19 years ago today, actress Bonnie Franklin sailed into the 'afterlife'

Is it 19 or 10, Francine? Get it right.

Thread title should be 10 years ago - sorry. No edit feature !

Boy, you fucked up that post.

19 years or 10?

[italic]19[[/italic] years? Damn it, Schneider!

Yeah, I liked when she would just say everyone's name, basically pleading for support for whatever inane point she was trying to make. "JuLEE, Barbara, Maaaxxx, Schneiiider, Franceeene, Alexxx, Marrrrk....come onnnnn."

When you can't even get Nanette Farbray, who's character changed each week depending on what the writers needed, to agree, you are DONEZO.

I had no idea she'd died

[quote] I had no idea she'd died

(((SLAPS R7)))

Sad day, indeed.

Life just feels ever so hollow since The Bonz shed her mortal coil.

R6 What do you mean ?

Last week I caught a glimpse of a woman with a ginger mushroom cut and a beige cowlneck, and I couldn't breathe. It was only a drag queen preparing for a Jaye P. Morgan medley, but for one brief shining moment, it was as if Our Bon Bon had returned to us.

Does it ever stop hurting? Does it?

No one wants our "Bon Bon" back. Let her stay in Hell where she surely took the HOV lane upon her demise.

I heard she was a great lady

I don’t get the hate for her. Please fill me in?

IT DOESN'T FUCKING MATTER IF IT WAS 19 YEARS AGO OR 10 YEARS AGO OR NEXT YEAR OR TWENTY YEARS FROM NOW!

IT IS A *T*R*A*G*E*D*Y*!

March 16, 1979

I remember I was cooking a sensible meal when I heard about Bonnie because I’m trying to lose weight.

All these years and it’s still not working!

WHEN WILL THE TEARS END????

There is an irreplaceable chasm that remains. What else can I do? I have to take it one day at a time.

[quote]Seems like everyone here on the DL remembers where they were when they heard the news she died.

The sky was so orange that day.

BONNIE DEAD???!!!

R19 Hold on tight.

You're The Judge (1965)

The guys in this little Bonnie Franklin gem are so handsome. I would have loved to have sex with those two guys- but I wasn't quite born yet.

[quote]anette Farbray, who's character changed each week

Oh, DEAR!

I know she loved to tap, but did she ever enjoy...or even partake of, a good ole "wop on your feet"?

The little cookie smeller in that video wants the big blond dude.

I’m still president of the local branch of her fan club. I cry everyday when I think of her. She was one talented lady.

[quote]but did she ever enjoy...or even partake of, a good ole "wop on your feet"?

Not on-a my feet, but on-a the bed.

[quote]I cry everyday

Oh, dear!

Who knew an educational short could be so looooong r23?

I can’t get the idea that she smells like dirty pantyhose out of my mind.

R30- They call it educational but it’s really a VERY long commercial for Crisco.

The handsome blonde guy is familiar. It sounds like Gilbert the Beaver’s friend on Leave it to Beaver.

[quote] The sky was so orange that day.

The sun was shaped like a fried egg titty.

Every time I see a bundt cake I think of Bonnie's hair and am struck anew by the depth of my grief.

Bonnie looked older in that video and on Gidget, than she did on ODAAT, well...at least the first few seasons. She was raised in L.A. and started as a child actress/tap dancer, before moving to NYC to become a REAL actress starring in Applause, which garnered her a Tony nomination and...many other important theatrical productions that were so important they needn't be mentioned here.

That behind the scenes home movie of the ODaaT set was really fun!

They never did question Mary Louise Wilson (aka Ginny Wroblicki) where she was the day Frnaklin died, did they ? She hated Franklin, and I often wonder if she was by her side when she died - maybe pulled the plug ?

She was fine, but she was no Patty Duke.

That Duke dame had an aversion to redheads.

I wonder why?

At least Prince Matchabelli still sells her signature celebrity fragrance in drugstores everywhere: Dammit!, by Bonnie Franklin.

Just a few spritzes will get him to wonder: "Dirty pantyhose and green polyester sweater! Do I smell Bonnie Franklin?"

I had no idea she was dead.

The sky was so blue that day.

The polyester sweater was so blue that day.

