What if Wally dated a black girl? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Chypp516 · 09-04-2022, 12:51 PM

Watching the series on Peacock just had me wondering about this. Wally had a lot of dates. What if a there was a new girl attended Mayfield High and Wally befriends her. The 50s/60s were tumultuous times for black people of course. And Ohio started to desegregate some schools in the early 60s.

Just thought it would have been cool to see this.

CosmicCharlie · 09-04-2022, 02:27 PM

Was the EVER a Black Person even on the show ONCE ?

Chypp516 · 09-04-2022, 03:49 PM

Yea Kim Hamilton played a maid in “The Parking Attendants”. She even spoke to Eddie and Wally.

Tankeryanker · 09-04-2022, 05:17 PM

What would be the purpose of his dating?

Chypp516 · 09-04-2022, 05:56 PM

Idk that Wally was an equal and opportunity dater lol ��

Interracial romances were uncommon back in the day but they still existed. And I think film and TV shows were start to show (subtle at 1st).

Stepperry40 · 09-04-2022, 06:45 PM

I think it was pretty difficult for TV Networks so that kind dating relationship in the 1950s & 1960s because they trying both to keep sponsorships and not anger the some areas of country mainly the south.

vitoscotti · 09-04-2022, 08:11 PM

LITB seemed to avoid using identifiable ethnic names. Rarely any Polish, Italian. Russian, Jewish and so on. Most given or surnames LITB used would take most people a lot of thought or effort to identify their ethnicity.

stevea · 09-04-2022, 10:19 PM

It'd be interesting to know what the first sitcom was, to have an inter-racial relationship. I doubt it would be in the 1960s.

It could have been the Willises on The Jeffersons.

vitoscotti · 09-04-2022, 10:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevea

It'd be interesting to know what the first sitcom was, to have an inter-racial relationship. I doubt it would be in the 1960s.

It could have been the Willises on The Jeffersons.

Desi & Lucy?

stevea · 09-04-2022, 10:47 PM

Well, 1951! Guess it didn't set much of a precedent--probably nothing for 20+ more years.

(Now, I probably forgot another one!)

spiderrob8 · 10-20-2022, 12:22 PM

That would have been almost unheard of in the suburbs which were segregated by race defacto at the time.

Interracial dating was frowned upon even by the most liberal back then. Approval of interracial marriage was at just 4% in 1958, when Gallup first polled on the question

and when it occurred, it was almost always in urban areas. If there were any black people in their town, it would have been maids.

spiderrob8 · 10-20-2022, 12:26 PM

Im not sure Desi would have been considered interracial. Most wealthy Cubans were mostly of Spanish descent i.e. people from Spain and not intermixed then. Today, the Federal government considers latinos/hispanics to be an ethnicity and many choose white if they pick a race on the census.

Desi Arnaz, who played Ricky on I Love Lucy, came from a white Cuban family. His whiteness wasn’t enough for him to go unnoticed, but it did allow him to get as far as he did in show business in 1950s America. A CBS creative consultant on the I Love Lucy 50th Anniversary Special, Alex Abella, who is Cuban-born himself, said to Hispanic magazine in 2001, “If Desi were black or had black blood, he wouldn’t have had any success or been allowed on the air. Americans could accept him because—like it or not—he was white.” https://slate.com/news-and-politics/...-accurate.html Latin Lover was a thing going back decades.

Meanwhile, Kirk kissing Uhura 15 years after I Love Lucy started was a big thing.

spiderrob8 · 10-20-2022, 12:31 PM

The earliest example of a true interracial couple I know of is Tom and Helen Willis on “The Jeffersons,” a sitcom that aired from 1975 to 1985. Tom was white and Helen was black.

There may be something that predates it but if so, I can't think of it. If it does, it might be more smaller or one off characters.

Sgt. Saunders · 10-20-2022, 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vitoscotti

LITB seemed to avoid using identifiable ethnic names. Rarely any Polish, Italian. Russian, Jewish and so on. Most given or surnames LITB used would take most people a lot of thought or effort to identify their ethnicity.

What about Larry Mondello? That certainly is an Italian-American surname.

If there had been interracial relationships on LITB, perhaps that particular episode might have been entitled:

“Miscegenation Comes to Mayfield”?

PS While a free-spirit like Uncle Billy would probably be cool about interracial dating, I think the hidebound Aunt Martha would not be as tolerant and understanding as Billy Cleaver.

stevea · 10-20-2022, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sgt. Saunders

...While a free-spirit like Uncle Billy would probably be cool about interracial dating, I think the hidebound Aunt Martha would not be as tolerant and understanding as Billy Cleaver.

