Remembering Georgia Engel
With unforgettable roles on classic sitcoms like The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Everybody Loves and Raymond, Georgia Engel established herself as one of the funniest and most distinctive actresses on television. Her nearly fifty-year career sadly came to an end when she passed away this past Friday. Here, I provide a brief overview of her illustrious career and recount a charming personal encounter with the actress I had a few years ago.
Amidst the tragic burning of Notre Dame, the surprise comeback of Tiger Woods, and the premiere of the final season of Game of Thrones, the death of a veteran sitcom actress is bound to get lost in the media shuffle.
But it shouldn’t.
When Georgia Engel passed away on Friday at the age of 70, Hollywood lost one of its most underrated actresses.
Her nearly 50-year-career involved countless memorable television appearances. She had a distinct look with her wide eyes, blonde locks, and cherubic face that were the perfect match for her even more distinct voice. She spoke with a sweet and gentle innocence that provided a brilliant contrast whenever the words coming out of her mouth involved a cunning one-liner or a profound insight (which was often). She was such a gifted actress that she was never reduced to the one-note characters actresses with such a distinct look and sound typically are.
Georgia Engel’s Iconic Run on The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Engel was best known for her role as Georgette Franklin on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. When her character first appeared in the show’s third season, she worked as a fellow window dresser with Valerie Harper’s Rhoda Morgenstern at Hemples department store. Before long, she started a romance with the insufferably arrogant and dim-witted newscaster Ted Baxter (the late Ted Knight) and became firmly entrenched in the circle of friends of Mary Tyler Moore’s Mary Richards.
Her arrival came at pivotal point in the series. Whereas Mary’s work life at WJM-TV was dominated by men — Ted, cantankerous boss Lou Grant (Ed Asner), and wisecracking news writer Murray (Gavin MacLeod) — her home life involved two larger-than-life women — her hippie neighbor Rhoda and her domineering landlord Phyllis (Cloris Leachman). But Rhoda and Phyllis were proving such successful characters (and the actresses who portrayed them were proving to be such hot commodities in Hollywood) that their days on the show were numbered. After Engel arrived, Harper appeared in a dozen more episodes before moving on to her spinoff Rhoda and Leachman appeared in only seven more episodes before moving to her spinoff Phyllis. (The former was far more successful than the latter.) Thus, it was up to Georgia and (later) Betty White’s Happy Homemaker Sue Ann Nivens to be Mary’s new gal pals. And they had big shoes to fill.
Although Georgia was one of only two cast members from The Mary Tyler Moore Show not to win an acting Emmy (the other being MacLeod) she was essential to the show’s longevity and quality. Not only did she fill an important hole left by the departures of Rhoda and Phyllis, but she humanized Ted, a hilarious character that the show struggled to give much depth before Georgette came along. She stepped into the acting masterclass that was The Mary Tyler Moore Show and with seeming effortlessness went toe to toe with some of the best actors ever to grace the small screen. (Mary Tyler Moore, Ed Asner, Ted Knight, Valerie Harper, Cloris Leachman, and Betty White won a staggering 15 acting Emmys just for this show alone.)
The Six Best Georgia Engel Episodes from The Mary Tyler Moore Show:
“Rhoda Morgenstern: Minneapolis to New York” (Season Three). This otherwise average episode marks the first appearance of Georgette and, even though she only has a few lines, her promise as a character is immediately evident.
“The Georgette Story” (Season Three). This hilarious and poignant episode is a series classic. It provides a full introduction to Georgette’s character and features an Emmy-worthy performance from Engel.
“Almost a Nun’s Story” (Season Four). Georgette considers entering a convent after she catches Ted kissing another woman.
“Ted’s Wedding” (Season Six). This farcical masterpiece chronicles the bizarre series of events that leads Ted and Georgette to get married in Mary’s living room.
“Murray Can’t Lose” (Season Seven). The annual Teddy Awards for excellence in local broadcasting roll around and while Murray prepares to lose again, Georgette steals the episode with a terrific song-and-dance number that shows off her Broadway skills.
“The Ted and Georgette Show” (Season Seven). The network taps Ted and Georgette to co-headline a variety show and its huge success strains their marriage and shocks their colleagues.