I often stare into the mirror, practicing her blank gaze with a gator-like half smirk. People at my work recoil in horror!

Let me go, David. I'm not scared any more.

____

R17 won’t admit that he has been eating his feelings since he heard the sad news.

Never heard of her.

I’m truly saddened that younger generations don’t know who Bonnie Franklin was. What a world.

Those in the know say she didn’t die of cancer. She mysteriously disappeared off of a cruise ship, and she was never heard from again.

Someone recently posted the Julie’s wedding episodes.

She had a flat ass but she couldn't live forever, obviously.

[quote]Hollywood has not been the same without the spunky, cheerful actress waving 'hello' to fans and paps as she walked Rodeo Drive, poking into her favorite stores and cafes.

I used to see her popping out of José Eber with a fresh mushroom cut, the beloved stylist calling after her, "Shake your hair, darling!"

Not only did Bonnie love to tap, but she also loved to do the hustle.

With guest star Robby Benson.

Pancreatic cancer is a horrible death

Usually blessedly quick, though, R55

Five months from diagnosis to death in her case.

Dammit, cancer!

True ☝🏼. I hate cancer

Julie's wedding outfit at r51 is hilariously awful. It is SO Seventies--it's clearly inspired by the sort of severely tailored outfits Anne Klein used to make, except in this case it's done (inexplicably) in white as a wedding dress.

Michael Lembeck was so hot as Max! Great face, great thick hair, nice body (especially for the time), and very appealing.

And yet Nancy Dussault still walks amongst us.

I like big tits!

Dammit Dammit Dammit!

They should have had Nanette Fabray slap the shit out of Ann just once for being a mouthy asshole.

Julie's wedding outfit approximates what it would look like if Temple Grandin attempted to steal Annie Hall's style.

You know she never actually said hold me David I'm scared. She just said I'm scared. There is all the difference.

6:33…An incoming BF taps and mugs with Vera

Thank God we have this unforgettable tribute to our Super Bon Bon, by Soul Coughing!

Never fails to bring a tear to my eye.

R59- I bet he had a big THICK cock too.

R59, His father was actor/comedian Harvey Lembeck, who died of a heart attack on the set of “Mark and Mindy” while making a guest appearance.

^Mork

[Quote] Bonnie looked older in that video and on Gidget, than she did on ODAAT

That up 'do made everyone look instantly middle aged. I blame Lesley Gore's swift decline on it.

[quote]I blame Lesley Gore's swift decline on it.

Bitch, it's my party. I'll cry if I fucking want to.

Agree that '60s hairdos made teenaged girls look 50. They were a horrible idea.

I wish someone would upload her “Bonnie and the Franklins” tv special

Ohhhhhhmmmmmyyyyyggggoddddddf

[quote] The little cookie smeller in that video wants the big blond dude.

That’s the late Kevin O'Neal, Ryan's little brother.

What's he late for?

KAREN- co starring our dl fav Bonnie Franklin

Karen's sister is WEIRD- check out the sister at 1:16

Bonnie wasn’t a natural redhead? Did any of you ever see her nude?

I envision an angry, thick, overgrown red bush. You would definitely notice it and not the fried egg titties.

R83- Better the fried egg titties sliding off the plate than I. C.'s RAISIN TITTIES. .

Damn, Bonnie. From R81's image it looks like the poor woman never had a flattering hairstyle in her entire life. That's some gypsy curse shit.

Found a yearbook picture for verificatia. Looks like she cut those bangs with safety scissors.

Excuse me, r81, that's young Blanche Hudson!

R86- I knew she was familiar!

I couldn’t place her strange self.

R81: We’re they on meth when they shot that show? The mother looks like a bargain basement Donna Reed. The sister looks like a Wednesday Addams reject.

What do you expect from a show called Karen?

Bonnie was an inspiration. As a little girl, I said, I want to grow up and have a haircut like that lady!

Would Bonnie have been happy or upset that a bunch of gays were speculating about her pubic hair a decade after her death?

Our gal on the Rosie O'Lesbo show 1997

O'Lesbo engaging in her typical FAWNING.

She's actually adorable as a schoolgirl at r85. Looks like she just came off a farm in Iowa and has 4 big brothers who all have strawberry blonde hair, ruddy cheeks and are tall and strapping.

