Mr. and Mrs. Drysdale

[RandomGirl93]

Ok, what was up with their marriage? Did ya'll think they loved each other? They must have because I can't see any other reason why they'd get married. They both had money, so it wasn't for money. And Mr. Drysdale seemed to be annoyed by her hypochondria, why didn't he just divorce her? And she always said he was a "common bank president" so why didn't she leave him and find someone less "common" if she really wanted to be like that? I just don't get it! Thoughts? Help me understand? Yell at me? Anything?

[TV_on_the_Porch]

I'm very rusty on the minute details of that backstory, though I remember Charles Ruggles guest starring as her very wealthy Daddy Farquar. I would guess then that Drysdale probably married her for her money, what else?

[treky]

In an early episode (I think from season 1) he's talking to Miss Hathaway about her in one scene; and he says something like "She's a hypocondreac, she's snobbish, she's not that atractive, but I still love her".

[stanwyckfan07]

Originally Posted by RandomGirl93

Ok, what was up with their marriage? Did ya'll think they loved each other? They must have because I can't see any other reason why they'd get married. They both had money, so it wasn't for money. And Mr. Drysdale seemed to be annoyed by her hypochondria, why didn't he just divorce her? And she always said he was a "common bank president" so why didn't she leave him and find someone less "common" if she really wanted to be like that? I just don't get it! Thoughts? Help me understand? Yell at me? Anything?

I presume they'd been married a good 20 years or more by 1962. Relationships can change over time and it's hardly uncommon to find longmarrieds whose passion is history or who can barely tolerate each other (especially back in the 1960s when most people didn't run to divorce court at the first sign of trouble). Given too it's a sitcom and 50s-70s sitcoms always rang "laughs" out of bickering couples from Fred and Ethel to Ralph and Alice to Maude and Walter.

[McGillicuddy]

It was the second marriage for Margaret. Sonny Was Milburn's step-son, although he picked up the Drysdale name!

[RandomGirl93]

That's another thing I didn't know. I thought Sonny was their son. Did they mention anything about Mrs. Drysdale's first marriage? Divorced? Widowed?

[biffbronson]

I don't think it's ever mentioned as far as what had happened to Margaret's first husband, but I could be wrong.

Also in the Drysdale family were Margaret's nephew, Lance "Jetstream" Bradford (played by Soupy Sales) and Milburn's young nephew Milby (played by Teddy Eccles). So we did get to see some more relatives in addition to Sonny and Daddy Farquar (and the large photo of Milburn's departed father).

[RandomGirl93]

Originally Posted by biffbronson

I don't think it's ever mentioned as far as what had happened to Margaret's first husband, but I could be wrong.

Also in the Drysdale family were Margaret's nephew, Lance "Jetstream" Bradford (played by Soupy Sales) and Milburn's young nephew Milby (played by Teddy Eccles). So we did get to see some more relatives in addition to Sonny and Daddy Farquar (and the large photo of Milburn's departed father).

Well, if they never mentioned a first husband then how do we know she had one? I mean, she could have been an unwed mother and quickly married Milburn so her son could have a dad. It happens. Maybe she has more skeletons in her closet than she lets on. I'm writing fanfiction I feel pretty good about and I think I'll mention something that could have happened to her first husband and explain why she is the way she is. Maybe I'll post it here when I'm done. Can I do that?

[McGillicuddy]

You're right about nothing being known about Mrs. D's first husband, or even if there was one. The only thing I'm pretty sure of-- is that Sonny is Drysdale's step-son. Anybody out there able to back me up ? I'm not positive of this.

[Frump]

They probably were in love at one time, BUT things can change over time. And this was 1962 people didn't just divorce at the drop of a hat like they do now days.

[RandomGirl93]

I've written the first chapter of my fanfiction and it mentions a possible explanation. I'll post the link as soon as fanfiction.net approves it.

