergen Recalls "Murphy Brown" 'Firestorm' after Dan Quayle Comments (VIDEO)
6/6/13


"Murphy Brown" ran from 1988-1998 and recently celebrated the 15th anniversary of its series finale.

"Murphy Brown" took on a number of issues during its 10-year run on CBS, but the show will always be remembered for its infamous clash with Vice President Dan Quayle.

At the end of Season 4, the title character, played by Candice Bergen, gave birth and became a single mother. Quayle criticized the series for "ignoring the importance of fathers by birthing a child alone" and the fifth season premiere responded to Quayle's comments.





How far did you see women have come?

It's a big difference for me from when we did "Murphy Brown", that was in 1989 when it appeared for the first time. Many more women are creating television series and writing for television now. Women are also anchoring for the news which did not exist during that time.

It's come substantially further, but there's room to grow.





The show had its share of social commentary. What were some of the responses you got?

During the end of our fourth year through the beginning of our fifth year then-Vice President Dan Quayle made a speech during the campaign year and George Bush was running with him opposite Bill Clinton.

Quale made the speech in San Francisco where he attacked "Murphy Brown" for being a single mother and "ignoring the importance of fathers". It was such a firestorm, it was in the campaign coverage for six months. That was all very intense and we had to have security on the show.

We ended the fourth season with Murphy giving birth and we began the fifth her responding to Quale.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/06/candice-bergen-murphy-brown-dan-quayle_n_3398379.html?

That was the beginning of the end for me and Murphy Brown. I watched the show pretty regularly up until then. Murphy Brown got more and more political after this incident. It was overblown anyway.

I wanted this to be a new "MTM" show, but it just never had the heart to do that. It was witty, sarcastic, biting...but I just never connected with it or the characters on an emotional level.

The show was pretty forgettable, I mean it was on CBS what else could you expect from them?

I wonder if Dan Quayle was aware of previous comments (http://www.datalounge.com/cgi-bin/iowa/ajax.html?t=10851341#page:showThread,10851341,6) that were made about him and his wife on the show:
On the Feb. 27, 1989 Murphy Brown episode, Frank Fontana says, "Who is the toughest person you know? Name the one person capable of enduring more pain than anyone?"

Murphy replies, "Marilyn Quayle?"

Huge laugh from audience.

Murphy getting pregnant ruined the show.

Murphy getting pregnant ruined the show.
I agree.

This "controversy" seems so tame compared to today's issues.

Murphy getting pregnant ruined the show.

I never really watched Murphy Brown that much during its original network run on CBS (although I've been watching it on Encore Classic whenever I can), so I'm a bit curious about this.

I immediately want to think that it was when Murphy got pregnant and subsequently had her son (as well as the infamous "Dan Quayle feud"). It seemed like it was the producers' attempt at softening her character as well as being a straw-woman of sorts to promote single-motherhood (against right-wing politicians like Dan Quayle).

I also heard another argument that Murphy Brown really jumped the shark when Grant Shaud (Miles) left and was replaced by Lily Tomlin as the boss character. This coincided w/ an out of nowhere hook-up between Miles and Corky.

I also wonder why people seemed to hate the "Murphy has cancer" storyline from the last season? Is it because it purely screamed "Give me an Emmy!" (even though Candice Bergan if I'm not mistaken, took her name out of consideration at that point). Is it because it came across as too dark or depressing for a sitcom that was usually supposed to be about then, hot-button political issues.

This "controversy" seems so tame compared to today's issues.

The people at the TVTropes.org site also suggested that this is partially why Murphy Brown isn't as impactful now as it was when it was originally on the air some 20 years ago. Basically, regardless of whether or not you agreed w/ Dan Quayle's point of view or not, the bottom-line is that it's easy to argue that making a big deal out of a single mother on a prime time network TV show, seems rather quaint by today's standards. What doesn't help (besides the fact that whole thing was pretty much the defining moment of Murphy Brown) is that Vice President Quayle has pretty much become a forgotten figure/political footnote. As a result, the show's legendary "take that" at Dan Quayle doesn't feel as powerful or effective in hindsight.