Georgia Engel Beyond The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Following the series finale of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, which many consider to be the best television finale of all time, Engel went on to be a consistent presence on television for four decades. She appeared in the full runs of a handful of high profile but short-lived shows, such as 1977’s The Betty White Show and 1980’s The Goodtime Girls. She made multiple appearances on long-running hits like Fantasy Island and Love Boat. She appeared in 18 episodes of the long-running sitcom Coach, a trio of episodes of The Office, and a pair of episodes of Two and a Half Men. She scored three consecutive Emmy nominations for her role as Brad Garrett’s mother-in-law Pat MacDougall on Everybody Loves Raymond (she made a total of 14 appearances on the show.) Fittingly, her final acting role was as a guest star on a sitcom — she appeared as a nun on an episode of Netflix’s acclaimed reboot of One Day at a Time just last year.
Six Other Great Georgia Engel Episodes from Other Sitcoms:
Everybody Loves Raymond: “Just a Formality” (Season Seven). Robert (Brad Garrett) goes to Amy (Monica Horan)’s family to ask for her hand in marriage and finds out that it’s more complicated to get their blessing than they realized. Georgia plays Amy’s mom, while Fred Willard appears as her father and Chris Elliot as her ne’er-do-well brother.
Everybody Loves Raymond: “Pat’s Secret” (Season Nine). Robert discovers a dirty little secret of his mother-in-law’s when she visits for Easter and the two enter an unholy alliance to keep it from the rest of the family. This episode marked Engel’s final appearance on the series.
Two and a Half Men: “Palmdale, Ech” (Season Nine). In this episode, Alan’s (Jon Cryer) and Lyndsey (Courtney Thorne-Smith) decide to introduce their mothers (Holland Taylor and Georgia Engel) to one another only for them to embark on a romantic fling.
Hot in Cleveland: “GILFs” (Season Four). Georgia’s second appearance on the sitcom features her teaming up with Elka (Betty White) to pimp out the perennially unlucky-in-love Joy (Jane Leeves).
Hot in Cleveland: “Love is All Around” (Season Four). Although this episode is hardly a showcase for Engel, the fact that it reunites all 5 actresses from The Mary Tyler Moore Show (Moore, Harper, Engel, White, and Leachman) makes it a must-see for anyone who appreciates classic television.
One Day at Time: “Homecoming” (Season Two). Her appearance as a nun on the series marked her final television appearance.
Although she was most recognizable to audiences from television, she ventured into other mediums as well. She had a long career in musical theater, which was highlighted by her off-Broadway stint in The House of Blue Leaves in 1971 (which is where Mary Tyler Moore discovered her) and her prominent role in the Broadway musical The Drowsy Chaperone from 2006–2007. She also appeared in a handful of films, including esteemed director Milos Forman’s English-language debut Taking Off (for which she received a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actress), and was a prolific voice-over actress (perhaps never was there a more fitting union of voice talent and character than her stint as Love-a-Lot Bear in The Care Bears Movie).
A Personal Memory of Georgia
In February 2012, I took my parents to Warner Bros. studios in Burbank, CA to see a live taping of their favorite sitcom, Two and a Half Men. As one of the few remaining high profile television comedies to film in front of a live studio audience, scoring tickets was a challenge. As we waited in a long line to get into the studio, we craned our necks around the corners to see if we could catch a glimpse of Ashton Kutcher or Jon Cryer stepping out of their trailers.
While looking for members of the show’s recognizable ensemble to appear, we did a double take as Georgia Engel walked right by us. My dad (who is rarely one to approach a stranger, let alone a famous one) immediately recognized her and greeted her in a rush of nostalgia. She stopped to chat with us briefly. She was gracious, humble, and sweet.
We had no idea she was guest starring on that particular episode, but once we knew she was we were hardly surprised to discover that her performance was the episode’s highlight. It was a pleasure and a privilege to see her iconic sitcom act live. Somehow she brought grace, intelligence, and dignity to a crass plot-line involving a scandalous lesbian fling.
Georgia Engel may never have gotten her due in Hollywood despite a half century of inspired performances, but she will never be forgotten by lovers of classic television.
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