Aunt Martha wouldn't even talk about a relative who dated or married (I forget which) a French girl.

09-04-2022, 12:51 PM	#1
Chypp516 Member Forum Hawk Join Date: Aug 31, 2022 Location: New York Posts: 4	What if Wally dated a black girl? Watching the series on Peacock just had me wondering about this. Wally had a lot of dates. What if a there was a new girl attended Mayfield High and Wally befriends her. The 50s/60s were tumultuous times for black people of course. And Ohio started to desegregate some schools in the early 60s. Just thought it would have been cool to see this.

09-04-2022, 02:27 PM	#2
CosmicCharlie Member Senior Member Join Date: Jan 14, 2019 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 2,437	Was the EVER a Black Person even on the show ONCE ?

09-04-2022, 03:49 PM	#3
Chypp516 Member Forum Hawk Join Date: Aug 31, 2022 Location: New York Posts: 4	Yea Kim Hamilton played a maid in “The Parking Attendants”. She even spoke to Eddie and Wally.

09-04-2022, 05:17 PM	#4
Tankeryanker Do you like my monkey picture? Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Dec 22, 2014 Posts: 3,049	What would be the purpose of his dating?

09-04-2022, 05:56 PM	#5
Chypp516 Member Forum Hawk Join Date: Aug 31, 2022 Location: New York Posts: 4	Idk that Wally was an equal and opportunity dater lol �� Interracial romances were uncommon back in the day but they still existed. And I think film and TV shows were start to show (subtle at 1st).

09-04-2022, 06:45 PM	#6
Stepperry40 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Mar 11, 2019 Location: CA Posts: 163	I think it was pretty difficult for TV Networks so that kind dating relationship in the 1950s & 1960s because they trying both to keep sponsorships and not anger the some areas of country mainly the south.

09-04-2022, 08:11 PM	#7
vitoscotti Member Senior Member Join Date: Feb 14, 2017 Location: Illinois Posts: 1,083	LITB seemed to avoid using identifiable ethnic names. Rarely any Polish, Italian. Russian, Jewish and so on. Most given or surnames LITB used would take most people a lot of thought or effort to identify their ethnicity.

09-04-2022, 10:19 PM	#8
stevea 22 Years On Sitcoms Moderator Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 13, 2003 Location: Indy Posts: 44,699	It'd be interesting to know what the first sitcom was, to have an inter-racial relationship. I doubt it would be in the 1960s. It could have been the Willises on The Jeffersons.

09-04-2022, 10:47 PM	#10
stevea 22 Years On Sitcoms Moderator Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 13, 2003 Location: Indy Posts: 44,699	Well, 1951! Guess it didn't set much of a precedent--probably nothing for 20+ more years. (Now, I probably forgot another one!)

10-20-2022, 12:22 PM	#11
spiderrob8 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Oct 20, 2022 Location: USA Posts: 13	That would have been almost unheard of in the suburbs which were segregated by race defacto at the time. Interracial dating was frowned upon even by the most liberal back then. Approval of interracial marriage was at just 4% in 1958, when Gallup first polled on the question and when it occurred, it was almost always in urban areas. If there were any black people in their town, it would have been maids.

10-20-2022, 12:26 PM	#12
spiderrob8 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Oct 20, 2022 Location: USA Posts: 13	Im not sure Desi would have been considered interracial. Most wealthy Cubans were mostly of Spanish descent i.e. people from Spain and not intermixed then. Today, the Federal government considers latinos/hispanics to be an ethnicity and many choose white if they pick a race on the census. Desi Arnaz, who played Ricky on I Love Lucy, came from a white Cuban family. His whiteness wasn’t enough for him to go unnoticed, but it did allow him to get as far as he did in show business in 1950s America. A CBS creative consultant on the I Love Lucy 50th Anniversary Special, Alex Abella, who is Cuban-born himself, said to Hispanic magazine in 2001, “If Desi were black or had black blood, he wouldn’t have had any success or been allowed on the air. Americans could accept him because—like it or not—he was white.” https://slate.com/news-and-politics/...-accurate.html Latin Lover was a thing going back decades. Meanwhile, Kirk kissing Uhura 15 years after I Love Lucy started was a big thing.

10-20-2022, 12:31 PM	#13
spiderrob8 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Oct 20, 2022 Location: USA Posts: 13	The earliest example of a true interracial couple I know of is Tom and Helen Willis on “The Jeffersons,” a sitcom that aired from 1975 to 1985. Tom was white and Helen was black. There may be something that predates it but if so, I can't think of it. If it does, it might be more smaller or one off characters.