I wanted this to be a new "MTM" show, but it just never had the heart to do that. It was witty, sarcastic, biting...but I just never connected with it or the characters on an emotional level.Looking back on it now, neither could I.

Dan Quayle was a DUMBASS. Seriously, probably the dumbest, most clueless, lame high level public official ever. At least Sarah Palin is hot. I think collectively when that started was "There goes Vice President Dumbass talking again..." and moved on.

It is not a general disrespect for politicians. I hate Obama but the man is very intelligent. Again, Dan Quayle was a complete dumbass potatoe brained moron and to this day do not understand why the people of Indiana elected the dumbass.

Dan Quayle quotes.....

"If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure."

"Republicans understand the importance of bondage between a mother and child."

"What a waste it is to lose one's mind. Or not to have a mind is being very wasteful. How true that is."

"One word sums up probably the responsibility of any vice president, and that one word is 'to be prepared.'"

"Welcome to President Bush, Mrs. Bush, and my fellow astronauts."

"Mars is essentially in the same orbit . . . Mars is somewhat the same distance from the Sun, which is very important. We have seen pictures where there are canals, we believe, and water. If there is water, that means there is oxygen. If oxygen, that means we can breathe."

"The Holocaust was an obscene period in our nation's history. I mean in this century's history. But we all lived in this century. I didn't live in this century."

"I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom and democracy -- but that could change."

"Add one little bit on the end... Think of 'potato', how's it spelled? You're right phonetically, but what else...? There ya' go... all right!" --"correcting" a student's correct spelling of the word "potato" during a spelling bee at an elementary school (he told the student to add an "e" at the end

"I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good judgments in the future."

"The future will be better tomorrow."

"We're going to have the best-educated American people in the world."

"People that are really very weird can get into sensitive positions and have a tremendous impact on history."

"We have a firm commitment to NATO, we are a part of NATO. We have a firm commitment to Europe. We are a part of Europe."

"I am not part of the problem. I am a Republican."

"I love California, I practically grew up in Phoenix."

"It's wonderful to be here in the great state of Chicago."

"A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the polls."

"When I have been asked during these last weeks who caused the riots and the killing in L.A., my answer has been direct and simple: Who is to blame for the riots? The rioters are to blame. Who is to blame for the killings? The killers are to blame."

"Illegitimacy is something we should talk about in terms of not having it."

"We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not occur."

"For NASA, space is still a high priority."

"Quite frankly, teachers are the only profession that teach our children."

"It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it."

"[It's] time for the human race to enter the solar system."

"The American people would not want to know of any misquotes that Dan Quayle may or may not make."

"Verbosity leads to unclear, inarticulate things."

"I stand by all the misstatements that I've made."

Seriously, the man is as dumb as a bag of hammers.

Candice Bergen was too butch for me. Ugh, her voice. She got pregnant? How drunk was the father of the kid?

Liked the dude who was always working on her house but was never finished, and the Jewish guy who was the producer and the stiff anchorman guy. The 1990's was a bad fog for me then.

Comedy was not for her. In supporting roles yes but not the lead.

The funny thing is Bill Clinton said the same thing as Quayle a few years later and nothing was said. This was all political and taken totally out of context. It ruined her show and it got me from watching it.

Dan Quayle was a DUMBASS. Seriously, probably the dumbest, most clueless, lame high level public official ever. At least Sarah Palin is hot. I think collectively when that started was "There goes Vice President Dumbass talking again..." and moved on.

It is not a general disrespect for politicians. I hate Obama but the man is very intelligent. Again, Dan Quayle was a complete dumbass potatoe brained moron and to this day do not understand why the people of Indiana elected the dumbass.

Dan Quayle quotes.....

"If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure."

"Republicans understand the importance of bondage between a mother and child."

"What a waste it is to lose one's mind. Or not to have a mind is being very wasteful. How true that is."