Do they also love to tap, r93?

Yes, while wearing dandy straw hats r94!

How can Bonnie and the Franklin's not be available on any streaming platform? This is insanity!

How sad it is now that she's gone to realize that all she needed was some boys.

They'll frame me better.

R92 Thank you for sharing that. It was a very nice interview, though as usual, Franklin would try to respond and O'Lesbo would interrupt her. Wonder what happened to all her red-headed dolls when she died ?

She was so great in Applause and nominated for a Tony. How come she never appeared in any other Broadway musicals? She was a major name throughout the seventies and eighties. Perhaps she was very selective about what she would accept. I could have seen her doing Woman of the Year or Victor Victoria though.

There is an ache deep in my heart.

Stephanie Forrester and Ann Romano slapped everybody on their respective shows practically but we're never slapped themselves.

Although I will say little Alex did tussle with her before he broke the plant.

Slap!!!

From Star Trek Voyager's Garret Wang's wiki page:

When his parents met actress Bonnie Franklin at an airport in Hawaii, she told them that Wang would never make it in the business.

R103 thank you for resurrecting that. That episode and moment made a huge impression on me as a just preadolescent gayling. I remember wondering whether a person would really hold their face in the slapped position, as Alex does after Anne slaps him.

My obsession was definitely encouraged by the … unexplained feelings I felt for Glen S.

Could you please provide a link to that?

Once, I was at the Samuel French Bookstore in North Hollywood and she was shopping too. I stood a few feet from her, but didn't say anything. I liked her, but had nothing interesting to say. So I didn't bother.

[Quote] From Star Trek Voyager's Garret Wang's wiki page: When his parents met actress Bonnie Franklin at an airport in Hawaii, she told them that Wang would never make it in the business.

No fats, no Asians.

The slap-happy intro of "One Day at a Time"

R105, you are quite welcome!

R109 thanks for uploading that slapping clip. It is hysterical! I wonder if Pat Harrington had it in his contract that he would NOT be slapped.

[quote]How come she never appeared in any other Broadway musicals?

Here's why.

R112, that is a lesson on how to portray 'vague' emotion with no adaptations or variations.

The last thing I saw her in was when she appeared with former co star Valerie B. on "Hot In Cleveland".

She did a great accent & played Bo Duke's mom if you can believe it.

r112, it's all indicating. Plus the variations she speak-sings of "I'm in love" are incredibly mannered.

Sorry, i meant to address that to r113.

R103- If this were a black show the audience would be screaming

RIGHT ON!

In addition to Bonnie's Bundt cake hairdo, there were a few other iconic LEWKS.

Mackenzie sort of had a mini-bundt for a while. Val of course had the long hair.

And young Glenn had.....the hair of a middle age man?

Dammit Julie!

[quote]If this were a black show the audience would be screaming RIGHT ON!

Slap her, Willona!

MacKenzie Phillips named her dog Franklin in her honor.

I learned this when MacKenzie was on Valerie Bertinelli's cooking show years ago.

I need to be eating Max's hairy hole or bouncing on his hairy cock. But Mark (Boyd Gaines) could definitely walk in and make it a threeway. I always wanted to try DP.....

I wonder if the ODAAT writers regretted their decision to have Julie get married, considering that it was right when Mackenzie's drug problems were at their worst. It meant they had to spend the rest of the series trying to explain why Julie kept leaving and returning and leaving again and figuring out how to keep Michael Lembeck in the show. I'll bet in hindsight, they wish they'd just had Julie commit suicide or get run over by a car.

R123, having Francine 'accidentally' run over Julie and Ann with the latter surviving 'barely' would have been hilarious!

I noticed as the 80s went on, and 'Francine' became a more regular character on the show, the writers (or Shelley Fabares herself) slowly turned Francine into Abby Ewing from 'Knots Landing'. Maybe not quite as vindictive, but vindictive in a comedic way and just as sexy as Mills played Abby.

A moment to remember the genius of Nanette Fabray....as well as a legendary DL thread about her.

Back in the day it was reported that Boyd Gaines and Valerie Bertinelli did not get along. It was never explained why.She didn't talk about him in her book and he played her to TV husband for 3 years. She didn't talk about Michael Lembeck either but she did mention Scott Columby and that she cheated on him.

