Blair's Southern Accent - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

queenFrostine278 · 06-09-2011, 12:09 AM

Blair is supposed to be from NY, right? To me, her southern accent is extremely noticeable. Like her "ens" become "ins". For example, "pre-tind" instead of "pretend" or "in-e-way" instead of "anyway". Did anyone in charge ever tell her to can her accent, for the sake of continuity?

catlover79 · 06-09-2011, 12:15 AM

Lisa Whelchel is a native Texan, and never was able to shed her accent. It probably would've been a better idea to have Blair also be a native Texan.

Marvo301 · 06-09-2011, 12:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by queenFrostine278

Blair is supposed to be from NY, right? To me, her southern accent is extremely noticeable. Like her "ens" become "ins". For example, "pre-tind" instead of "pretend" or "in-e-way" instead of "anyway". Did anyone in charge ever tell her to can her accent, for the sake of continuity?

Lisa Welchel who played Blair was born and raised in Texas so her southern accent came very naturally to her. It's the way she had spoken all her life. It's very difficult to "can" an accent that you've had all your life. Besides i think hving that accent was good for the character. Rich people always have eccentricities and the accent happens to be one of Blair's eccentricities.

OldBiddy · 06-10-2011, 10:13 PM

I suppose we've all heard the story of how the producers hassled Lisa about her weight. I've often wondered if they hassled her about the Texas twang.

ShamelessFanGirl · 07-29-2011, 11:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catlover79

Lisa Whelchel is a native Texan, and never was able to shed her accent. It probably would've been a better idea to have Blair also be a native Texan.

I have been a fan of the show for years and not once did I ever notice that Blair had an accent. Now that you said that I will have to pay more attention to the way she talks.

Ags2000 · 07-30-2011, 12:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rlw1984

I have been a fan of the show for years and not once did I ever notice that Blair had an accent. Now that you said that I will have to pay more attention to the way she talks.

Oh, yeah her accent comes out ALL the time, I love it!

D

Sunshine Day · 08-08-2011, 12:38 AM

I have wondered that too, Old Biddy.

I recently found an old web-chat (from 2000) in which Lisa was asked what she and Blair had in common. Her reply: "Nothing. Not even physically. She's taller than me. She doesn't have a Texas accent, and she says she's a true blonde, but I have my doubts."

HA! Funny response!

So, apparently, Lisa DID make a concerted effort to subdue her Texas accent on FOL. IMO, the accent was more noticeable in the first couple seasons, than later seasons...leading me to believe that it was something that Lisa really worked on, and got better at, as time went by....although it still slippped out on certain words, all the way til the end.

ShamelessFanGirl · 08-08-2011, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunshine Day

I have wondered that too, Old Biddy.

I recently found an old web-chat (from 2000) in which Lisa was asked what she and Blair had in common. Her reply: "Nothing. Not even physically. She's taller than me. She doesn't have a Texas accent, and she says she's a true blonde, but I have my doubts."

HA! Funny response!

So, apparently, Lisa DID make a concerted effort to subdue her Texas accent on FOL. IMO, the accent was more noticeable in the first couple seasons, than later seasons...leading me to believe that it was something that Lisa really worked on, and got better at, as time went by....although it still slippped out on certain words, all the way til the end.

I have watched the first two seasons several times and never once did I ever notice that she had an accent. Of course that might that I just never paid close enough attention. Oh, well I will start the show over again and listen more to the way she talks.

OldBiddy · 08-09-2011, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunshine Day

I have wondered that too, Old Biddy.

I recently found an old web-chat (from 2000) in which Lisa was asked what she and Blair had in common. Her reply: "Nothing. Not even physically. She's taller than me. She doesn't have a Texas accent, and she says she's a true blonde, but I have my doubts."

I saw that too. I was puzzled about the "taller than me" response. Someone posted a list of the girls heights taken from some 80's promo material. It listed Lisa as 5'7", the tallest. Ha! That's fantasy. She's looks to be about 2inches shorter than Nancy McKeon on the show (who I think is about 5'6").

[Oy! This post is getting too long...] but I like to see how they work out those wonderful nose-to-nose cat fights between Jo and Blair. Jo always wears flats. I suppose Blair wears heels just the right height for the fights. There's an S2 episode where Jo kinda hunkers down to Blair's height at the beginning of a fight so they are eye-to-eye.

cleverfun3000 · 08-09-2011, 10:09 PM

Blair actually SPOKE on the show?? I'm sorry, but she was so beautiful and naturally wholesome looking that I overlooked the fact that she had a voice.

ShamelessFanGirl · 08-09-2011, 11:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldBiddy

I saw that too. I was puzzled about the "taller than me" response. Someone posted a list of the girls heights taken from some 80's promo material. It listed Lisa as 5'7", the tallest. Ha! That's fantasy. She's looks to be about 2inches shorter than Nancy McKeon on the show (who I think is about 5'6").

