How Angry Was Norman Fell At Audrey Lindley For Making Him Do The “Ropers” Spin-Off

This is the kind of quality thread that I come here for.

My question is, how does Jussie figure into this?

[quote] My question is, how does Jussie figure into this?

Both Mrs. Roper and Jussie have curly hair.

As I always heard it, neither of them wanted to do it; ABC had to promise them both that they could return to "Three's Company" if it flopped in order to convince them to take the leap.

Of course, ABC lied through its teeth.

He always had The Graduate to remember fondly.

Mayberry R.F.D.

It's Audra, OP.

Wouldn't that be a big thing for an actor to be stars of their own television show? Why exactly would they be opposed?

They promised if it only lasted one season. They purposely gave it a second season so they wouldn't have to bring them back. Don Knotts was too popular and was less expensive than The Roper's combined salaries.

I was so excited for The Ropers. I was only eight years old and Audra was my spirit animal.

Audra did want to do the spin-off. Norman did not.

And how fantastic is your caftan collection in her honor, R10?

I monitored his anger level fairly regularly during that period and it fluctuated between 6.25 and 8.5 FAUs.*

*Fell Anger Units

I read that he attempted to murder her several times over the issue.

Did he do that thing where he looks at the camera after he attempted to murder her?

I hope Joyce DeWitt staged an intervention.

Aged, oversexed Mrs. Roper in her glorious caftans and earrings is truly a DL icon.

Isn't she woefully UNDERsexed?

I knew that was coming, r12. LOL

Yes, r15.

Probably autocorrect, r7.

Let me try:

Audra

Nope, just stupidity. Not autocorrect at all.

I still remember her guest starring in Maude.

That was rude of ABC to leave them high and dry like that.

"I trained in the Theatre. I wanted to focus more on character development in 'The Ropers'...the scripts were strong, and I felt we had to the potential to create a classic TV show"

"But Audra was just there to collect her Caftans and her Chunky Jewelry...she spent more time at Craft Services than she did at rehearsal. We were all stunned by the number of men she 'entertained' in her trailer."

"Audra was only in it for Audra - she stole quite a bit of studio property, carrying it off the lot by hiding it under those big caftans of hers."

"And while I hate to even mention it, Audra had a terrible flatulence problem - sometimes we'd have to evacuate the entire sound stage."

"The Ropers had the potential to be another 'All in the Family' - I'm not bitter - but blame Audra for all of the failure."

Norman had a tiny penis.

Audra farted in Norman’s face one day. Things were never the same after that.

I would imagine Fell and Lindley were payed quite well for the spin-off, and were probably considered too expensive to bring back as supporting members of a series that was already paying three other lead actors.

[quote] payed

Oh, DEAR.

I clearly remember watching a scene where Mr. Roper finally gave in and had sex with his wife. She was great as the sex starved wife.

Audra with husband James Whitmore.

Audra’s snatch was quite busy. lol

Audra was a bit of a nobody and it was probably easy to convince her. Fell was a successful character actor who had done tons of episodic tv guest shots, plus small parts in movies---at a certain point the security of a regular paycheck may have won him over, although a starring sit com role probably would have hurt his dramatic career. they probably did become too expensive to bring back, plus the show already had personnel "issues". Fell still worked after the Ropers, but not as often and in less worthy vehicles.

During that era, some spin-offs did really well (Laverne & Shirley, Rhoda), so it was a gamble that could have paid off. If it had, Norman and Audrey would have made a tidy sum.

He farted in her coffee.

Audra wanted to do it. Norman didn’t. TC was a huge hit and he wanted to ride it out. The show never got a second season and was cancelled in the spring of 80. The producers promised that if the show didn’t go over a year they could come back. But by that point Knotts was already on TC for almost a season. Knotts was a close second, but I always preferred the Ropers.

That trial run in the spring of 1979 was technically the first season. That’s how ABC screwed them over. And they already lost Fred Silverman to NBC by this point.

When the Ropers came back in the fifth season for a guest appearance they were a breath of fresh air. They should have hired them back especially in the wake of the Somers shit.

The show got a second season, r35.

Well it was a good decision. Don Knotts is one of the greatest casting additions to a show in history.

Yeah, Don Knotts was great. And it was nice to see the Ropers be brought back at least for that one guest appearance so that we got to see them interact with Furley.

