Weight & Hairstyles - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Samme · 11-25-2001, 10:45 AM

Guess this comes from watching a long time, but can you tell what year a show is from simply by looking at MTM's hairstyle or her weight? I can. And though it might sound a little farfetched, I think she came across better when she weighed more. There was a period in '64 when she was very skinny and it sorta distracted from her appeal a little. I don't think this is sexist because a comedic actor's appeal does in part go hand in hand with their look. Jackie Gleason had be chubby and
have that baby face for his character to work. When he got older and thinner it just didn't work. John Candy got too fat at the end. It was scary. You worried about him instead of him just watching the loveable fat guy he was before. Jerry Lewis had to be young. Mary's skinniness wasn't as bad, but in '64 and '73 on her own show you worried because she looked sickly. But in '65 and '74
she bounced back with noticeable
weight gains. And it helped. She looked healthier, more appealing,
and it somehow helped each show.
I just liked her looking better.
Too skinny slightly hurt each show. Don't ya think?

Christine0079 · 11-25-2001, 02:47 PM

Well, she has diabetes and I think that has something to do with her weight. Not her fault, though.

~*hosebabe87*~ · 11-25-2001, 07:41 PM

well, yeah you can tell it was the 60's by her hair style, which BTW I loved on her! But I never really payed attention to her weight. Not very observant am I? lol

Kristen · 11-25-2001, 09:32 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by MtM fan:
Well, she has diabetes and I think that has something to do with her weight. Not her fault, though.

I'm not 100% sure, but I think Mary wasn't diagnosed as being diabetic until after TDVDS went off the air. I think it happened in the years between Dick's show and her show.

Kristen

------------------
(After Mary's famous job interview)
Lou Grant:You know what? You've got spunk!
Mary Richards:Well, yes.
Lou Grant:I HATE SPUNK!!!
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Visit www.mtmshow.cjb.net

Christine0079 · 11-25-2001, 09:55 PM

yea, you're right it was after the DVD show and before the MTM show but I was talking about the MTM show. She did gain weight towards the end but now she's back to being thin...er... thinner, she was always thin.

Samme · 11-25-2001, 10:13 PM

I know it was the 60s of course.
I meant I could tell which season one thru five it was. And, yes, she wasn't diabetic until after TDVDS.
But she was actually kinda voluptuous that first season, then normal, then rail thin, then normal again. On her own show she started normal, got very thin, then got voluptuous again. And sickly doesn't look good for comedy. She went thru these Ally McBeal periods.

Krystle · 11-28-2001, 09:28 PM

In the 60s I think thin was the thing, it was in. When Mary started the DVDS she was pretty young. And some young people can be a bit smaller. I heard she smoked and I think when you are already thin to begin with, smoking can have some effect, you either stay the same or just seem to lose weight. Also, I heard she was quit smoking by the middle or the end of the show and when you quit smoking you tend to gain weight. Then as the late 60s to early 70s came so did her diabetes. She again became thin, and then I suppose, when she came use to dealing with diabetes mary gained a more healtheir weight. Today she looks thinner, but come on she's much older now, it does happen. Overall, I think shes always been thin, a nice then, not ever a Ally McBeal type. Mary diffently looked great and healthy compared to her.

Christina E · 11-30-2001, 12:07 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Krystle:
[B]...Also, I heard she was quit smoking by the middle or the end of the show and when you quit smoking you tend to gain weight...[B]

She tried to quit smoking during the week they filmed "Never Bathe on Saturday", but she was unsuccessful at that time. After the blow up she had with Carl over this episode, she went back to smoking. It wasn't until after she had gone through alcohol rehab in the 80s that she worked on quitting again, and was successful.

[This message has been edited by Christina E (edited 11-29-2001).]

cablejockey · 01-05-2002, 04:00 PM

Speaking of clothes, wasn't Laura Petrie one of the first tv housewives to wear pants as part of the wardrobe?

MTM1Fan · 01-05-2002, 07:34 PM

I always thought Lucy was. I mean, ILL came out before DVD and I've seen Lucy wear them. But I think it was the style of Mary's pants that caused a bit of a stir because Lucy's weren't as tight as Mary's.

Christina E · 01-06-2002, 05:56 PM

From the way I understand it, I Love Lucy had a few seasons on the air before TV censorship came into play. She did some things back in the first few seasons that she was later told to stop. Also, Lucy was a physical comedienne in her show, and there were certain times where she needed to be wearing pants or it would have been immodest. The show wasn't really about her as a housewife and mother, but about her trying to get into show business.

