Madame's Place

Madame, created by puppeteer Wayland Flowers, had gained a significant following in the 1970s due to her witty double entendres, sharp comebacks, and penchant for dropping celebrity names. The character of Madame was often elegantly attired in glamorous gowns adorned with splendid jewels, poking fun at the opulence of Hollywood's Golden era.

Wayland Flowers and Madame rose to television stardom in the mid-1970s, becoming regular fixtures on talk shows, variety programs, and game shows. Notably, the duo held the center square on the popular game show "The Hollywood Squares." Concurrently with the production of "Madame's Place," Madame also made appearances as a presenter on "Solid Gold," another show produced by Brad Lachman.

Madame lives in a plush Hollywood mansion surrounded by devoted butler Pinkerton, attentive secretary Bernadette, and beautiful niece Sara Joy. The domestic comedy antics of Madame's household are supplemented by Madame's eponymous talk show within-the-show, a revolving door for stand-up comedy, variety show performers, and celebrity guests.

As the series opens, the popular Madame's Place talk show has long been broadcasting reruns, prompting her fans to demand new episodes. Madame successfully negotiates a revival of the show from her home studio.

In an unusual departure from comedies of its era, the show adopts a serialized format, occasionally featuring storylines that span multiple episodes. To accommodate viewers who may have missed previous episodes, a character always makes a reference to the previous day's events.

Throughout the series, there is ongoing discussion about Madame writing her autobiography. Nine months after the show concluded its run, a real book entitled "Madame: My Misbegotten Memoirs",[5][6] hit store shelves. Originally intended to be titled "Madame: The First Hundred Years,"[7] some abridged black-and-white promotional brochures with this title are in circulation.[8] Notably, the book delves into Madame's early life and does not provide details about this show or its characters.

• Wayland Flowers as Madame - Madame has enjoyed a storied career in stage, radio, film, and television. She currently resides in a lavish Beverly Hills mansion, where she hosts a late-night talk show. Despite her age, Madame exudes childlike behavior, shamelessly pursuing younger men and often greeting female peers with verbal barbs.
• Johnny Haymer as Walter Pinkerton - "Pinky," as he's affectionately called by the staff, is a former boxer, stunt-man, and stand-in. He met Madame on the set of the 1957 film "Gone with the Milkman" while standing in for her costar, and the two carried on a torrid affair behind the back of Madame's then-husband. When Pinky fell on hard times, Madame hired him as her butler. Their deep friendship prevails, although Pinky grapples with his role as a butler in his 50s and stifles feelings of jealousy towards the various men who frequent Madame's bed.
• Susan Tolsky as Bernadette Van Gilder - Bernie initially came to Hollywood with dreams of becoming an actress. However, she encountered the unsavory aspects of the industry and opted for a more conservative path as Madame's secretary. Bernie manages administrative tasks, answers phone calls, and ensures the household runs smoothly. She carries the weight of her husband Bart's tragic death in 1962, as he choked on a dove during a magic show.
• Judy Landers as Sara Joy Pitts - Sara Joy, the naive and curvaceous daughter of Madame's sister, fled her unhappy life in Georgia to seek fame in Hollywood. Her Auntie Madame extended her protection and guidance. Sara Joy aspires to be an actress and often showcases her gymnastic abilities.

In 1980, Madame landed a recurring gig as a guest on Solid Gold, a weekly series that featured countdowns of the top Billboard chart hits, musical performances, and dancing galore. Madame was extremely popular with the youth market, and soon Wayland Flowers began coming up with ideas for her own show. His initial concept involved Madame launching into space on a rocket at the start of each episode, followed by her unexpected appearances in various TV shows.[9] However, this idea proved to be impractical. He then proposed a scenario in which he would share a mansion with Madame,[10] but this was shot down by the producers because he wasn't a ventriloquist and moved his mouth while voicing Madame.[11]

Ultimately, a pilot was produced and made available to the press and distributors in January 1982.[12][13] This pilot featured the diminutive Patty Maloney as Madame's secretary, Alan Young as her English butler, and included additional puppets like Jiffy, Crazy Mary, Mr. Mackelroy, and Baby Smedley in supporting roles.[14][15] Although the pilot was instrumental in pitching the show, Paramount believed that the inclusion of all these puppets made it appear "too cartoonish."[16] Consequently, it was decided that the show would be more distinctive with Madame as the sole puppet star.[17]