"One word sums up probably the responsibility of any vice president, and that one word is 'to be prepared.'"

"Welcome to President Bush, Mrs. Bush, and my fellow astronauts."

"Mars is essentially in the same orbit . . . Mars is somewhat the same distance from the Sun, which is very important. We have seen pictures where there are canals, we believe, and water. If there is water, that means there is oxygen. If oxygen, that means we can breathe."

"The Holocaust was an obscene period in our nation's history. I mean in this century's history. But we all lived in this century. I didn't live in this century."

"I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom and democracy -- but that could change."

"Add one little bit on the end... Think of 'potato', how's it spelled? You're right phonetically, but what else...? There ya' go... all right!" --"correcting" a student's correct spelling of the word "potato" during a spelling bee at an elementary school (he told the student to add an "e" at the end

"I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good judgments in the future."

"The future will be better tomorrow."

"We're going to have the best-educated American people in the world."

"People that are really very weird can get into sensitive positions and have a tremendous impact on history."

"We have a firm commitment to NATO, we are a part of NATO. We have a firm commitment to Europe. We are a part of Europe."

"I am not part of the problem. I am a Republican."

"I love California, I practically grew up in Phoenix."

"It's wonderful to be here in the great state of Chicago."

"A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the polls."

"When I have been asked during these last weeks who caused the riots and the killing in L.A., my answer has been direct and simple: Who is to blame for the riots? The rioters are to blame. Who is to blame for the killings? The killers are to blame."

"Illegitimacy is something we should talk about in terms of not having it."

"We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not occur."

"For NASA, space is still a high priority."

"Quite frankly, teachers are the only profession that teach our children."

"It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it."

"[It's] time for the human race to enter the solar system."

"The American people would not want to know of any misquotes that Dan Quayle may or may not make."

"Verbosity leads to unclear, inarticulate things."

"I stand by all the misstatements that I've made."

Seriously, the man is as dumb as a bag of hammers.

Hmm...Quayle had more Bushisms than GWB ever did!

Should we call it Quayleisms?

Well...Candice's dad is Edgar Bergen (who's funnier than Jeff Dunham anytime) and she was raised in California...what'd you expect from a Californian from the west coast? (Nothing against the coastal Californians, but they're MORE progressive than the rest of the state...and if I ever make it big...I'd rather have a temp house in California and stay in Northeast Ohio)!

Candice Bergen was too butch for me. Ugh, her voice. She got pregnant? How drunk was the father of the kid?

Liked the dude who was always working on her house but was never finished, and the Jewish guy who was the producer and the stiff anchorman guy. The 1990's was a bad fog for me then.
Murphy was very unlikeable.

Now that Yong Fang has attempted to destroy Quayle in every way he could think of, he may be astonished to find out that Quayle was actually a well-respected and HIGHLY EFFECTIVE politician in Indiana. Your attacks have nothing to do with the fact that he got things done for the state, and in an honest way. Before you imply that the people of Indiana were idiots to elect him, you might want to try checking into his record there. The biggest problem with attacking people for miscues and misspellings is that it has NOTHING TO DO WITH THE PERSON'S CHARACTER AND COMPETENCY IN HIS JOB. If you want to call someone a dumbass, look no further than Obama and Biden -- the former a disgrace, the latter an outright LIAR.

Candice Bergen was too butch for me. Ugh, her voice. She got pregnant? How drunk was the father of the kid?

Liked the dude who was always working on her house but was never finished, and the Jewish guy who was the producer and the stiff anchorman guy. The 1990's was a bad fog for me then.

I read one complaint that heard is Candice Bergen acts too much w/ her neck! :lol: I've also heard the argument that when Candice Bergen had to do something acting-wise besides being loud and bossy (and more than often, she tended to PUNCH the lines OVER and OVER) as Murphy, she actually came across as rather wooden and one-note.

The thing about the supporting characters on Murphy Brown is that it's quite easy to see that they were at least at first, very specific albeit, stereotypical: Shallow airhead Corky; stuffy anchor man Jim; geeky, neurotic pisher Miles, etc.

