A lot has happened politically and culturally since this podcast launched eight years ago. In this anniversary episode, I celebrate a number of wins while also reflecting on the importance of learning from history to avoid repeating past mistakes.

For example, Lee Grant, an Oscar and Emmy-winning actress, overcame being blacklisted during the anti-Communist era. Her resilience and courage in speaking out against injustice serve as a lesson for today.

I also highlight the work of The Geena Davis Institute on Gender and Media, which has expanded its focus to champion inclusion of the six major identities of gender, race/ethnicity, LGBTQIA+, disability, age 50+, and body type in media and entertainment.

In addition to looking back on some of Advanced TV Herstory's episodes from the past year, I celebrate ATVH's inclusion in IMDb and the anticipation of reaching a new audience.

Because ATVH is not beholden to sponsors, I can proudly say that I provide an unfiltered view of both historical and current obstacles to full representation and valuation. Many of these obstacles are at the center of the ongoing strike by the Writers Guild and the use of artificial intelligence.

With a commitment to recognizing the importance of representation and critical thinking in the face of rapidly changing media landscapes, I thank you for your support of this podcast over the last eight years and I look forward to uncovering and sharing more untold stories of women in the year to come.

This is why I podcast.

MENTIONS AND REFERENCES

I Said Yes to Everything by Lee Grant - https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/18693908

Intimate Portrait - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0896232/

CONNECT WITH CYNTHIA BEMIS ABRAMS and ATVH

ATVH Newsletter - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/

Website - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/

Podcast Archive - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/advanced-tv-herstory

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/advancedtvherstory/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/tvherstory

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Media.Cynthia

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@advancedtvherstory/featured

PRODUCTION

Podcast Editing - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariloumarosz/

Music by Jahzzar - https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jahzzar/

In the second of our two-part episode, host Cynthia Bemis Abrams continues talking with Elva Green about her book, "The Jeffersons: A Fresh Look Back," which offers insights, interviews, behind-the-scenes stories, and rare photos from the iconic TV series.

Ms. Green reflects on one of the best episodes from the seventh season of the show, which featured a tour-de-force performance by Isabel Sanford (Louise Jefferson). We listen to classic interview clips: Marla Gibbs (Florence) assesses Ms. Sanford's contribution to the series and Ms. Sanford recounts her professional friendship with Zara Cully (Mother Jefferson). We also look back at Ms. Sanford's 1981 Emmy acceptance speech

As with other programs under the guidance of Norman Lear, "The Jeffersons" appealed to a wide audience and often tackled serious, ground-breaking subject matter. Please join us as we discuss its legacy.

SHOP AND CONNECT WITH ELVA GREEN

The Jeffersons: A Fresh Look Back

Eddie Green: The Rise of an Early 1900s Black American Entertainment Pioneer

https://bearmanor-digital.myshopify.com/search?q=elva+diane+green

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/elva.green.712/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/elva.green.712/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/elvagreen123/

AUDIO CLIPS

Isabel Sanford Emmy Acceptance Speech - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUfFd1vNS4I

Isabel Sanford on Zara Cully (and other castmates) - https://youtu.be/5wqimrfTBn0

Marla Gibbs on Isabel Sanford - https://youtu.be/6sdguNXxtBc

OTHER MENTIONS

John McWhorter, PhD - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McWhorter

The Jeffersons: And the Doorknobs Shined Like Diamonds (S7 E13) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0614811/

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061735/

CONNECT WITH CYNTHIA BEMIS ABRAMS and ADVANCED TV HERSTORY

Website - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/

Podcast Archive - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/advanced-tv-herstory

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/advancedtvherstory/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/tvherstory

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Media.Cynthia

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@advancedtvherstory/featured

PRODUCTION

Podcast Editing by Marilou Marosz - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariloumarosz/

Music by Jahzzar - https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jahzzar/

In this first of a two-part episode of Advanced TV Herstory, host Cynthia Bemis Abrams welcomes Elva Green to discuss her book, "The Jeffersons: A Fresh Look Back." Ms. Green shares her personal journey as a writer and the impetus for the book, which offers insights, interviews, behind-the-scenes stories, and rare photos from the iconic TV series.

