Terry Rakolta
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Terry Rakolta (born September 18, 1944) is an American homemaker and activist who led a boycott against the Fox Broadcasting Company sitcom Married... with Children.[1] Born Terry Lynn Stern, she is the sister of Ronna Romney, daughter-in-law of former Michigan governor George Romney. Rakolta's husband John Rakolta Jr. was a National Chairman for the 2008 presidential campaign of Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor and presidential candidate.[2] He also is the General Counsel for Romania's Honorary General Consulate in Detroit.[3]
Rakolta, a resident of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, was prompted to write to the show's sponsors after watching an episode entitled "Her Cups Runneth Over" on January 15, 1989, in which Al Bundy and his friend Steve purchase a bra for Al's wife, Peggy. Several sponsors decided to cancel their commercials, and Fox decided not to air a potentially offensive episode titled "I'll See You in Court." [4] Known as the "Lost Episode," it was finally aired in 2002 and was packaged with the rest of the third season in the 2005 DVD release. The episode has aired outside America as a regular episode of season three ever since the show went into syndication.
After Rakolta made several appearances on television talk shows, the ensuing publicity gave the show a huge ratings boost and is sometimes credited in part for the show's longevity. Every year at Christmas, Married... with Children producers would send Rakolta a fruit basket with a thank you note.
Rakolta herself was obliquely referenced twice on the show:
- Rock and Roll Girl. [1]
- when a newscaster mentioned Bloomfield Hills.
- No Pot To Pease In. [2]
- when a television show was made based on the Bundy family was cancelled and their neighbor Marcy told the Bundys that "some woman in Michigan didn't like it."
Rakolta later founded Americans for Responsible Television to fight against other shows deemed offensive by the organization, including shows by Phil Donahue and Howard Stern.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ A Mother Is Heard as Sponsors Abandon a TV Hit (March 2, 1989) New York Times
- ^ How Does Max Fisher & Mitt Romney have Hitler in common? MichigaLiberal.com accessed July 16, 2007
- ^ Honorary Consulates of Romania in the US: Detroit, Michigan
- ^ I'll See You in Court overview
[edit] External links
- Terry Rakolta's Fight against Married... with Children
- Americans for Responsible Television profile via Response Unlimited
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