Murphy getting pregnant ruined the show.

I think one of the biggest problems w/ making Murphy a mother is that it's a safe argument that her son (after pretty much becoming a pawn in the debate w/ the then Vice President of the United States over the importance of fathers) soon became dead-weight. They couldn't really do anything else overly political or socially relevant w/ him because they would've possibly risked proving Dan Quayle right (http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/2010-05-18-column18_ST_N.htm).

I read one complaint that heard is Candice Bergen acts too much w/ her neck! :lol: I've also heard the argument that when Candice Bergen had to do something acting-wise besides being loud and bossy (and more than often, she tended to PUNCH the lines OVER and OVER) as Murphy, she actually came across as rather wooden and one-note.

The thing about the supporting characters on Murphy Brown is that it's quite easy to see that they were at least at first, very specific albeit, stereotypical: Shallow airhead Corky; stuffy anchor man Jim; geeky, neurotic pisher Miles, etc.
You got everything right. No wonder this show hasn't aged well.

You got everything right. No wonder this show hasn't aged well.

The thing that I've also noticed is that more often than not, the writers' way of making a punchline is to have the characters name drop a then relevant pop culture figure/newsmaker. It just comes across as a much more sophisticated variant of those "Seltzer-Friedberg" spoof movies of recent years.

Me again. Dan Quayle was a dumbass. The guy just was. In 1992, there were calls within the party to get rid of Quayle, but just could not. Bush was behind in the polls and Quayle dragged it down further.

The man was an idiot. He had connections which got him where he was. Bush was elected because Reagan was still popular and Bush basically won what Reagan would have won of he could be elected for a third term. A recession caught Bush at the wrong time and he lost office to a younger, more dynamic man.

Quayle was the commencement speaker at my college graduation. My mom talked to me as a teenager to not to make noise at his speech. I did not.

I apologize about the Jewish reference I made. I watched Murphy Brown when it was on. Not a bad show. Not that great either. This was the last years of pre internet. I am also anti abortion, so I have some props for a last minute pre menopause Murphy Brown having a baby. Republicans are anti abortion, but we have this nitwit Quayle talking crap about a "single mother". So what is it, abortion or single motherhood? Make up your mind.

Quayle was a nitwit. The people of Indiana are nitwits for electing this clown.

Me again. Dan Quayle was a dumbass. The guy just was. In 1992, there were calls within the party to get rid of Quayle, but just could not. Bush was behind in the polls and Quayle dragged it down further.

The man was an idiot. He had connections which got him where he was. Bush was elected because Reagan was still popular and Bush basically won what Reagan would have won of he could be elected for a third term. A recession caught Bush at the wrong time and he lost office to a younger, more dynamic man.

Quayle was the commencement speaker at my college graduation. My mom talked to me as a teenager to not to make noise at his speech. I did not.

I apologize about the Jewish reference I made. I watched Murphy Brown when it was on. Not a bad show. Not that great either. This was the last years of pre internet. I am also anti abortion, so I have some props for a last minute pre menopause Murphy Brown having a baby. Republicans are anti abortion, but we have this nitwit Quayle talking crap about a "single mother". So what is it, abortion or single motherhood? Make up your mind.

Quayle was a nitwit. The people of Indiana are nitwits for electing this clown.

Reading into the old Jump the Shark website about Murphy Brown, some commenters argued that Bill Clinton in a weird way, may have actually helped hurt the show because it now lost a lot of its "partisan edge".

Me again. Dan Quayle was a dumbass. The guy just was. In 1992, there were calls within the party to get rid of Quayle, but just could not. Bush was behind in the polls and Quayle dragged it down further.

The man was an idiot. He had connections which got him where he was. Bush was elected because Reagan was still popular and Bush basically won what Reagan would have won of he could be elected for a third term. A recession caught Bush at the wrong time and he lost office to a younger, more dynamic man.

Quayle was the commencement speaker at my college graduation. My mom talked to me as a teenager to not to make noise at his speech. I did not.