Ms. Green interviewed cast and crew members, including the legendary Norman Lear and the incomparable Marla Gibbs, who—after forming a bond with the author—agreed to write the foreword for the book. Ms. Green also speaks fondly of Berlinda Tolbert, Ernest Harden Jr., and others whose willingness to share stories and contacts enhanced her research and writing.

Ms. Green's unconventional path to becoming an author began with her desire to inspire her grandson by writing about her father, Eddie Green, an early 1900s black American entertainment pioneer who achieved fame despite the challenges faced by African Americans in the first half of the last century.

Listeners are encouraged to shop both of Ms. Green's books. They offer one-of-a-kind information for those interested in entertainment, black history, and well-crafted narratives. And be sure to tune into our next episode to learn more from Elva Green and her unexpected role in preserving the legacy of "The Jeffersons."

BOOKS BY ELVA GREEN

The Jeffersons: A Fresh Look Back

Eddie Green: The Rise of an Early 1900s Black American Entertainment Pioneer

https://bearmanor-digital.myshopify.com/search?q=elva+diane+green

AUDIO CLIPS

The Jeffersons: The Best of Florence - https://youtu.be/pmxflexREKc

Mother Jefferson Has a New Boyfriend - https://youtu.be/222kxW5mlbs

Lionel and Jenny Kiss & Make Up - https://youtu.be/OuOLbOp2PHE

CONNECT WITH CYNTHIA BEMIS ABRAMS and ADVANCED TV HERSTORY

Website - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/

Podcast Archive - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/advanced-tv-herstory

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/advancedtvherstory/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/tvherstory

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Media.Cynthia

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@advancedtvherstory/featured

PRODUCTION

Podcast Editing by Marilou Marosz - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariloumarosz/

Music by Jahzzar - https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jahzzar/

Has "Cheers" aged well? Was Norm the norm in 1982? Was the toxic behavior in the show's Boston-based bar a device to expose the destructive nature of misogyny or was it just a casual reflection of a patriarchal system?

Carla Tortelli and Diane Chambers, the barmaids in the first season of the show, served as sparring partners for their coworkers, customers, and each other. Carla was at home at "Cheers." Diane was a fish out of water. Carla and Diane could not have been more different. But Rhea Perlman and Shelley Long, the actors who portrayed Carla and Diane, both were incredible actors with excellent comedic timing.

Cynthia Bemis Abrams takes a closer at their work and celebrates their contributions as two of the strong, female characters that emerged on television in the 1980s. She discusses the interplay among the regular characters at the bar, the foundational toxic environment, and the influence of female writers and showrunners on comedies of the era.

MENTIONS & REFERENCES

ATVH Newsletter - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/

Shelley Long interview - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNagwFVh9xs

CONNECT WITH CYNTHIA BEMIS ABRAMS and ADVANCED TV HERSTORY

Website - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/

Podcast Archive - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/advanced-tv-herstory

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/advancedtvherstory/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/tvherstory

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Media.Cynthia

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@advancedtvherstory/featured

PRODUCTION

Podcast Editing - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariloumarosz/

Music by Jahzzar - https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jahzzar/

I am very excited to share the second of a two-part conversation with author and TV/film historian, Lee Gambin. His double-volume work, "Tonight, On a Very Special Episode: When TV Sitcoms Sometimes Got Serious," provides a launch pad for our thoughtful and fast-paced discussion of the issues and activists behind TV's "very special episodes," which date back 50 years or more.

These TV events—featuring familiar, beloved characters—mixed serious topics with comedy so effectively that, in many cases, activists were born, movements were started, legislation was passed, and minds were changed.

Legendary showrunners like Norman Lear and Linda Bloodworth-Thomason used the sitcom format to normalize awareness and discussion of race relations, women's issues, representation, discrimination, divorce, alcoholism and drug addiction, sexual assault, HIV/AIDS, and LGBTQ rights.