I was hoping Audra Lindley would put out a line of wigs.

Audra Lindley was the original Aunt Liz.

Audra gave bj’s in her dressing room.

I liked the Ropers on Three's Company - not so much on their own show. Too much. Norman Fell was awful in everything he did - always did the same thing, same reactions, same inflections, same stupid faces.....

The only thing worse than The Ropers was the John Ritter - Mary Cadorette series that co-starred the "hilarious" and "talented" Robert Mandan.

I'm really getting tired of posters like R24/R26/R34 ruining what could be good gossip threads with their lame, juvenile fart jokes and other nonsense.

It isn't cute, clever, or funny.

Piss off.

The Three's Company set was nothing but drama.

R45 Blame Norman Fell. He’s the one who bragged about how gassy Audra was and how she farted constantly. That is good gossip.

Why were any of the cast members shocked by the way the spinoffs played out when they followed the exact same format as its UK progenitor?

What kind of glue should I use to fix a broken chair?

I never knew that was her husband. I mean I really only know him as the old guy from Shawshank Redemption, but that's still interesting. I always find lesser-known actor marriages interesting. I have no idea why, I just do. The Brad-Angelina type nonsense never interested me.

[quote]I was hoping Audra Lindley would put out a line of wigs.

I would think DL would be more interested in a line of Audra's caftans.

I never miss a James Whitmore musical.

If you want to see a great performance from James Whitmore, watch the "Twilight Zone" episode from season 4 called "On Thursday We Leave for Home." He really was a wonderful actor.

R24 Is this real? It's clearly(?) a joke but... I searched online and don't see an references. I WANT TO BELIEVE

They have the Night Of A Thousand Mrs. Ropers at some events like Southern Decadence.....

And they're supposed to be doing a cruise with a Thousand Mrs. Ropers, too.

Poorly drawn-up contract. Needs to be airtight if you're gonna do a spin off.

R54: I have a bridge I'd like to sell you. Real cheap.

James Whitmore divorced Audra around the time THE ROPERS spun off too...to have one’s marriage end and one’s show canceled, one after the other? She must’ve kept a bottle of vodka on her nightstand.

I agree r45. It’s like when we play a word game or similar, everyone contributing something witty, until some creep starts posting painfully witless contributions, literally hundreds of them, none funny. At first I thought it was some low IQ gay in flyover, but now I think it’s a purposeful attempt to poison anything fun. Perhaps a self-hating gay who is angered by gay men enjoying anything.

Audra wore caftans because of her flatlence. This way, the smell of her farts couldn’t escape. She was a smelly woman under those caftans with the fart smell.

R38 I don’t consider half a season a true season. Season and a half ok.

[quote]I was hoping Audra Lindley would put out a line of wigs.

I was hoping Audra Lindley would put out a line of charcoal panties.

"After one particularly difficult day on the set, Audra had refused to leave her trailer and had ruined take after take, she started to argue with the Assistant Director over the blocking of the scene."

"I sat and watched them argue. Finally, I said quietly to Audra, 'Audra, can't you just try to make it work?"

"Audra became enraged. 'Try to make it work, Norman,' she screamed at me, 'You think I'm not trying to make it work?"

"Utterly enraged with me and the entire crew, Audra lifted her caftan and farted in my general direction."

"Audra was wearing nothing beneath her caftan."

R59 Yeah, we have some weird people here who act like five year olds.

Hee hee ha ha, farting and poop is so funny.

NOT

R45 is right. Can we add Vivian Vance and Darfur Orphan to the list of played out witticisms? And Helen Lawson, too.

James Whitmore was a gardening junkie.

Don Knotts was terrible, it was Barney Fife in Southern California. I'd rather have had the Ropers stay on the show.

Add "Betty White took a dump in Bea Arthur's trailer," Ina Farten, SJP looks like a horse, etc.

R68, You forgot Helen Lawson and "Oh dear".

At least things like "Sure, Jan," Darfur Orphan, and Vivian Vance were funny at one point. The poop and fart stuff never has been, unless you have the brain of a 13 year old boy.

And I suspect it's the work of a scat troll/trolls who get off on it.

F&F every time I see it.

Isabel Sanford (Louise Jefferson) did not want to do an "All in the Family" spinoff, she wanted to stay on a popular show.