[biffbronson]

Among BH fans, Sonny is well-known as Milburn's rich, spoiled stepson -- the implication is very strong that Margaret was previously married and Sonny was the product of that marriage. Although anyone is free to speculate that Sonny's actual father never married Margaret, I think that's an uncommon opinion as far as how fans of the series view Sonny.

The idea that Milburn came into the picture while Margaret was an "unwed mother" is extremely rare in my experience as an ardent fan of the show since circa 1970...!

[RandomGirl93]

Originally Posted by biffbronson

Among BH fans, Sonny is well-known as Milburn's rich, spoiled stepson -- the implication is very strong that Margaret was previously married and Sonny was the product of that marriage. Although anyone is free to speculate that Sonny's actual father never married Margaret, I think that's an uncommon opinion as far as how fans of the series view Sonny.

The idea that Milburn came into the picture while Margaret was an "unwed mother" is extremely rare in my experience as an ardent fan of the show since circa 1970...!

I get what you're saying. I think I did inhale a little too much smoke the other night. It might be because I'm a younger fan of the series (my mom actually got me hooked on it), that I view it differently. Unless you're saying that I'm not a fan of the series, in which case, I will leave because to be quite honest, I've got too much drama going on in my life right now and the last thing I want right now is to step on any toes.

[biffbronson]

No, no -- you are a good fan of the series and I hope you stay here forever! I was just surprised that other ways of looking at Margaret & Sonny were popping up. I didn't mean to try to chase anyone away at all -- sorry.

It's important too to rememeber that for most sitcoms of past decades, not too much attention was paid to continuity, etc. -- for example, in the first season of Mary Tyler Moore, Mary states clearly that she was not a cheerleader but a pom-pon girl instead, while not too much later it's revealed that she had been head cheerleader. The writers tended to play fast and loose and did what was convenient at the time, either for laughs or to make a certain story they had in mind "work."

As far as divorce goes, mentioned by a previous poster: Hollywood divorces were not at all uncommon by the time BH began, and there's a long list of actors who remarried. I tend to extend that trend to Beverly Hills, though maybe not correctly. I think it's likely the writers thought of Margaret as having divorced and remarried.

Again I'm sorry if I came off too harsh in my reply.

[RandomGirl93]

Originally Posted by biffbronson

No, no -- you are a good fan of the series and I hope you stay here forever! I was just surprised that other ways of looking at Margaret & Sonny were popping up. I didn't mean to try to chase anyone away at all -- sorry.

It's important too to rememeber that for most sitcoms of past decades, not too much attention was paid to continuity, etc. -- for example, in the first season of Mary Tyler Moore, Mary states clearly that she was not a cheerleader but a pom-pon girl instead, while not too much later it's revealed that she had been head cheerleader. The writers tended to play fast and loose and did what was convenient at the time, either for laughs or to make a certain story they had in mind "work."

As far as divorce goes, mentioned by a previous poster: Hollywood divorces were not at all uncommon by the time BH began, and there's a long list of actors who remarried. I tend to extend that trend to Beverly Hills, though maybe not correctly. I think it's likely the writers thought of Margaret as having divorced and remarried.

Again I'm sorry if I came off too harsh in my reply.

It's ok, I went back and read my post this morning and realized that I was being WAY too sensitive. In real life, I have to prove myself mature enough to handle certain tasks because not only am I 17, but I have 8 ear piercings, a belly button piercing, a tongue piercing, and a tattoo on my ankle, plus I wear a lot of eyeliner, black clothes, and pink streaks in my hair, so people take one look at me and think "rebel". Of course you wouldn't expect someone like me to be a fan of the show. I do tend to feel that way about forums as well even though ya'll can't see me. I pretty much make it clear that I'm a teenager right off the bat, so I feel like people think I'm just a kid who doesn't know anything. I blame my mother for my sensitivity, even though I get it from my dad's side of the family. My mom's the one who told me I'll never be able to do anything with my life because of the way I look.