Thank You Thursdays: Gertrude Berg
If you're a television junkie or history buff, don't miss a new documentary on a too often forgotten pioneer in the industry. According to the film's site, Gertrude Berg, was the creator, principal writer, and star of The Goldbergs, a popular radio show for 17 years, which became television's very first character-driven domestic sitcom in 1949. Berg received the first Best Actress Emmy in history, and paved the way for women in the entertainment industry.
I thought this excerpt from the director's statement was really interesting:
In Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg I'm delighted to document the amazing accomplishments of the talented Gertrude Berg. I am in awe of how this woman would wake up at six in the morning, write her shows, and then go off to the studio to produce. Without missing a beat she seamlessly performed Molly to perfection. Here is a woman who wrote the most positive portrayal of a Jewish mother and her family during the decades that severely threatened American and European Jewry. It is more amazing still that she crafted such a warm maternal figure in spite of her own mother's mental illness. Berg created the "perfect mother" she never experienced in her own life.
Thanks to Melissa Silverstein for the heads up.
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It's interesting that despite the sitcoms fueled by women like Lucille Ball & Gertrude Berg, you always always always see the male-focused, blatantly misogynistic Honeymooners referred to as the birth of the sitcom or the biggest influence on television comedies. I Love Lucy is often praised, but not as widely cited as The Honeymooners - in my exp. at least. And this is the first I've heard of Berg.
When a woman (or other minority group) comes up with an idea, it's not accepted until it's repackaged by a man (or other privileged group).
As I understand it, the reason Berg has been largely forgotten is that her shows were broadcast live and not taped, so most performances are lost. Lucy and Desi taped all of their shows so we have them to remember them by. I've seen a lot more praise for Lucy than for The Honeymooners. I guess YMMV. By the way: you kind of have a similar effect with movies. Birth of a Nation is often cited as the movie that started feature-length films. Totally not true. Most previous feature-length films have been forgotten, but there were plenty before Birth of a Nation. But it's true that Birth of a Nation is largely responsible for the rebirth of the KKK.