| Thelma Mae Crowley Harper | |
|---|---|
 Vicki Lawrence as Thelma Harper from her kitchen on an episode of Mama's Family | |
| First appearance | "Phillip's Visit" (The Family sketch) |
| Last appearance | The Queen Latifah Show (May 20, 2014) |
| Created by | Dick Clair Jenna McMahon |
| Portrayed by | Vicki Lawrence |
| In-universe information | |
| Alias | Thelma Mae Crowley (maiden name) |
| Nickname | "Mama" |
| Gender | Female |
| Title | Mayor of Raytown President of Church Ladies League |
| Occupation | Housewife (prior to the show) Secretary at the Raytown Travel Agency (Season 1) Worked for "Meals on Wheels" (Season 2) Mayor of Raytown (Season 2) Cashier at McRays Burgers (Season 3) Customer Consultant at Food Circus (Season 2) 10% shareholder in Bernice Co. (Season 6 - present) |
| Family | Frank Crowley (father; deceased) Grandma Crowley (mother; deceased) Clyde Crowley (brother) Fran Crowley (sister; deceased) Sonja Harper (granddaughter) Vinton "Buzz" Harper, Jr. (grandson) Tiffany Thelma Harper (granddaughter) Bubba Higgins (grandson) Billy Joe Higgins (grandson) |
| Spouse | Carl Harper (1942–1973) |
| Children | Ellen Jackson Eunice Harper Higgins Vinton Harper |
| Relatives | Effie Harper (sister-in-law) Oscar (uncle; deceased) Gert Corey (cousin) Lydia (cousin) Ina (aunt; deceased) Leota (cousin) Don (uncle) Lorraine (aunt) Cora (cousin) Ludie (cousin; deceased) Mae (aunt; deceased) Eloise (aunt; deceased) Grandma Harper (mother-in-law; deceased) Grandpa Harper (father-in-law; deceased) Verne (brother-in-law; deceased) Ada (sister-in-law; deceased) Sonya (aunt) Roy Harper (brother-in-law) Myrtis (aunt) Bertram (uncle) Willis (uncle) Izzy (cousin) Ida Sue (cousin by marriage) Fern (aunt) Penelope (aunt) Lucille (cousin; deceased) Leroy (cousin) Evelyn (cousin) Minnie (aunt; deceased) Vivian (aunt) Dooley (uncle; deceased) |
Thelma Harper, better known as Mama, is a fictional character played by American actress Vicki Lawrence. Mama is a purse-lipped, thickset senior citizen in her mid-to-late 60s. She has lived in an unspecified part of the Southern United States called "Raytown" for her entire life, evident from the southern drawl of her speech. Mama is an exaggerated version of a prototypical middle twentieth century lower middle class grandmother in the United States South. The character was originally created for Carol Burnett; however, Burnett preferred to play Mama's daughter Eunice Harper Higgins, which resulted in Lawrence being cast as Mama.
The Mama character first appeared in "The Family" sketches on The Carol Burnett Show (1974–1978) and Carol Burnett & Company (1979); followed by Eunice (a 1982 made-for-TV movie expanding on "The Family" sketches); then peaking as lead character on Mama's Family (first on NBC 1983–84, then revolutionized in first-run syndication 1986–1990); and finally in Lawrence's ongoing untelevised stand-up comedy routine, Vicki Lawrence & Mama: A Two-Woman Show since 2001.[1]
With Lawrence continuing to play the role into the present day, Mama has also made numerous other post-television show guest appearances, such as on Hollywood Squares; The Talk;[2][3][4][5] "Larry the Cable Guy's Christmas Spectacular" (2007); "Betty White's 2nd Annual 90th Birthday" (February 5, 2013); The Queen Latifah Show (May 20, 2014);[6] etc.[7] In the late 1970s, Vicki appeared as Mama along with her daughter, Eunice (portrayed by Burnett), in an episode of Password Plus.
In her autobiography, Vicki called Thelma "the only role which I got to go to makeup to get ugly!" It is Lawrence's most well-known role.[8]
- ^ Lawrence, Vicki. "Vicki Lawrence and Mama: A Two Woman Show". The Broker Company. United States. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
- ^ Handleman, Jay (21 February 2003). Vicki Lawrence Presents Her 'Mama', Sarasota Herald-Tribune
- ^ Kornelis, Chris (4 February 2005). Mama's Back and She's Bad, Spokesman-Review
- ^ Lopez, Rich (26 August 2010). Mama knows best, Dallas Voice
- ^ Scott, Vernon (10 February 1984). Lawrence: Great American Homemaker, TimesDaily (syndicated United Press International article)
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Esther Jean Johnson and Mama Give Motherly Advice on The Queen Latifah Show". YouTube.
- ^ "Video Gallery | Movies & Specials | All Videos : Newest". NBC. Archived from the original on 2013-10-21. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
- ^ Pendergast, Todd & Sara Pendergast. St. James encyclopedia of popular culture, Volume 3, p. 106 (2000) ("One of her ongoing roles — the hilarious, purse-lipped, irascible Southern matriarch Thelma Harper, the character for which she is best known ...")