The shows that came on later that had the main female role as a regular housewife and mother (Leave it to Beaver and such) always had the women in a dress for the day to day life. Although June wore a dress in the day to day stuff, even she wore pants a few times, like when they went camping.

From how I understand it, The Dick Van Dyke Show was the first to show a normal everyday housewife that wore pants around the house on a normal basis. That was what was unusual, and what the sensors didn't like. Mary Tyler Moore was the first to wear pants like it was an everyday thing, not just a once in a while when the situation calls for it basis.

But you are right that the network didn't like how tight they were. I think they would have gone along with it a lot easier if they weren't so tight, but that is just my personal opinion.

Christina

Artfiore1 · 02-05-2002, 06:10 PM

Hi all,
It's been quite a while since I've posted on this message board, and I know this an old discussion. But, as a loyal subject of the goddess of television, I just HAD to throw my two cents worth in here:

I just want to say that, for what it's worth, 40 years ago, when she was Laura Petrie, Mary was incredibly magnificent, physically -- more so in some episodes than others. Her face was somehow pretty, cute and beautiful all at the same time! As for her body -- what can be said? I honestly feel that a professional sculptor or sculptress could *not* create, by hand, a more physically perfect woman than Laura.

But, whatever occurred in her life during those years between the end of the Dick Van Dyke Show and the beginning of Mary's own show -- regardless of whether or not it was her own fault (be it smoking-related, alcohol-related or diabetes-related) -- COMPLETELY tranformed the appearance of that body. Her face was still quite adorable, but one of the great behinds in television history had been reduced to a mere shadow of its former self. Her arms and legs had become toothpicks. And, it's awfully hard to continue to have a great hourglass figure when you have NO hips at all. I've always found it ironic that Lou Grant remarked, in one of the first Mary Tyler Moore Show episodes, if not THE first episode, about what a "great caboose" Mary had. (Hey Lou, you should've seen it about five or six years earlier!) It wasn't just her general scrawniness in those days, but an awful hairdo and a completely different style of clothing, in *my* opinion at least, contributed significantly to the almost total eradication of what, to me, had been the most physically perfect woman. Mary's appeal in the those earliest days of her show was due in part to the fact that thin was in. And, it remained in partly because of the fact that Mary was so appealing.

Then, as the Mary Tyler Moore Show went on, she started to get *some* of that past sexiness back, so that by around 1973 or '74, she was pretty hot stuff once again. At that point, she was like a slightly thinner Laura Petrie who wore '70s hairstyles and fashions...and who was in color! But, The Mary Tyler Moore Show was never too much about what she looked like -- it was all about an independent and liberated young single woman living on her own and making it in a male-dominated business, a great supporting cast, superior writing and direction...and Mary's outstanding acting and comedic abilities.

In the years since then, Mary has certainly aged and gotten thinner all over again. Yet even now, with her so slim and sixty-something years old, were I to be in the same room with her, I'd probably faint.

By the way, Christina, while Laura Petrie may have been the first woman on TV to frequently wear pants around the house, it seems to me that the majority of her screen time was spent in dresses and skirts.

Later,
Art

MTM1Fan · 02-05-2002, 09:10 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Artfiore1

By the way, Christina, while Laura Petrie may have been the first woman on TV to frequently wear pants around the house, it seems to me that the majority of her screen time was spent in dresses and skirts.

Later,
Art

Actually, censors ( I guess) said that Mary HAD to wear a skirt. She was only allowed to wear the pants in one scene per episode (Mary's words not mine) although I have seen her wearing pants more then once in quite a few episodes. Oh, and I know I'm not the Christina you were talking to but I'm bored so I decided to reply ::grabs a stick and goes on an adventure::

Artfiore1 · 02-06-2002, 04:29 AM

MTM1Fan,
That reminds me of ABC, or whoever it was, in the early days of "Happy Days" declaring that Fonzie could wear leather only once an episode . . . or only in scenes that had his motorcycle in it. Such nonsense.

I don't know the reason for the censors' attitude regarding what Mary wore on the Dick Van Dyke Show. For some ridiculous reason, they didn't like any sustained camera shots of the back of Laura's pants . . . as if we weren't supposed to know that she had a rear end. (Didja ever notice the girl dancing in the first bowling alley scene of the "Twizzle" episode, whose pants were much tighter and more form-fitting than anything Mary ever wore? That girl, at times, looks like she's wearing nothing. I wonder how *that* got left in the show.) Maybe the fact that, metaphorically speaking, "wearing the pants" in those days was synonymous with being "in charge" had something to do with it -- the censors not wanting the wife to seem like the boss, or just as much the boss as the husband was. Or maybe, it's as simple as the censors, like myself, just preferring to see Mary in a dress or a skirt.