It's Ms. (pronounced Miz) Bonnie Franklin! And it was 10 years ago.

[quote]It's Ms. (pronounced Miz)

Gawd, I hate that Ms. Ms. Ms. stuff.

Sounds like a fly is in the room.

[quote]but she did mention Scott Columby and that she cheated on him.

Stupid bitch. Columby was sex on a stick.

I'd have run my tongue over that guy's body, head to toe.

Other tv moms didn't slap their kids. Granted, Donna Reed, Barbara Billingsley, et al. played idealized moms but they also had a warmth that was totally missing from Bonnie Franklin.

Ever notice how Ann Romano only ever slapped someone when they got real close to the truth?

Slapped Julie when she points out how lonely and in need of a man Ann is...

Slapped Alex when he called out her shitty parenting skills and how she butts into other's lives...

I'm shocked she never tried to slap Francine but she looked like the type to cut a bitch so..

Stealth Larry King thread?

Nanette Fabray was so miscast as sher mother. Not believable at all.

Sure!

[quote]Columby was sex on a stick. I'd have run my tongue over that guy's body, head to toe.

He might've let you had you gotten his name right.

R123 They married her off so she could go do rehab in real life &

not mess up the show any more than she already did.

It was bad enough that we were expected to buy Bonnie Franklin as Italian, but Nanette Fabray?

Perhaps M.S. Romano was only half Italian?

We know she was an only child. Maybe it would have been better if they gave her a sister or brother for Katherine "Grandma" Romano to take care of. She hovered over Annie all the time like a heat seeking missile.

Franklin had said in one interview that she always got mistaken for Irish, even though she was Russian Jewish. So why not make her Russian-Jewish on the show, or Irish ? Especially Irish with Fabray as her mother. She could've had an 'Irish' temper.

I presume for the same reason they had Bea Arthur and Estelle Getty play "Italian." Jews and Irish were more "controversial."

I think the Bonstress was actually a Romanian Jew.

A Jewish Ann Romanstein in Indianapolis would have been a fun concept.

R130- Scott Columby is gay.

A lot of people were just waiting for the 20th anniversary

R140- She was supposed to be Italian. She did not look Italian at all or Jewish . They should have made the character Irish that would’ve been more believable.

R138- Nannette Fabray - she looked so unethnic and so Protestant.

It’s fun when the Datalounge has an in depth thread About a mediocre show like One day at a time.

It reminds me of the thread about the mediocre musical- They’re Playing Our Song 🎵.

She really doesn’t look Irish

I got some LEZZIE vibes from her- she ALWAYS had her hair relentlessly short.

Ten years without my surrogate mother!

This seems like a good excuse to relapse.

Anybody got any heroin?

Bonnie looked Jewish with her original, dark brunette, hair.

Dammit Julie- Why are you always trolling for COCK?

Did Bonnie and Tony play the nude scene?

With Len Cariou and Miss Bacall.

R143: I once went to the supposedly authentic Jewish deli in Indy. They asked if I wanted mayo on my corned beef--I couldn't conceal my shock and horror at that request. They probably could have had some fun from that kind of provincial stuff, but the boosterish locals probably would have made a big deal out of it---these days some right wing group be yammering about Jewish space lasers.

Ah, r155, that '70s fashion.

I hate to exercise but I love to decompose!

Who doesn't, r158?

The Murder on the Orient Express thread got me to thinking. Miss Franklin would have played any of those female roles with aplomb. I wonder if she was considered.

It's still a sore spot that Obama did not declare a national day of mourning when she died.

Or that he didn't award her the Presidential Medal of Honor.

I hate to admit it, but Bonnie was quite charming on the Rosie O'Donnell show.

R158 made me snort-laugh.

[quote] Scott Columby is gay.

That dude may be, since none of us know who he is.

Scott Colomby on the other hand....

[quote] Scott Colomby is gay.

Scott Colomby is NOT gay! And I'm the dame to prove it!

We give her a hard time, but as frequently as we have threads on her that get 100s of replies she’s kind of a beloved icon around here. She wasn’t evil, it she could be annoying as hell. RIP Bonnie. Gone too soon.