Production commenced in August 1982,[18] at the KTLA studio.[19] with the cast and crew working at a breakneck pace to create 74 half-hour episodes within 26 weeks.[4] They had already produced 30 episodes before the show's September debut.[20] It was touted as the most expensive comedy ever produced for syndication,[21] costing $250,000 per week (adjusted for inflation, nearly $800,000) for five 30-minute episodes and one hour-long recap.[22] The show was shot without a studio audience, necessitating the use of a laugh track. Flowers expressed his preference for having an audience, remarking that it was the one thing he disliked about the TV show. "I'm used to hearing the laughter, only now it's not there."[23]

A team of 12 writers[24] collaborated to develop the show's stories[25] and bounced around ideas in the room.[26] Flowers, who had an intimate understanding of the Madame character, often revised her dialogue,[27] noting, "There's a way to deliver a line for Madame. I call it putting a button on it. And I'm good at buttoning up."[28] At times, Flowers would improvise new lines during filming, and the script would be swiftly adjusted on the teleprompter.[29]

The show featured one primary Madame puppet and nine "stand-ins"[30] each painted with slight variations, including one intentionally made to appear evil. Flowers could distinguish between the puppets[31] and switched them as needed for different scenes. Together with costume designer Minta Manning, he scoured magazines for wardrobe ideas for the dolls,[32] resulting in a collection of over 100 custom outfits.[30]

To prevent erecting scaffolding sets for the puppeteer as they did on The Muppet Show, Flowers devised a small black vinyl stool with six wheels. This allowed him to roll around the set,[33][34] propelling himself with his legs[35] while holding the puppet over his head.[36] This innovative approach enabled a recurring gag in which Madame would be sent flying across the room after getting smacked, punched, or blown by a hairdryer. However, it caused issues for some of the guest stars, who found it challenging to focus on Madame instead of looking down at Wayland.[37][38] Co-star Judy Landers remarked that "After the initial shock, you begin to feel she's not a puppet anymore. She becomes a whole person because Wayland Flowers is so talented."[39] For scenes set in the bedroom and bathtub, Flowers had to manipulate Madame's movements through a crevice while watching one monitor and tracking the script on a separate teleprompter.[40] "You have to be a contortionist," he remarked.[41]

Corey Feldman recalled being enamored by both Wayland and Madame, so Flowers borrowed a plush monkey from the boy and fitted it with rods so he could puppeteer it.[42] Feldman was thrilled, but his mother was unimpressed, telling him, "Wayland Flowers is gay." The boy wasn't even sure what "gay" meant.[43] Feldman was eventually dropped from the show due to the studio's concerns that the material was too risqué for a child actor.[44]

Judy Landers' agent encouraged her to stick to dramatic roles, but she had a preference for comedic parts and eagerly accepted the opportunity to co-star in the series.[45] Her character, Sara Joy, incorporated her real-life passion for gymnastics, which she had pursued since the age of 9[46] and excelled in by winning the New York state championships at 16.[47] To maintain her fitness during filming, she adhered to a low-carb, high-protein diet.[48] Landers addressed her portrayal of the ditsy character, explaining, "We're both extremely determined and ambitious, [but] I'm a very serious-mind person. I can be silly and that's what I do for Sara Joy. I take that silly side of myself and just extend on it."[39] She also responded to critics who questioned her repeated portrayals of dumb characters in sitcoms by stating, "I think laughter is God's hand on the shoulder of a troubled world."[49]

The demanding five-day-a-week shooting schedule began to take its toll on Flowers, leading to strain on his voice, which he described as making him "sound like a frog."[50] He expressed regret about committing to a daily show,"[51] describing the set as chaotic and even referring to it as "Casa Tastrophe."[51] In addition to the weekday shoots, Madame retained her regular gig on Solid Gold,[52] which was shot every two weeks over the course of four days.[53] There have been allegations that Flowers developed a significant cocaine habit during production in an effort to cope with the demanding pace.[54][55][56] In an interview on the set of Madame's Place, Armistead Maupin commented on Flowers's noticeable weight loss,[57] and during the same interview, "Madame" made a humorous remark about Hollywood's rampant drug issue, stating, "I never do cocaine. I don't want to get that close to a mirror."[52]