I apologize about the Jewish reference I made. I watched Murphy Brown when it was on. Not a bad show. Not that great either. This was the last years of pre internet. I am also anti abortion, so I have some props for a last minute pre menopause Murphy Brown having a baby. Republicans are anti abortion, but we have this nitwit Quayle talking crap about a "single mother". So what is it, abortion or single motherhood? Make up your mind.

Quayle was a nitwit. The people of Indiana are nitwits for electing this clown.
Well I did vote for Quayle for Vice-President so I must be a nitwit too. :lol:

Can we have a moderator move this crap to the Politics board where it belongs? The only true nitwit in question is the one who falls for Liberal tactics of trying to make the runningmate look bad. Dumb jackass.

The big problem with this to me is that Dan Quayle seems to have missed a lot of what was going on the show. Murphy had been abandoned by the baby's father, who didn't seem to care one bit about it. And at the time, she was fortytwo years old, which a lot of people feel is too late to have a baby. And yet, she chose to not have an abortion! I mean, would Quayle really have preferred if Murphy had an abortion?

Would it been better if Corky got pregnant instead of Murphy?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094514/news#ni57894445

20 October 2014 10:45 AM, PDT | VH1.com (http://www.vh1.com/celebrity/2014-10-20/murphy-brown-candice-bergen-single-mother-controversy/)

-Aly Semigran

November 14 will mark 26 years since the CBS sitcom Murphy Brown hit the airwaves. The series, which ran for 10 seasons and won 18 Emmy Awards (including a record-breaking five Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series wins for star Candice Bergen), also happened to be at the forefront of a political firestorm in its heyday. A show about a 40-something single mother and career woman (!) touched such a nerve that the Vice President of the United States singled out the show as an example of the decay of family values in America.

During a campaign speech on May 19, 1992, then-vp Dan Quayle stated, “Failing to support children one has fathered is wrong. We must be unequivocal about this. It doesn’t help matters when primetime TV has Murphy Brown, a character who supposedly epitomizes today’s intelligent, highly paid professional woman, mocking the importance of fathers by bearing a child alone »

- VH1

Corky should have gotten pregnant not Murphy. I could see her as a mother.

Me again. Dan Quayle was a dumbass. The guy just was. In 1992, there were calls within the party to get rid of Quayle, but just could not. Bush was behind in the polls and Quayle dragged it down further.

The man was an idiot. He had connections which got him where he was. Bush was elected because Reagan was still popular and Bush basically won what Reagan would have won of he could be elected for a third term. A recession caught Bush at the wrong time and he lost office to a younger, more dynamic man.

Quayle was the commencement speaker at my college graduation. My mom talked to me as a teenager to not to make noise at his speech. I did not.

I apologize about the Jewish reference I made. I watched Murphy Brown when it was on. Not a bad show. Not that great either. This was the last years of pre internet. I am also anti abortion, so I have some props for a last minute pre menopause Murphy Brown having a baby. Republicans are anti abortion, but we have this nitwit Quayle talking crap about a "single mother". So what is it, abortion or single motherhood? Make up your mind.

Quayle was a nitwit. The people of Indiana are nitwits for electing this clown.

It also seemed like Dan Quayle was more upset over the notion of Murphy having a baby despite not being married to the baby's father instead of the fact that the dad (Murphy's ex-husband, Jake Lowenstein (https://heavy.com/entertainment/2018/09/who-murphy-brown-son-father-jake/)) was a non-factor or entity in Avery's life. Basically, it came off as if Quayle (https://ew.com/article/1992/06/05/robin-thomas-responds-dan-quayle/) was strictly villainizing the woman but having nothing to say about Jake being a deadbeat dad, regardless of whether or not he and Murphy were still married at the time.