Later,
Art

Sitcom Sally · 11-17-2002, 08:41 PM

I also noticed that in the early seasons of the MTM show, she was very thin, particularly in the arms. Though I have never heard of weight loss being a side effect of diabetes; usually the other way around-- the person gains weight from medication. I could be wrong.

11-25-2001, 10:45 AM	#1
Samme Member Forum Regular Join Date: Dec 01, 2001 Posts: 676	Weight & Hairstyles Guess this comes from watching a long time, but can you tell what year a show is from simply by looking at MTM's hairstyle or her weight? I can. And though it might sound a little farfetched, I think she came across better when she weighed more. There was a period in '64 when she was very skinny and it sorta distracted from her appeal a little. I don't think this is sexist because a comedic actor's appeal does in part go hand in hand with their look. Jackie Gleason had be chubby and have that baby face for his character to work. When he got older and thinner it just didn't work. John Candy got too fat at the end. It was scary. You worried about him instead of him just watching the loveable fat guy he was before. Jerry Lewis had to be young. Mary's skinniness wasn't as bad, but in '64 and '73 on her own show you worried because she looked sickly. But in '65 and '74 she bounced back with noticeable weight gains. And it helped. She looked healthier, more appealing, and it somehow helped each show. I just liked her looking better. Too skinny slightly hurt each show. Don't ya think?

01-05-2002, 07:34 PM	#10
MTM1Fan Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Dec 06, 2001 Location: Philadelphia, Pa Posts: 219	I always thought Lucy was. I mean, ILL came out before DVD and I've seen Lucy wear them. But I think it was the style of Mary's pants that caused a bit of a stir because Lucy's weren't as tight as Mary's.
	__________________ Why are you reading this, you should be looking at the posts!

02-05-2002, 06:10 PM	#12
Artfiore1 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Mar 28, 2001 Location: East Brunswick, NJ, USA Posts: 457	Hi all, It's been quite a while since I've posted on this message board, and I know this an old discussion. But, as a loyal subject of the goddess of television, I just HAD to throw my two cents worth in here: I just want to say that, for what it's worth, 40 years ago, when she was Laura Petrie, Mary was incredibly magnificent, physically -- more so in some episodes than others. Her face was somehow pretty, cute and beautiful all at the same time! As for her body -- what can be said? I honestly feel that a professional sculptor or sculptress could not create, by hand, a more physically perfect woman than Laura. But, whatever occurred in her life during those years between the end of the Dick Van Dyke Show and the beginning of Mary's own show -- regardless of whether or not it was her own fault (be it smoking-related, alcohol-related or diabetes-related) -- COMPLETELY tranformed the appearance of that body. Her face was still quite adorable, but one of the great behinds in television history had been reduced to a mere shadow of its former self. Her arms and legs had become toothpicks. And, it's awfully hard to continue to have a great hourglass figure when you have NO hips at all. I've always found it ironic that Lou Grant remarked, in one of the first Mary Tyler Moore Show episodes, if not THE first episode, about what a "great caboose" Mary had. (Hey Lou, you should've seen it about five or six years earlier!) It wasn't just her general scrawniness in those days, but an awful hairdo and a completely different style of clothing, in my opinion at least, contributed significantly to the almost total eradication of what, to me, had been the most physically perfect woman. Mary's appeal in the those earliest days of her show was due in part to the fact that thin was in. And, it remained in partly because of the fact that Mary was so appealing. Then, as the Mary Tyler Moore Show went on, she started to get some of that past sexiness back, so that by around 1973 or '74, she was pretty hot stuff once again. At that point, she was like a slightly thinner Laura Petrie who wore '70s hairstyles and fashions...and who was in color! But, The Mary Tyler Moore Show was never too much about what she looked like -- it was all about an independent and liberated young single woman living on her own and making it in a male-dominated business, a great supporting cast, superior writing and direction...and Mary's outstanding acting and comedic abilities. In the years since then, Mary has certainly aged and gotten thinner all over again. Yet even now, with her so slim and sixty-something years old, were I to be in the same room with her, I'd probably faint. By the way, Christina, while Laura Petrie may have been the first woman on TV to frequently wear pants around the house, it seems to me that the majority of her screen time was spent in dresses and skirts. Later, Art
	Last edited by Artfiore1; 02-05-2002 at 06:33 PM.

11-25-2001, 02:47 PM	#2
Christine0079 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Apr 14, 2001 Location: phila,pa usa Posts: 232	Well, she has diabetes and I think that has something to do with her weight. Not her fault, though.