Her lane was narrow.

Schneider used to bug the shit out of me as a kid, but now I see him and think.....how YOU doin'?

....and the Schneider on the new version was fucking H 🔥 O 🔥 T.

r167 is right.

Still, it's fun to rag on her.

Why is OP trying to make Bonnie’s death as epic to that of Eva Peron’s at the start of Evita?

You don't think it was, r172? They actually renamed the Casa Rosada. It is now Casa Bonita.

Bonnie is RAINBOW HIGH!

When one looks at the terrifying picture at r165, one must wonder what the fuck Norman Lear was thinking.

Trying to push that angry flat chested ginger dwarf with an overgrown minge as a sexy older lady-the mind reels.

Did he think the heterosexual men of America would push Farrah Fawcett aside, overcome with animal lust for Bonnie, if that tiny titty fell out of that top when she was smacking the shit out of Julie?

I think there would be a lot less hate for Bonnie and Linda Lavin, if the Bonstress had played Alice Hyatt and LL had played Ann Romano. Bonnie could not convey any semblance of maternal care, it always felt like she was annoyed/competing with her daughters. On Alice, because Philip McKeon was not a particular capable actor, they quickly dropped the 'motherly' element of the character and focused on her workplace. That would probably suited, Bonsters strengths better. Similarly, though, she can be a tyran off-camera, LL conveys a warmth that would play better as Ann Romano, add to that, she could pass for Italian.

R176 I've said thison here many times in the past year. Lavin would've made a much better Ann Romano.

Valerie Bertinelli has said that Bonnie had one “lazy eye” which required her to take a nap before taping began so her eye would not “roam” on camera.

Maybe it's not that she had a lazy eye, but that the other eye was an overachiever.

David Kane was a Hot Daddy.

Nick Handris not so much.

[quote]but that the other eye was an overachiever.

That was the one that didn't hate exercise.

I wonder if Bons had eye correction surgery that didn’t work. I had my eyes fixed as a teenager and I only have a wandering eye when I get tired. Even then, it’s not bad.

[quote] Valerie Bertinelli has said that Bonnie had one “lazy eye” which required her to take a nap before taping began so her eye would not “roam” on camera.

Valerie was being polite. What she meant was that Bonnie had one lazy fried egg titty that would roam out of her low cut sweater if she didn't take a nap first.

Wasn’t she in scenes with Victor Newman when she was croaking off?

Everybody blames Victor Newman for everything!

R165 that’s such a confusing pic of BF. Like she said just prior to the photo shoot “I’m gonna try sexy, damnit. Maybe I’ll do a poster of my own poster like Farrah Fawcett” .

The sad thing is that she wasn’t pretty, sexy, alluring, a MILF or anything else other than a big mouthed, borderline hysterical bitch on a One Day At A Time.

Anyway....

None of the guys she was in a relationship was good looking on the series. Not David, Nick or the husband in the end. Not even her first husband. I guess they did that purposely to make her look prettier ?

R 188, or just being realistic?

[quote] None of the guys she was in a relationship was good looking on the series.

Meanwhile, Julie had two good-looking men fighting to marry her, even though Julie looked like a corpse at the time.

R162 hate to admit it on here but - fake as fuck persona or not - Rosie had a great damn show. And even the most unlikable people - like this one - always came off as charming. When something works it works.

On another note , I wonder what kind of eyebrows an 18 yo Valerie dating Steven Spielberg would raise today. Would she be considered “groomed” too ? (Because, ummm, she got AROUND. And good for her)

R190 Exactly! She was a hunk magnet ??

Barbara never gave Bob a chance. He was in the permanent friend zone.

Jesus Christ, R194-96, I got up in the middle of the night and saw this and now I'm afraid Bonniejuice is under my bed.

Bonnie Franklin will only become an icon, if and when, a statue of her is cast and placed on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, all other discussions of that happening are moot otherwise!

^^^Addendum to the above, downtown Indianapolis is another possibility.

R199 yeah too bad she’s no Henry Winkler. Or even a Cindy Williams.

R200, Or Elizabeth Montgomery.

Ann Romano did for Indianapolis what TV's Angie did for Philadelphia.

