Phyllis (TV series)
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Phyllis was a sitcom which aired on CBS from 1975 to 1977. It was a spinoff of The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
The show starred Cloris Leachman as Phyllis Lindstrom, who was previously Mary Richards' landlady on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. In the new series, Phyllis and her daughter Bess moved from Minneapolis to San Francisco, after the death of her husband Lars. It was revealed that San Francisco was Phyllis' original hometown, prior to meeting Lars.
Phyllis and Bess moved in with Lars' mother, Audrey Dexter (Jane Rose) and stepfather, Judge Jonathan Dexter (Henry Jones), and Phyllis took a job as an assistant in a photographic studio. The owner, Julie Erskine, was played by Barbara Colby, who had appeared in a recurring role on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Colby was murdered in an armed robbery after three episodes had been filmed, and the part was assumed by Liz Torres. During the second and final season, she would switch jobs and work for a San Francisco City Supervisor (John Lawlor) as an administrative assistant.
Much of the show's humor stemmed from Phyllis' attempts to fit into the job market, after having lived most of her life as the spoiled wife of a rich physician.
Elderly actress Judith Lowry also appeared as Mother Dexter, the mother of Henry Jones' character, and Phyllis' main nemesis. Accordingly, she was better than everyone when it came to putting Phyllis in her place. In a 1976 episode, Mother Dexter married the similarly aged Arthur Lanson (Burt Mustin); sadly, both Lowry and Mustin died within a month of the episode's airing. During the final season, Bess found romance with Mark Valenti, the son of Phyllis' boss.
"Phyllis" was one of three spin-offs from "The Mary Tyler Moore Show;" the other two were Rhoda and Lou Grant.