The theme song was composed by Solid Gold''s Michael K. Miller, with lyrics by Monica Riordan, and assistance from Alan Satchwell.[58] They attempted to get George Burns and Ethel Merman to perform the song, but the two were unavailable to record in the allotted time.[59] Paramount raised concerns that the lyrics would offend older viewers, so the first verse was revised.[60] The original lyrics were:

Intended for late-night broadcasts aimed at adults in the 18-49 range,[61] the show secured deals in 110 markets, making it the largest sale for a first-run syndicated show up to that point, reaching 83% of households in the USA.[62] In addition to the standard 30-minute episodes, Paramount also created hour-long compilations of the week's shows[22] for stations to broadcast on the weekends. [63]

Madame's Place was a huge hit in Atlanta, where the hour-long Saturday edition topped the ratings for WATL,[64] but many stations only licensed the hour-long version,[65] weekday distributors complained that inexpensive reruns of The Twilight Zone pulled in higher ratings,[66] and it was dealt a death-blow when New York's WWOR-TV and another major RKO network decided to drop it from their schedule.[67] The cost of maintaining the five-shows-a-week pace became unsustainable when a significant portion of the country wasn't even airing the episodes,[65] leading to the show's cancellation in January 1983.[68]

The show went on to be rerun on the USA Network from 1986 to 1991,[69] alternating between daytime[70] and late-night[71] timeslots. Throughout 1999, episodes infrequently aired on TV Land.[72] In the UK, it aired on The Paramount Channel from 1995[73]-1996[74]

The show received generally positive reviews. TV Host's Wayne Miller gushed that "the show is not only original, but more often than not, it's downright funny."[75] He continued, "The supporting cast sparkles as an ensemble foil to the luscivious Madame." Tom Hopkins of The Dayton Daily News stated, "It's funny stuff, with some sharp writing and some skillful work by Flowers. At a time when TV is mired in spinoffs and regrinds, Madame's Place is a bright new concept."[76] Bob Curtright of The Witchita Eagle-Beacon noted, "The talk-show format allows numerous guest celebrities, giving it the feel of The Muppet Show. The home front provides the kookiness of Soap. The combination is hilarious, but obviously not for everyone."[77] Michael Dougan of The San Francisco Examiner dubbed it "the randiest show on commercial television,"[78] concluding, "I know a lot of people do find Madame funny and, to them only, Madame's Place comes recommended."

James Brown of The Los Angeles Times commented, "Liking this show depends on one's tolerance for the campy utterings of Wayland Flowers' sassy puppet, Madame. Since mine is extremely low, 'Madame's Place' is a long 30-minutes."[79] He concluded, "As sitcoms go,'Madame's Place' is probably no better or worse than, say, Joanie Loves Chachi. It's just that I have a hard time warming up to puppets. Even Kermit gives me the chills." Rick Malaspena of The Oakland Tribune called it "a harmless piece of camp," concluding, that "it's not always truly funny, and it might wear thin when the novelty fades."[80]

There has been considerable confusion regarding the episode count, largely due to misinformation from the studio, compounded by the long unavailability of the show. Shortly after the series concluded, a multi-page Paramount trade ad in Television/Radio Age magazine stated there were "75 half-hours" available,[81] a count that is accurate only if you include the unaired pilot.[3] Later in the same issue, it mentions "150 half-hours" (the show was canceled halfway through the season,[82] so it's probable that someone didn't get the memo), and this number continued to appear in trade magazines for over a year.[83] Adding further to the confusion, a subsequent revision to the trade ads listed 93 shows,[84] and fans have mistakenly presumed that the episodes that were uploaded to YouTube constitute the complete series.[85] [86]

Airdates are fairly consistent, but since the show was syndicated to independent stations, they varied. In some markets, it aired after midnight, while in others, the premiere was delayed by a week or more. American copyright records simply list the episodes by numbers. The titles below possibly originated in a German episode guide,[3] but they're also utilized on IMDb.

• Madame's Place at IMDb