Fronting these issues shaped our culture in ways that should not be lost to history. Join us for a discussion of the iconic episodes and the legends who made them happen, as well as how they continue to impact us today.

CONNECT WITH LEE GAMBIN

Tonight, On A Very Special Episode: When TV Sitcoms Sometimes Got Serious Volume 1: 1957-1985 - https://bearmanor-digital.myshopify.com/products/tonight-on-a-very-special-episode-when-tv-sitcoms-sometimes-got-serious-volume-1-1957-1985-paperback?_pos=1&_sid=72a8817db&_ss=r

Tonight, On A Very Special Episode: When TV Sitcoms Sometimes Got Serious Volume 2: 1986-1998 - https://bearmanor-digital.myshopify.com/products/tonight-on-a-very-special-episode-when-tv-sitcoms-sometimes-got-serious-volume-2-1986-1998-paperback?_pos=3&_sid=72a8817db&_ss=r

Cinemaniacs - https://cinemaniacs.com.au/

SOUND CLIPS

Diff'rent Strokes: The Bicycle Man (S5.E16-17) -https://youtu.be/XX-yeqTaltE

Designing Women: Killing All the Right People (S2.E4) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cozd3HN6xS8

All in The Family: Edith's 50th Birthday (S8.E4-5) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eGFuSpSn1U

BOOKS / ARTICLES

Norman Lear Memoir - Even This I Get to Experience - https://www.normanlear.com/the-book

PERTINENT EPISODES OF ADVANCED TV HERSTORY

Designing Women 1, Body-shaming 0 - https://advancedtvherstory.libsyn.com/designing-women-1-bodyshaming-0

Sports Night: More Relevant Than Ever - https://advancedtvherstory.libsyn.com/sports-night-more-relevant-than-ever

Eating Disorder Movies: TV For and About Women - https://advancedtvherstory.libsyn.com/eating-disorder-movies-tv-for-and-about-women

ATVH NEWSLETTER

Sign up at https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/

CONNECT WITH CYNTHIA BEMIS ABRAMS and ADVANCED TV HERSTORY

Website: https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/

Podcasts: https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/advanced-tv-herstory

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/advancedtvherstory/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/tvherstory

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Media.Cynthia

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@advancedtvherstory/featured

PRODUCTION

Music: Jahzzar - https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jahzzar/

I am very excited to share the first of a two-part conversation with author and TV/film historian, Lee Gambin. His double-volume work, "Tonight, On a Very Special Episode: When TV Sitcoms Sometimes Got Serious," provides a launch pad for our thoughtful and fast-paced discussion of the issues and activists behind TV's "very special episodes," which date back 50 years or more.

These TV events—featuring familiar, beloved characters—mixed serious topics with comedy so effectively that, in many cases, activists were born, movements were started, legislation was passed, and minds were changed.

Legendary showrunners like Norman Lear and Linda Bloodworth-Thomason used the sitcom format to normalize awareness and discussion of race relations, women's issues, representation, discrimination, divorce, alcoholism and drug addiction, sexual assault, HIV/AIDS, and LGBTQ rights.

Fronting these issues shaped our culture in ways that should not be lost to history. Join us for a discussion of the iconic episodes and the legends who made them happen, as well as how they continue to impact us today.

CONNECT WITH LEE GAMBIN

Tonight, On A Very Special Episode: When TV Sitcoms Sometimes Got Serious Volume 1: 1957-1985 - https://bearmanor-digital.myshopify.com/products/tonight-on-a-very-special-episode-when-tv-sitcoms-sometimes-got-serious-volume-1-1957-1985-paperback?_pos=1&_sid=72a8817db&_ss=r

Tonight, On A Very Special Episode: When TV Sitcoms Sometimes Got Serious Volume 2: 1986-1998 - https://bearmanor-digital.myshopify.com/products/tonight-on-a-very-special-episode-when-tv-sitcoms-sometimes-got-serious-volume-2-1986-1998-paperback?_pos=3&_sid=72a8817db&_ss=r

Cinemaniacs - https://cinemaniacs.com.au/

SOUND CLIPS

Diff'rent Strokes: The Bicycle Man (S5.E16-17) - https://youtu.be/XX-yeqTaltE

Designing Women: Killing All the Right People (S2.E4) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cozd3HN6xS8