It also seemed like Dan Quayle was more upset over the notion of Murphy having a baby despite not being married to the baby's father instead of the fact that the dad (Murphy's ex-husband, Jake Lowenstein (https://heavy.com/entertainment/2018/09/who-murphy-brown-son-father-jake/)) was a non-factor or entity in Avery's life. Basically, it came off as if Quayle (https://ew.com/article/1992/06/05/robin-thomas-responds-dan-quayle/) was strictly villainizing the woman but having nothing to say about Jake being a deadbeat dad, regardless of whether or not he and Murphy were still married at the time.

Yes, today a woman having a child while being unmarried and calling the father a "baby daddy" while being on welfare and food stamps is perfectly acceptable and the USA is a better place for it. :rolleyes:

Then when these fatherless children grow up to rob and shoot each other in the street that's even better. :crazy:

It also seemed like Dan Quayle was more upset over the notion of Murphy having a baby despite not being married to the baby's father instead of the fact that the dad (Murphy's ex-husband, Jake Lowenstein (https://heavy.com/entertainment/2018/09/who-murphy-brown-son-father-jake/)) was a non-factor or entity in Avery's life. Basically, it came off as if Quayle (https://ew.com/article/1992/06/05/robin-thomas-responds-dan-quayle/) was strictly villainizing the woman but having nothing to say about Jake being a deadbeat dad, regardless of whether or not he and Murphy were still married at the time.
It is clear that Dan Quayle never watched the show.

It is clear that Dan Quayle never watched the show.

In a round about way however, Dan Quayle may have actually had a point. I want to believe that what he was trying to say was that fathers needed to take more responsibility for their children and that American entertainment like the Murphy Brown show was increasingly normalizing the idea that it was perfectly OK for fathers to not to be involved. However, it was quickly and perhaps, purposely misconstrued by people who took that as "Dan Quayle attacked single mothers!"

In a round about way however, Dan Quaye may have actually had a point. I want to believe that what he was trying to say was that that fathers needed to take more responsibility for their children and that American entertainment like the Murphy Brown show was increasingly normalizing the idea that it was perfectly OK for fathers not to be involved. However, it was quickly and perhaps, purposely misconstrued by people who took that as "Dan Quayle attacked single mothers!"
Murphy had never planned this pregnancy, but decided to keep the baby anyway even though she was in her 40s and the father of the child was a deadbeat.
That is the context that we must remember and not blame Murphy for being a single mother.

If I could go back and do it all over again, I wouldn't watch this show. Making her pregnant ruined her character.

MURPHY BROWN, DAN QUAYLE AND DAMAGE (EROTIC 90’S, PART 7): (https://www.youmustrememberthispodcast.com/episodes/murphy-brown-dan-quayle-and-damage-erotic-90s-part-7) In the early 90s, one of the biggest scripted shows on TV was Murphy Brown, starring 40-something Candice Bergen as a product of the 60s whose high-powered career precluded marriage and family. When the character became a single mother, and was criticized for it by vice president Dan Quayle, a massive conversation about “family values” began that would change the culture – and, arguably, American politics. Off-screen, Bergen was married to French filmmaker Louis Malle. While his wife was in the middle of the “family values” maelstrom, Malle was making Damage, one of the most sexually intense films of the 90s, and one which used sexuality to explicitly critique the hypocrisy of politicians. Listen (https://megaphone.link/CAD2734279229)

The people at the TVTropes.org site also suggested that this is partially why Murphy Brown isn't as impactful now as it was when it was originally on the air some 20 years ago. Basically, regardless of whether or not you agreed w/ Dan Quayle's point of view or not, the bottom-line is that it's easy to argue that making a big deal out of a single mother on a prime time network TV show, seems rather quaint by today's standards. What doesn't help (besides the fact that whole thing was pretty much the defining moment of Murphy Brown) is that Vice President Quayle has pretty much become a forgotten figure/political footnote. As a result, the show's legendary "take that" at Dan Quayle doesn't feel as powerful or effective in hindsight.

The mere idea of a single mother on TV or in pop culture was still very taboo in the early '90s. This is likely why conservative politicians like Dan Quayle directly referenced and mocked the show. But today, over 30 or so years later, a concept like that is considered normal and inconsequential.