What are you talking about R202 Donna Pescow got the love to grow in the city of brotherly love, and the time to flow there as well. And the rain to shower too! She put Philadelphia on the map!

The entirety of One Day at a Time is now streaming for free on Tubi.

R204 More importantly, are there any streaming platforms that will PAY ME to watch it?

I'm up early and watching the "Older Man, Part III" episode. Julie, 17, is dating her veterinarian boss, age 42.

Why did they make Julie seek healthcare from a veterinarian?

Perhaps if she had lived Netflix would have continued the series as opposed to doing a Latin remake.

35 yr old (the big 3-5) Annie Horvath has lost her job and moves in with Grandma Ann to "keep an eye" on her. Hijinks ensue.

Since it is Netflix they could have "adulted" it up a bit and let The Bonz finally show real titty...or even a little muff.

One Day was actually pretty entertaining when it began - granted, in that scream-y Norman Lear way.

In its later years it was one long cringefest. Even the laugh track could barely squeeze out a chuckle.

R169- Neither the Actor or character were Latino.

R209- The same thing could be said about the show happy days.

R188- But there was something hot 🥵 about the actor who played the first husband. He definitely had the BCF

Big Cock Face 🍆

R190- Michael Lembeck was good looking of course- but who was the other good looking guy?

R213, Morgan Stevens, who came to a bad end, including being badly beaten in a jail cell and later dying at 70.

Froy was in the all Latino reboot of One Day at a Time too, where he enjoyed hanging out with Gay icon Rita Moreno.

R214 that was Cliff?

R216, No, Fred.

Bonnie won't get a statue.

It will be an AI robot that slaps you when you walk by.

She does more than slap.

The Reface App troll has, shall we say, a limited appeal.....and it is wearing quite thin.

Can see Bonnie's face on Alice Hyatt?

R220

Sorry, it's true. The joke is getting stale, dear. Maybe leave the party while you're on top.

...,

Bonnie looked better as she aged.

Somebody should do a thread about celebrities who got better looking as they got older. Bonnie would be a good first pic.

She looks frightening in R224

Hell might look like and be lit like and have a studio audience like Ann Romano's apartment.

One Day at a Time would have been better with Another World's Victoria Wyndham as Ann. She'd have eaten that simpering Barbara alive.

On Larry King years ago Valerie Bertinelli said she was basically playing herself when she was playing Barbara.

Her husband of 29 years had two kids by someone else. Bonnie never was a mother, but I bet she was a get stepmom.

She was married for 29 years.

How old were his kids when Bonnie married him?

He was 13 years older than she was, so they had to be not much younger than her.

[quote]On Larry King years ago Valerie Bertinelli said she was basically playing herself when she was playing Barbara.

No!

I’d like to have a few words with the cunt who says Howard Hesseman isn’t attractive.

And those words are FUCK YOU, CUNT.

....

JLD - for actresses who got much better looking as got older

Our Bonnie makes a pass at her slim good looking employee.

Ann Romano should have been fired for sexually harassing her gay, male underling.

I can't imagine any man wanting to put their dick in Bonnie Franklin.

[Quote] The sad thing is that she wasn’t pretty, sexy, alluring, a MILF or anything else other than a big mouthed, borderline hysterical bitch on a One Day At A Time.

I think you're projecting.

Howard Hessman was so out of her league.

What was Ann’s job, again? Did she have any qualifications aside from yelling and slapping people, viscously?

R240 Well, not now.

R243 like Rose Nylund, she had a lot of different jobs even though she had absolutely no qualifications.

I remember Dwayne Schneider ribbing M.S. Romano for rising to the top of her field despite having absolutely no job prior job experience in one of the episodes.

So the writers knew that it was ridiculous that she got so far so fast in the field of advertising without having any qualifications or training besides being the star of the show. She was an account executive with her own big office and secretary within the first year or two of her entry level position. I suppose that could happen in real life but it's a stretch.

It was more realistic when they let her go because she didn't want to transfer to Amarillo and so she started her own business with Nick.

Connors & Davenport just liked seeing her tits flop around the office.

The guy who played the victim of sexual harassment in that episode went on to become one of the writers on Murphy Brown and is a multiple Emmy Award winner. And yep, he's gay.

....