All in The Family: Edith's 50th Birthday (S8.E4-5) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eGFuSpSn1U

BOOKS / ARTICLES

Norman Lear Memoir - Even This I Get to Experience - https://www.normanlear.com/the-book

PERTINENT EPISODES OF ADVANCED TV HERSTORY

Designing Women 1, Body-shaming 0 - https://advancedtvherstory.libsyn.com/designing-women-1-bodyshaming-0

Sports Night: More Relevant Than Ever - https://advancedtvherstory.libsyn.com/sports-night-more-relevant-than-ever

Eating Disorder Movies: TV For and About Women - https://advancedtvherstory.libsyn.com/eating-disorder-movies-tv-for-and-about-women

ATVH NEWSLETTER

Sign up at https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/

CONNECT WITH CYNTHIA BEMIS ABRAMS and ADVANCED TV HERSTORY

Website: https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/

Podcasts: https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/advanced-tv-herstory

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/advancedtvherstory/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/tvherstory

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Media.Cynthia

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@advancedtvherstory/featured

PRODUCTION

Music: Jahzzar - https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jahzzar/

In 1989, Oprah Winfrey produced and starred in the two-part TV miniseries, The Women of Brewster Place, which was based on Gloria Naylor's award-winning debut novel. The book, and the movie, explore a variety of personal issues and social themes faced by seven African American women who live in an urban housing project.

When, just for fun, we asked the new artificial intelligence software, ChatGPT, to connect Oprah's cultural influence with themes from the book/movie, the AI chatbot got it… sort of right. Sort of. It dispassionately summarized many of the challenges faced by the women in the story. And it mentioned Oprah's commitment to highlighting personal and social issues. But ChatGPT failed to find the essential storyline.

And it's no wonder. The online content about The Women of Brewster Place neglects the underlying racism that's at work when urban planners and policymakers target the destruction of specific neighborhoods in the name of progress. As long as history is "written by the victors," the online trough that feeds artificial intelligence will prevent AI, and the people who rely on it, from making the most crucial connections of all.

MENTIONS AND REFERENCES We encourage you to visit your local bookseller or library.

Book by Gloria Naylor - The Women of Brewster Place -https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/women-of-brewster-place-gloria-naylor/1102236580 -https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/women-of-brewster-place-gloria-naylor/1102236580

Movie on YouTube - The Women of Brewster Place - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-XFelzSXfc

People Magazine Article - Oprah Goes Hollywood - https://people.com/archive/oprah-goes-hollywood-vol-29-no-23/

Book by Carol Stabile, PhD - The Broadcast 41 - https://thereadingwarehouse.com/book.php?ISBN=9781912685424

Podcast Series (first of four) - Calculated Efforts to Preserve Power: TV Women Blacklisted - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/calculated-efforts-to-preserve-power-tv-women-blacklisted/id1014759821?i=1000445356348

Vulture Article - 30 Years Ago, The Women of Brewster Place Cracked Open the Door for Queer TV - https://www.vulture.com/2019/05/the-women-of-brewster-place-theresa-lorraine.html

Vice Article - I've Made More Than 1,700 Wikipedia Entries on Women Scientists and I'm Not Yet Done - https://www.vice.com/en/article/z34k9e/wikipedia-pages-women-scientists-jessica-wade-stem

CONNECT WITH CYNTHIA BEMIS ABRAMS and ADVANCED TV HERSTORY

Website - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/

Podcast Archive - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/advanced-tv-herstory

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/advancedtvherstory/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/tvherstory

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Media.Cynthia

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@advancedtvherstory/featured

On this episode of Advanced TV Herstory, we connect the dots between TV and feminism with American culture and politics by remembering the 1979 television miniseries, Backstairs at the White House.

The series is based on the New York Times bestseller by Lillian Rogers Parks, a seamstress in the White House from 1939-1961. Parks based the book on her own experiences and on those of her mother, Maggie Rogers, who, as a maid in the White House from 1909-1939, was encouraged by Eleanor Roosevelt to keep a diary of her time serving the various first families.