[Oy! This post is getting too long...] but I like to see how they work out those wonderful nose-to-nose cat fights between Jo and Blair. Jo always wears flats. I suppose Blair wears heels just the right height for the fights. There's an S2 episode where Jo kinda hunkers down to Blair's height at the beginning of a fight so they are eye-to-eye.

I heard that Lisa Whelchel was actually 5'5" and that Nancy Mckeon was 5'6". There was a couple episode when Lisa didn't wear the normal high heeled boots on the show which sometimes made her appear taller than she really was and Nancy when standing in face to face had to look down at her because she towered over her enough to do so.

visaman666 · 08-10-2011, 01:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rlw1984

I heard that Lisa Whelchel was actually 5'5" and that Nancy Mckeon was 5'6". There was a couple episode when Lisa didn't wear the normal high heeled boots on the show which sometimes made her appear taller than she really was and Nancy when standing in face to face had to look down at her because she towered over her enough to do so.

Well...they were growing up before our eyes!

ShamelessFanGirl · 08-10-2011, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by visaman666

Well...they were growing up before our eyes!

That's true

Ian905 · 08-10-2011, 04:20 PM

Blair did say in "The Oldest Living Graduate" episode that she has family in Texas, so depending on how much time she spends with those family members it is possible she picked up a slight accent.

OldBiddy · 08-24-2011, 08:09 PM

A quote from Lisa herself

People ask me all the time if I'm anything like Blair in real life. First of all, there's no way my mama would allow me to act like Blair. Second, Blair and I don't look or sound alike: I have a remnant of a Texas twang, and Blair is from New York. She's also much taller than me. At five feet three, I'm vertically challenged. The funny thing is that all the other girls on the show were even shorter, but Blair wore high heels all the time, so next to them she looked like a giant. That's another difference -- I wear tennis shoes 90 percent of the time. Blair's and my wardrobes are totally different. When I get dressed in the morning, comfort is the operative word. I doubt that Blair would feel the same way.

The Facts of Life and Other Lessons My Father Taught Me (Multnomah Publishers, 2001) p39.

06-09-2011, 12:09 AM	#1
queenFrostine278 Jen Frequent Poster Join Date: Apr 27, 2005 Location: NY Posts: 263	Blair's Southern Accent Blair is supposed to be from NY, right? To me, her southern accent is extremely noticeable. Like her "ens" become "ins". For example, "pre-tind" instead of "pretend" or "in-e-way" instead of "anyway". Did anyone in charge ever tell her to can her accent, for the sake of continuity?
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06-09-2011, 12:15 AM	#2
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,376	Lisa Whelchel is a native Texan, and never was able to shed her accent. It probably would've been a better idea to have Blair also be a native Texan.
	__________________ "Jesus loves you and He approves this message." "I'm alive. I'm feeling good. I'm trying to live every moment as much as I can." - Valerie Harper, March 2013

08-24-2011, 08:09 PM	#15
OldBiddy Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jun 10, 2011 Location: California Posts: 82	A quote from Lisa herself People ask me all the time if I'm anything like Blair in real life. First of all, there's no way my mama would allow me to act like Blair. Second, Blair and I don't look or sound alike: I have a remnant of a Texas twang, and Blair is from New York. She's also much taller than me. At five feet three, I'm vertically challenged. The funny thing is that all the other girls on the show were even shorter, but Blair wore high heels all the time, so next to them she looked like a giant. That's another difference -- I wear tennis shoes 90 percent of the time. Blair's and my wardrobes are totally different. When I get dressed in the morning, comfort is the operative word. I doubt that Blair would feel the same way. The Facts of Life and Other Lessons My Father Taught Me (Multnomah Publishers, 2001) p39.

06-10-2011, 10:13 PM	#4
OldBiddy Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jun 10, 2011 Location: California Posts: 82	I suppose we've all heard the story of how the producers hassled Lisa about her weight. I've often wondered if they hassled her about the Texas twang.

08-08-2011, 12:38 AM	#7
Sunshine Day Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jun 19, 2011 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 14	I have wondered that too, Old Biddy. I recently found an old web-chat (from 2000) in which Lisa was asked what she and Blair had in common. Her reply: "Nothing. Not even physically. She's taller than me. She doesn't have a Texas accent, and she says she's a true blonde, but I have my doubts." HA! Funny response! So, apparently, Lisa DID make a concerted effort to subdue her Texas accent on FOL. IMO, the accent was more noticeable in the first couple seasons, than later seasons...leading me to believe that it was something that Lisa really worked on, and got better at, as time went by....although it still slippped out on certain words, all the way til the end.

08-09-2011, 10:09 PM	#10
cleverfun3000 Member Senior Member Join Date: Sep 18, 2008 Location: Manhattan Posts: 1,685	Blair actually SPOKE on the show?? I'm sorry, but she was so beautiful and naturally wholesome looking that I overlooked the fact that she had a voice.

08-10-2011, 04:20 PM	#14
Ian905 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Aug 07, 2009 Location: Canada Posts: 67	Blair did say in "The Oldest Living Graduate" episode that she has family in Texas, so depending on how much time she spends with those family members it is possible she picked up a slight accent.