Gary's writing partner.

R248- He seemed like a gay make in that episode trying to sound straight- he was good looking though.

Mr. Davenport was definitely homosexual.

Did Ms. Franklin refer to him as “the little homosexual boy” on set? Did she throw a salad at him?

Connors (John Hillerman) would have been the gay one. I don’t think Davenport pinged in the slightest. Charles Siebert had a beautiful meaty ass though.

Hillerman always played gay in every character on TV.

R253- I thought Hillerman was Davenport.

Conners was VERY Homosexual

Chuck Connors?

R256, Shhh!

That flat titted ginger broad could suck the chrome off a trailer hitch. That’s why Ann got ahead and why that frigid cunt Francine was so bitchy to her.

[quote]R252 Did Ms. Franklin refer to him as “the little homosexual boy” on set? Did she throw a salad at him?

Wow. ONE FAYE AT A TIME could have really been something!

A lost opportunity : (

Howard Hesseman and Bonnie Franklin had great Sexual chemistry.. The show should have run another season. Mark and Barbara could have finally had a baby either by adoption or with a miraculous natural birth. Max could have found his true love somewhere in Indianapolis. Schneider could have avoided that tragic attempt at a back door pilot where he was Corey Feldman's uncle raising him in a carnival setting. I I don't know what they could have done with Grandma Romano however. She was a great character but she was underdeveloped in many ways. Her character changed depending on the script and the whims of the writers.

But Bonnie Franklin said the show had gotten stale and ended it while it was still enjoying healthy ratings. Pat Harrington Jr said she was no longer the focus of the show so she lost interest in it.

....

She should have won at least one Emmy.

R261 Pat Harrington was PISSED. Had it gone to a 10th season, he was going to get a massive raise. But, since Bonnie was in only about half the episodes of season 9, and it was mostly focused on the Barbara house, she decided against it. I think Grandma Romano was in more episodes than Ann was that year. My GOD those episodes centered around Barbara, Mark and Max SUUUUUCKED out loud.

[quote] What was Ann’s job, again?

Flame-haired temptress!

WHAT great jobs did Bonnie Franklin think were awaiting her after “One Day at a Time”??

She did eventually do “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.”

in Pittsburgh.

What did that cunt Lauren Bacall think of Bonnie

I bet Bacall was constantly livid. Franklin, for all her awfulness, could actually sing and dance. AND she had the only decent number in the show.

I bet the scene backstage was like Helen and Neely during the HIT THE SKY! rehearsals - [italic]”Not until Bellamy ties a can to that little broad’s tail!”

R238 The original Disclosure!

Actually, it was one of the better episodes - not that that’s saying much .

Lauren threw a hot cup of High Point at Bonnie in rehearsals

I love it that in 2023, a Bonnie Franklin thread can get hundreds of replies here.

Meredith Baxter was also on The Young and the Restless.

Why don't we discuss her more?

She's boring.

Michael Learned was also on The Young and the Restless.

Why don't we discuss her more?

R274 married four times , 5 kids , then goes off and becomes a lez? That’s a lot of things but I wouldn’t call it boring.

R274, Plus, she was on three hit series, “Bridget Loves Bernie”, “Family” and “Family Ties”.

Meredith's mother Whitney created the character of Ann Romano!

So in a way Bonnie and Meredith were sisters.

R278 oh shit forgot about that connection too. Her mother sounded like a real piece of work.

I want Meredith to play Betty Broderick one more time. Make a third film about her attempts to gain parole.

Bridget Loves Bernie was NOT a hit.

R278 The real takeaway is that Whitney Blake wrote One Day at a Time about her own experiences being a divorced mother. So, the character of Barbara Cooper is presumably based on Meredith Baxter.

Uh...R282, why not Julie Cooper?

Julie was the only daughter in the first pilot episode.

R270- Oh, that's SUCH a datalounge thing to say.

It would be really wonderful if Meredity Baxter created a solo show portraying Bonnie, similar to the one Hal Holbrook had with Mark Twain and Julie Harris had with Emily Dickinson. Meredith could create all of Bonnie's greatest moments from the stage, tv, and film.

She hated to die, but she loved to tap!

R286 so it would be about 5 mins long

R277- I only liked the first two.