11-25-2001, 07:41 PM	#3
~hosebabe87~ Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Aug 16, 2001 Posts: 304	well, yeah you can tell it was the 60's by her hair style, which BTW I loved on her! But I never really payed attention to her weight. Not very observant am I? lol

11-25-2001, 09:55 PM	#5
Christine0079 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Apr 14, 2001 Location: phila,pa usa Posts: 232	yea, you're right it was after the DVD show and before the MTM show but I was talking about the MTM show. She did gain weight towards the end but now she's back to being thin...er... thinner, she was always thin.

11-25-2001, 10:13 PM	#6
Samme Member Forum Regular Join Date: Dec 01, 2001 Posts: 676	I know it was the 60s of course. I meant I could tell which season one thru five it was. And, yes, she wasn't diabetic until after TDVDS. But she was actually kinda voluptuous that first season, then normal, then rail thin, then normal again. On her own show she started normal, got very thin, then got voluptuous again. And sickly doesn't look good for comedy. She went thru these Ally McBeal periods.

11-28-2001, 09:28 PM	#7
Krystle Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Nov 03, 2001 Location: Southern CA Posts: 13	In the 60s I think thin was the thing, it was in. When Mary started the DVDS she was pretty young. And some young people can be a bit smaller. I heard she smoked and I think when you are already thin to begin with, smoking can have some effect, you either stay the same or just seem to lose weight. Also, I heard she was quit smoking by the middle or the end of the show and when you quit smoking you tend to gain weight. Then as the late 60s to early 70s came so did her diabetes. She again became thin, and then I suppose, when she came use to dealing with diabetes mary gained a more healtheir weight. Today she looks thinner, but come on she's much older now, it does happen. Overall, I think shes always been thin, a nice then, not ever a Ally McBeal type. Mary diffently looked great and healthy compared to her.

01-05-2002, 04:00 PM	#9
cablejockey Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Dec 29, 2001 Location: ontario canada Posts: 478	Speaking of clothes, wasn't Laura Petrie one of the first tv housewives to wear pants as part of the wardrobe?

01-06-2002, 05:56 PM	#11
Christina E God Bless America Frequent Poster Join Date: Apr 10, 2001 Location: 148 Bonnie Meadow Road Posts: 265	From the way I understand it, I Love Lucy had a few seasons on the air before TV censorship came into play. She did some things back in the first few seasons that she was later told to stop. Also, Lucy was a physical comedienne in her show, and there were certain times where she needed to be wearing pants or it would have been immodest. The show wasn't really about her as a housewife and mother, but about her trying to get into show business. The shows that came on later that had the main female role as a regular housewife and mother (Leave it to Beaver and such) always had the women in a dress for the day to day life. Although June wore a dress in the day to day stuff, even she wore pants a few times, like when they went camping. From how I understand it, The Dick Van Dyke Show was the first to show a normal everyday housewife that wore pants around the house on a normal basis. That was what was unusual, and what the sensors didn't like. Mary Tyler Moore was the first to wear pants like it was an everyday thing, not just a once in a while when the situation calls for it basis. But you are right that the network didn't like how tight they were. I think they would have gone along with it a lot easier if they weren't so tight, but that is just my personal opinion. Christina

02-06-2002, 04:29 AM	#14
Artfiore1 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Mar 28, 2001 Location: East Brunswick, NJ, USA Posts: 457	MTM1Fan, That reminds me of ABC, or whoever it was, in the early days of "Happy Days" declaring that Fonzie could wear leather only once an episode . . . or only in scenes that had his motorcycle in it. Such nonsense. I don't know the reason for the censors' attitude regarding what Mary wore on the Dick Van Dyke Show. For some ridiculous reason, they didn't like any sustained camera shots of the back of Laura's pants . . . as if we weren't supposed to know that she had a rear end. (Didja ever notice the girl dancing in the first bowling alley scene of the "Twizzle" episode, whose pants were much tighter and more form-fitting than anything Mary ever wore? That girl, at times, looks like she's wearing nothing. I wonder how that got left in the show.) Maybe the fact that, metaphorically speaking, "wearing the pants" in those days was synonymous with being "in charge" had something to do with it -- the censors not wanting the wife to seem like the boss, or just as much the boss as the husband was. Or maybe, it's as simple as the censors, like myself, just preferring to see Mary in a dress or a skirt. Later, Art

11-17-2002, 08:41 PM	#15
Sitcom Sally Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Oct 25, 2002 Posts: 48	I also noticed that in the early seasons of the MTM show, she was very thin, particularly in the arms. Though I have never heard of weight loss being a side effect of diabetes; usually the other way around-- the person gains weight from medication. I could be wrong.