May 7-13, 1977
TV Guide
New York Report
Neil Hickey
It�s goodbye to �Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.� On July 1, that popular syndicated series leaves the air for good. Louise Lasser announced last week she was quitting the show, and producer Norman Lear said he�d �wrap a ribbon around� the series and �put it away with love.�
Making the show had become a �constant sprint,� said the actress. �It�s a question of how much you can sprint without hurting the muscles.� She was sad about leaving the series, she said, because Mary�s character and her own �coincided in so many special places that touched the heart.�
Starting July 4, a spinoff series called �Fernwood Tonight� will replace �MHMH� for the summer. It�ll have a talk-show format with Martin Mull (Garth Gimble in �MHMH�) as the host, interviewing Fernwood�s now-familiar inhabitants. Then in the fall, �Fernwood Tonight� will give way to a new series tentatively called �Fernwood USA,� provided enough stations accept Lear�s substitute offering. Plans for it are still a bit vague, but many of the same folks you�ve been seeing on �MHMH� will be featured. |