MENTIONS AND REFERENCES (We encourage you to visit your local bookseller or library.)

Jackie Kennedy - Interview with Sander Vanocur, NBC - March 1961 - https://youtu.be/j3ZvIzL1JbI

My Thirty Years Backstairs at the White House - by Lillian Rogers Parks in collaboration with Frances Spatz Leighton - https://www.amazon.com/Thirty-Years-Backstairs-White-House/dp/092389196X/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=my+30+years+backstairs+at+the+white+house&qid=1676494328&sr=8-1

Michelle Obama - Speech at 2016 Democratic National Convention - https://youtu.be/4ZNWYqDU948

White House Historical Association - https://www.whitehousehistory.org

CONNECT WITH CYNTHIA BEMIS ABRAMS

Website - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/

Podcast Archive - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/advanced-tv-herstory

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/advancedtvherstory/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/tvherstory

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Media.Cynthia

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@advancedtvherstory/featured

As we wrap up our two-part In Memoriam for 2022 by honoring women with famous names and faces, we also pay tribute to those who were less visible yet made significant contributions to TV, movies, news, and science.

This celebration is the perfect time to reflect on the importance of acting as a champion for other women. Their success does not detract from our own—instead, it strengthens us all.

The wonderful women featured in this episode will continue to entertain and teach and inform us for decades thanks to syndication. They are why I podcast.

MENTIONS AND REFERENCES (We encourage you to visit your local bookseller or library.)

Women Who Reported Watergate (July 2, 2017 podcast) https://advancedtvherstory.libsyn.com/women-who-reported-watergate

Audition: A Memoir by Barbara Walters https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2847470-audition

Kirstie Alley - List of Works https://www.biblio.com/kirstie-alley/author/15520

Nichelle Nichols on Martin Luther King, Jr. https://youtu.be/zrzygziT11I

Beyond Uhura by Nichelle Nichols https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/672094.Beyond_Uhura

Sacheen Littlefeather was a Native American icon. Her sisters say she was an ethnic fraud https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/Sacheen-Littlefeather-oscar-Native-pretendian-17520648.php

Louise Fletcher Wins Best Actress: 48th Oscars (1976) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGl5U7nNlkY

Dizzy & Jimmy by Liz Sheridan https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/dizzy--jimmy-my-life-with-james-dean--a-love-story_liz-sheridan/348349/

Reeling Back by Michael Walsh https://reelingback.com/articles/creative_women_needed

CONNECT WITH CYNTHIA BEMIS ABRAMS

Website - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/

Podcast Archive - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/advanced-tv-herstory

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/advancedtvherstory/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/tvherstory

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Media.Cynthia

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@advancedtvherstory/featured

Our In Memoriam episodes have become an annual tradition. As the universe of known, talented women in TV gets larger every year, so too does the number of women that we honor. In this first of two episodes, we highlight some of the women of music and theatre who made significant contributions to our culture and society. We lost some very big names in 2022, but as you've come to expect with these episodes, we also celebrate the talent and achievements of those who were not quite thought of as a "big name."

REFERENCES AND MENTIONS

In Memoriam: Angela Lansbury / MSW

https://advancedtvherstory.libsyn.com/in-memoriam-angela-lansbury-msw

Pat Carroll: Gertrude Stein was never a bore

https://www.csmonitor.com/1981/0108/010861.html

Debbie Allen Shapes a Different World

https://advancedtvherstory.libsyn.com/debbie-allen-shapes-a-different-world

Olivia Newton-John - the Making of "Physical"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXitXrVsndg

Olivia Newton-John on Murphy Brown

https://youtu.be/YrwqwZ02gM0

Erica Gimpel on Twitter: @ericagimpel

www.freemusicarchive.org

CONNECT WITH CYNTHIA BEMIS ABRAMS

Website - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/

Podcast Archive - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/advanced-tv-herstory

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/advancedtvherstory/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/tvherstory

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Media.Cynthia

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@advancedtvherstory/featured