On Three's Company, I preferred Mr. Furley (Don Knotts) to the Ropers (Fell and Lindley). I forgot the Ropers even had a spinoff. To me, there was something mean about Normal Fell. The relationship between the Ropers was a tired stereotype. I enjoyed Don Knotts with his neck scarf.

Norman Fell, not Normal Fell.

Seriously they should have fired useless Jeffrey Tambor and brought in Suzanne Somers who moves in with them.

Audra had many Marilyn over the subway grate moments in her gassy caftans.

[quote] Both Mrs. Roper and Jussie have curly hair.

They also both favor muumuus.

Why would he be mad at her?

Did Suzanne Somers ever comment on Audra’s farting?

r61, I hear what you are saying but it doesn't change the fact that it was, INDEED, two seasons. Audra and Norman knew that since S1 was a mid-season replacement it would be a short order. They were promised if it didn't get a second season, they could go back to Three's Company. TPTB purposely renewed the show so they could keep Don Knotts, who was just as (if not more) popular AND less expensive.

Norman had 168 credits.

That's a lot.

Audra had 79 credits; she was the first Aunt Liz on AW

How did Jeffrey Tambor get his character to be named after him and a steady stream of different TC parts post his Ropers stint?

[quote] "Audra wore caftans because of her flatlence. This way, the smell of her farts couldn’t escape. She was a smelly woman under those caftans with the fart smell. —Anonymous"

Jeffrey's wife Anne should have reverted to type.

[quote] Ina Farten

Is a DL classic and I will not STAND for its slander!

Suzanne Somers has said she reached out to Audra about how Suzanne's nutrition plan and biodienticals could relieve Audra's flatulence problems - to no avail.

[quote]They have the Night Of A Thousand Mrs. Ropers at some events like Southern Decadence

While I love your theme name, I think it’s actually the Million Mrs. Roper March.

The Million Mrs Roper March - big caftans, bad perms, what's not to love...

I can't get past the fact that Suzanne Somers wore those short-shorts with pantyhose!

What kind of 'civilization' was this?

Lynda Carter also wore pantyhose with her Wonder Woman costume. Must've been a "thing" in the 70s.

I think Joanna Cameron wore pantyhose as well.

The 70s were kindof the golden age of panty hose, among other things.

Panty hose need to come back. Tired of seeing knobby kneedm bruised and veiny cottage cheese ridden frau legs.

r94 Well, stop looking in the mirror! Problem solved!

A great quote from Norman:

[quote]I've been in Hollywood for over 40 years. I've worked on over 100 shows and movies. But I'm famous for being a homophobic, perverted, leering, dirty old man who peeps on young girls and verbally abuses his wife. When I die, they're going to say "Mr. Roper died." They won't even use my real name.

97 if he wasn’t Mr. Roper, he wouldn’t be remembered by most people at all.

The Ropers were part and parcel of the original Brit-com, Man About the House. The American pilot episode of Three's Company is a near replica of the first episode of the British series. But one-note characters like the Ropers didn't wear out their welcome as quickly in the UK where shows had only six or seven episodes in a season with a year or two passing between seasons.

The impotent husband and frustrated housewife were particularly unpromising characters for ABC in the mid-70s. Three's Company was probably the most sexually suggestive show in the new era of Jiggle TV. It made much more sense to write in a swinging bachelor who could pursue a hundred sexual leads than to keep repeating the same depressing limp dick jokes that would have been more at home on Maude.

Incidentally, Don Knotts got the role of Mr. Furley because the writers, while tossing out ideas for a new landlord, thought it would be funny to find a Don Knotts type. The next question was, well, what the hell is Don Knotts doing? Not surprisingly, he was free.

[quote]How Angry Was Norman Fell At Audrey Lindley For Making Him Do The “Ropers

He was so angry

He farted back at her when they got the cancellation notice

If you can't beat the Fart Troll you may as well join him. Perhaps he will take pleasure in pretending that Irene Dunne is a young Mrs. Roper in this fitting clip with Cary Grant.

So when they do the Ropers reboot they'll call it an ass rippingly good time?

Bump

R80 Audra wanted her role of Liz Matthews back, but I stopped that by winning the Emmy!

When I was younger, I preferred the Ropers. But as I get older, I appreciate Mr. Furley more. He could be curmudgeonly but still sweet at the same time. Mr. Roper was more one dimensional.

