In recent weeks, we’ve been asking you to tell us your favorite neighbors, doctors, cars, and cartoon bands from television. Today, we would like to hear you sound off on who your favorite TV mom is. We’ve picked a handful of memorable matriarchs to get you started, but you likely have some choices that you feel are more deserving, so don’t be shy. Let’s get things started, shall we?
First up, the wonderful Barbara Billingsley from Leave it to Beaver. Was there a kid in the 50s that didn’t want a mom like June Cleaver? Always ready to help with life’s problems, always cooking up some tasty snack in the kitchen, she was everything a stereotypical mom should be, which she had to be, considering the chauvinistic attitudes of her family members.
Next, we present the lovely Carol Brady, mother of a sibling six-pack on The Brady Bunch. Portrayed by Florence Henderson, Carol didn’t spend quite as much time in the kitchen as June Cleaver. After all, she had a superhuman maid named Alice to lean on. Still, she gets extra points for perkiness and groovy wardrobe choices, and more importantly, she always put safety first:
Natural mom to Richie and Joannie on Happy Days, as well as surrogate mom to Fonzie, Marion Cunningham (Marion Ross) had a refreshingly independent side to her, never afraid to speak her mind, even if it meant standing up to The Fonz.
Not all television moms get to just sit around baking cookies. Florida Evans, for example, exemplified a working class mom on Good Times, struggling to make ends meet while raising three children in the inner city. And although she faced numerous hardships that someone like June Cleaver could never have handled, she still always put her family first:
Finally, if you want to talk hardships, perhaps no television mom ever faced comparable trials and tribulations to that of Caroline “Ma” Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie. Portrayed by Karen Grassle, Ma watched over her brood tirelessly, facing obstacles that none of these other television moms could begin to fathom.
So, tell us which character you think is most deserving of the title “Best Television Mom” and be sure to include your reasons why. Remember that we’ve only presented the tip of the iceberg, so scan those memory banks and share your favorites with us, as we celebrate all of these wonderful women, here at Retroland.
i dont have a particular favorite, but there are a few i really liked.
1. florida evans
2. shirley partridge
3. marion cunningham.
mrs. ketchum from pokemon. she always made sure her son had plenty of clean underwear while he was off catching strange superpowered animals and fighting an evil syndicate of maniacal poachers.
I love Roseanne. She was loud and sarcastic but she felt like more of a real TV mom than most others. She was “large and in charge” like most other moms I know now.
Dear Eric,
My favorite tv moms are:”Shirley Partridge”,”Ann Romano”,”Florida Evans”,”Marion Cunningham”,”Ruth Martin”,”Dr.Maureen Robinson”
and”Joan Nash”.
Florence Henderson…she never got mad.
Barbara Billingsley for me.
Shirley Partridge all the way!
Caroline Ingalls,June Cleaver,Carol Brady,Flordia Evans-Damn,Damn,Damn!,Norma Arnold,Ann Romano,Shirley Partridge,Marion Cuttingham.
I thought of this as more a question of “who would you want to be your mom”…..It is a hard choice for me. I always had two in mind..Caroline Ingalls and June Cleaver. Caroline would be a SURE winner if having her for a mom meant having Charles Ingalls for a dad. As I got older I gravitated toward Alice Hyatt from Alice and Ann Romano from One Day at a Time…I thought a free spirited, “now” and “with it” kind of mom was cool..then I went through my stage of wanting Edna Garrett from The Facts of Life to me my mom..she seemed independent and strong yet very wise and kind…now as an adult, I find myself back to Caroline or June….they are tops in my book.