"Father of the Week" - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Kristen · 12-14-2002, 08:20 PM

TV Land showed this ep. last night, and I have a question about it. Did the woman who played Richie's teacher also play Rob's mother in another episode? I'm like 99% sure she did, but can someone verify that I'm not crazy?

Kristen

MTM1Fan · 12-15-2002, 12:11 AM

Yup! That's her. I wish I had something more interesting to post but that's it. Good bye. Cya later.

Why are you still reading this post?

SawgrassSteve · 12-15-2002, 09:22 AM

We've all seem to notice how some actors on TDVDS seem to keep interchanging roles. Maybe I can shed a little light on this subject.
I'm not old enough to know this first hand, but I'm a bit of a history buff, so bear with me.
Carl, Sheldon, and Danny were Vaudeville babies. That is to say that when they were kids on the East coast, a popular form of entertainment was live comedy and musical stage acts. It was "crude" theater for the working class.
When they decided to enter show biz, another venue had opened up that was a little more prestigious and a little more Jewish. It was in the Catskill Mountains. The then young movie industry was out west, and TV hadn't been developed at all.
In the Vaudeville and Catskill acts, people often changed clothes back stage to play a different character onstage, sometimes in the same show. It was quite common to see the same guy play the landlord, a police officer, a professor, and a priest. They were called bit players. This practice was borrowed from "legitamate" theater. The audiences just went along. The main reason was, it eliminated the need to audition actors every time a new sketch was written. Also, the industry just wasn't as competitive in those days. Salaries being what they were, there just wasn't a huge pool of people to choose from. So, Carl, Sheldon, and Danny, just like Skelton, Gleason, and Caesar, practiced their craft in a manner in which they were accustomed to when they got into television. Namely, keeping a list of the names of people who could play parts based on age or appearances, then calling on them when needed, regardless of the part they played the last time!
This is why we see the same actors playing different roles on TDVDS. The developers were themselves at one time bit players in the Catskills.
As is evidenced by submissions to this board, today's audiences are much more sophisticated, and have been so for some time now. We'll likely never see this type of thing in television again.
That's probably more than you wanted to know, but I thought I'd share.

Steve

PicklesSorrell · 12-15-2002, 10:46 AM

This is like the message I posted before...I swore I saw Rob's father married to Laura's mother!! It was *bizarre*, to say the least...

LOL

~Pickles

Kristen · 12-15-2002, 11:36 PM

Thanks for clearing that up, guys. I'm glad there are other fans I can ask questions like that. I'm also glad to know I'm not crazy! (well at least not for thinking that Richie's teacher and Rob's mom were the same person! LOL!)

Kristen

12-14-2002, 08:20 PM	#1
Kristen Member Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Jul 17, 2000 Location: New York, USA Posts: 4,042	"Father of the Week" TV Land showed this ep. last night, and I have a question about it. Did the woman who played Richie's teacher also play Rob's mother in another episode? I'm like 99% sure she did, but can someone verify that I'm not crazy? Kristen
	__________________ Twitter \| Facebook \| Swagbucks \| Fanfiction Avatar Credit: Leigh Ann

12-15-2002, 12:11 AM	#2
MTM1Fan Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Dec 06, 2001 Location: Philadelphia, Pa Posts: 219	Yup! That's her. I wish I had something more interesting to post but that's it. Good bye. Cya later. Why are you still reading this post?
	__________________ Why are you reading this, you should be looking at the posts!

12-15-2002, 09:22 AM	#3
SawgrassSteve Loyal Worshipper Senior Member Join Date: Mar 04, 2002 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 1,423	A Showbiz History Lesson We've all seem to notice how some actors on TDVDS seem to keep interchanging roles. Maybe I can shed a little light on this subject. I'm not old enough to know this first hand, but I'm a bit of a history buff, so bear with me. Carl, Sheldon, and Danny were Vaudeville babies. That is to say that when they were kids on the East coast, a popular form of entertainment was live comedy and musical stage acts. It was "crude" theater for the working class. When they decided to enter show biz, another venue had opened up that was a little more prestigious and a little more Jewish. It was in the Catskill Mountains. The then young movie industry was out west, and TV hadn't been developed at all. In the Vaudeville and Catskill acts, people often changed clothes back stage to play a different character onstage, sometimes in the same show. It was quite common to see the same guy play the landlord, a police officer, a professor, and a priest. They were called bit players. This practice was borrowed from "legitamate" theater. The audiences just went along. The main reason was, it eliminated the need to audition actors every time a new sketch was written. Also, the industry just wasn't as competitive in those days. Salaries being what they were, there just wasn't a huge pool of people to choose from. So, Carl, Sheldon, and Danny, just like Skelton, Gleason, and Caesar, practiced their craft in a manner in which they were accustomed to when they got into television. Namely, keeping a list of the names of people who could play parts based on age or appearances, then calling on them when needed, regardless of the part they played the last time! This is why we see the same actors playing different roles on TDVDS. The developers were themselves at one time bit players in the Catskills. As is evidenced by submissions to this board, today's audiences are much more sophisticated, and have been so for some time now. We'll likely never see this type of thing in television again. That's probably more than you wanted to know, but I thought I'd share. Steve
	__________________ The Cult Of Laura

12-15-2002, 10:46 AM	#4
PicklesSorrell Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Nov 12, 2002 Location: San Pablo, CA Posts: 103	This is like the message I posted before...I swore I saw Rob's father married to Laura's mother!! It was bizarre, to say the least... LOL ~Pickles
	__________________ "...Buddy's mother never really has liked me..."

12-15-2002, 11:36 PM	#5
Kristen Member Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Jul 17, 2000 Location: New York, USA Posts: 4,042	Thanks! Thanks for clearing that up, guys. I'm glad there are other fans I can ask questions like that. I'm also glad to know I'm not crazy! (well at least not for thinking that Richie's teacher and Rob's mom were the same person! LOL!) Kristen