Doing the Ropers seemed like an obvious choice. Like someone above said, so many spin-offs in the years prior had become huge hits.

I saw an interview with Norman Fell, where he said that he wanted to stay with Three's Company, that it was the perfect gig, but that Audra was excited about being cast as a lead. On one of those retroactive specials about TC, Joyce Dewitt said that the Ropers was a one-note joke that worked great within the context of TC, but it wasn't really enough to carry a whole show.

I only saw a couple of episodes. Jeffrey Tambor had too big a role; they also tried to win points with a cute kid. The couple was retired, so there could be no work-related plots. They didn't seem to have much family nearby. There was simply nothing for the characters to do...except argue.

So did Jeffrey Tambor try and make a move on Audra?

Were the Rogers supposed to be Jewish?

Fell certainly was IRL.

Audra’s farts were epicly smelly!

The UK version ( Man About The House ) which Three's Company was based on spawned a similar spin-off to The Ropers called George and Mildred that was a great success and only ended when Yootha Joyce ( the UK's Mrs Roper ) drank herself to death.

I'm sure Norman Fell was a simmering cauldron of rage over it, OP.

[quote]So did Jeffrey Tambor try and make a move on Audra?

Well, since he was married to The Bad Seed, he needed other outlets.

Patty McCormack does look as if she's smelling a fart in that pic at R111.

Was Jeffrey Tambor born bald?

He was even less attractive as a young man - if that's possible.

Joyce Dewitt has always spoken fondly of Audra Lindley and Norman Fell.

What about Polly Holliday from Alice? Was she bitter her spin-off tanked? I have to say I was surprised the actress who played Jolene was the break out actress from the show. She might not have been the star, but she was in a lot of films as a character actress.

Celia Weston (Jolene) is one of those very lucky actresses whose career actually got better as she got older, which rarely happens. Once she hit middle-age and gained weight, she became a very in-demand character actress who worked constantly.

DId Jeffrey Tambor base his Transparent character on Mrs. Roper?

Good question, R117

Based on the farting alone, I'd say so

Celia's Broadway credits....

For those of you getting all prissy,

There are certain facts in life

Ethel Kennedy is nose-picker

Audra was a farter

Celia Weston was quite a dish back in the day.

R119 Celia played the role of the aunt in the revival of "Marvin's Room" (played by Gwen Verdon in the film) and was one of the few memorable things about it.

She was hot...

But again with the pantyhose?

Some TV historians believe that Dena Dietrich was the actual source of the worst flatulence on the set of 'The Ropers'

And that she managed to shift the blame for her gas attacks onto to poor Audra

R124 Dena blamed mother nature.

I guess the Whoopi Goldberg troll is getting restless because of her sick leave and is now projecting his obsessions onto Audra.

No, dammit!

There was a second farter!

R125 It's not nice to fool or blame Mother Nature.

I detected a whiff of buttery Chiffon Margarine in many of the worst farts that Audra was blamed for

With the subtle hint of banana.

[quote]Was Jeffrey Tambor born bald?

Most babies are.

I saw Celia Weston at the Shake Shack on 86th Street a few years back eating by herself...but then so was I...

What happened to little David? His range was incredible.

Little David suffocated when Mrs Roper farted on him.

LOL, R134, that's the kind of creativity the writers of "The Ropers" never demonstrated....

Little David looked like he needed another kid to play with.

One thing I noticed was that the roommates had more affection towards Furley than they did the Ropers.

I was watching Three’s Company and it all makes sense about Audra farting. They thought they could keep the smell under those caftans. She farted up a storm!

[quote]I was watching Three’s Company and it all makes sense about Audra farting. They thought they could keep the smell under those caftans. She farted up a storm!

Shocking that a DLer would be able to follow that line of thinking!

He was roughing her up in the opening credits of The Ropers. Even I was shocked at a young age. They reshot it over the season.

[quote]He was roughing her up in the opening credits of The Ropers.

No, I think they just liked Rough Sex.

I heard Audra took a shit in Robin Strassers mouth when they were on Another World.

The character that farty, gassy Audra played on Another World would later be known as Aunt Lez, after some dyke actress took over Audra’s role.

After the cancellation of "The Ropers", Audra pitched a spin-off of "Another World" with Aunt Lez and her friends - a group of dykes

Maybe one day she'll find Another World, a world with "Another Woman"