Madame's Place Explained

Genre:Sitcom
Director:Don Barnhart
Paul Miller
Starring:Wayland Flowers
Susan Tolsky
Johnny Haymer
Judy Landers
Corey Feldman
Opentheme:"Madame's Place" performed by Denise De Caro
Theme Music Composer:Michael K. Miller
Monica Riordan
Composer:Dan Foliart
Howard Pearl
Country:United States
Language:English
Num Seasons:1
Num Episodes:74 (plus unaired pilot)[1]
Executive Producer:Brad Lachman
Producer:Don Van Atta
Bob Sand
Editor:Joe Bella
Ken Denisoff
Camera:Multi-camera
Runtime:22 - 24 minutes
Company:Brad Lachman Productions
Madame, Inc.
Channel:Syndication

Madame's Place is an American sitcom based on the ribald, acerbic, aging-celebrity diva Madame, a puppet character portrayed by Wayland Flowers. A single season of 74 episodes was produced for weekday broadcasts in first-run syndication, originally aired from September 1982 to February 1983.[2] [3] Initial syndication also featured hour-long composites created for weekend broadcasts.

Background

Created by puppeteer Wayland Flowers, Madame gained a significant following in the 1970s with her witty double entendres, sharp comebacks, and penchant for celebrity name-dropping. The Madame character was often elegantly attired in glamorous gowns adorned with splendid jewels, poking fun at the opulence of Hollywood's Golden era.

Wayland Flowers and Madame became regular fixtures on talk shows, variety programs, and game shows in the mid-1970s, notably holding the center square on the popular Hollywood Squares. Concurrent with the production of Madame's Place, Madame made recurring appearances as a presenter on Solid Gold, also produced by Brad Lachman.

Premise

Madame lives in a plush Hollywood mansion surrounded by devoted butler Pinkerton, attentive secretary Bernadette, and beautiful niece Sara Joy. The domestic comedy antics of Madame's household are supplemented by Madame's eponymous talk show within-the-show, a revolving door for stand-up comedy, variety show performers, and celebrity guests.

As the series opens, the popular Madame's Place talk show has long been broadcasting reruns, prompting her fans to demand new episodes. Madame successfully negotiates a revival of the show from her home studio.

In an unusual departure from comedies of its era, the show adopts a serialized format, occasionally featuring storylines that span multiple episodes. To accommodate viewers who may have missed previous episodes, a character routinely refers to the previous day's events.

The series offers multiple mentions regarding Madame writing her autobiography. Nine months after the show concluded its run, Flowers published Madame: My Misbegotten Memoirs,[4] a book delving into Madame's backstory without reflecting on the television series or its characters.

Cast and characters

Principal

Recurring

Featured

Guests were frequent and ranged widely, often appearing as themselves; notables include Peggy Gilbert, Debbie Reynolds, Betty White, Phyllis Diller, Tab Hunter, William Shatner, Charles Nelson Reilly, Rip Taylor, Charles Pierce, Frankie Avalon, Marty Allen, Foster Brooks, Paul Reubens (as Pee-wee Herman), Alice Ghostley, Scatman Crothers, John Schneider, Robert Culp, Jay Leno, and Arsenio Hall, as well as various members of The Groundlings comedy troupe, who appeared as an assortment of characters and provided stand-up comedy bits.

Development

In 1980, Madame landed a recurring gig as a guest on Solid Gold, a weekly series that featured countdowns of the top Billboard hits, musical performances, and dancing galore. Madame was extremely popular with the youth market, and soon Wayland Flowers began coming up with ideas for her own show. His initial concept involved Madame launching into space on a rocket at the start of each episode, followed by her unexpected appearances in various TV shows.[5] However, this idea proved to be impractical. He then proposed a scenario in which he would share a mansion with Madame,[6] but this was shot down by the producers because Flowers was no ventriloquist, visibly voicing Madame.[7]

Ultimately, a pilot was produced and made available to the press and distributors in January 1982.[8] [9] This pilot featured the diminutive Patty Maloney as Madame's secretary, Alan Young as her English butler, and included additional puppets like Jiffy, Crazy Mary, Mr. Mackelroy, and Baby Smedley in supporting roles.[10] [11] Although the pilot was instrumental in pitching the show, Paramount believed that the inclusion of all these puppets made it appear "too cartoonish".[12] Consequently, it was decided that the show would be more distinctive with Madame as the sole puppet star.[13]

Production

Production commenced in August 1982,[14] at the KTLA studio.[15] with the cast and crew working at a breakneck pace to create 74 half-hour episodes within 26 weeks.[3] They had already produced 30 episodes before the show's September debut.[16] It was touted as the most expensive comedy ever produced for syndication,[17] costing $250,000 per week (adjusted for inflation, nearly $800,000) for five 30-minute episodes and one hour-long recap.[18] The show was shot without a studio audience, necessitating the use of a laugh track. Flowers expressed his preference for having an audience, remarking that it was the one thing he disliked about the TV show. "I'm used to hearing the laughter, only now it's not there."[19]

A team of 12 writers[20] collaborated to develop the show's stories[21] and bounced around ideas in the room.[22] Flowers, who had an intimate understanding of the Madame character, often revised her dialogue,[23] noting, "There's a way to deliver a line for Madame. I call it putting a button on it. And I'm good at buttoning up."[24] At times, Flowers would improvise new lines during filming, and the script would be swiftly adjusted on the teleprompter.[25]

The show featured one primary Madame puppet and nine "stand-ins"[26] each painted with slight variations, including one intentionally made to appear evil. Flowers could distinguish between the puppets[27] and switched them as needed for different scenes. Together with costume designer Minta Manning, he scoured magazines for wardrobe ideas for the dolls,[28] resulting in a collection of over 100 custom outfits.[26]

To prevent erecting scaffolding sets for the puppeteer as they did on The Muppet Show, Flowers devised a small black vinyl stool with six wheels. This allowed him to roll around the set,[29] [30] propelling himself with his legs[31] while holding the puppet over his head.[32] This innovative approach enabled a recurring gag in which Madame would be sent flying across the room after getting smacked, punched, or blown by a hairdryer. However, it caused issues for some of the guest stars, who found it challenging to focus on Madame instead of looking down at Wayland.[33] [34] Co-star Judy Landers remarked that "After the initial shock, you begin to feel she's not a puppet anymore. She becomes a whole person because Wayland Flowers is so talented."[35] For scenes set in the bedroom and bathtub, Flowers had to manipulate Madame's movements through a crevice while watching one monitor and tracking the script on a separate teleprompter.[36] "You have to be a contortionist," he remarked.[37]

Corey Feldman recalled being enamored by both Wayland and Madame, so Flowers borrowed a plush monkey from the boy and fitted it with rods so he could puppeteer it.[38] Feldman was thrilled, but his mother was unimpressed, telling him, "Wayland Flowers is gay." The boy wasn't even sure what "gay" meant.[39] Feldman was eventually dropped from the show due to the studio's concerns that the material was too risqué for a child actor.[40]

Judy Landers' agent encouraged her to stick to dramatic roles, but she had a preference for comedic parts and eagerly accepted the opportunity to co-star in the series.[41] Her character, Sara Joy, incorporated her real-life passion for gymnastics, which she had pursued since the age of 9[42] and excelled in by winning the New York state championships at 16.[43] To maintain her fitness during filming, she adhered to a low-carb, high-protein diet.[44] Landers addressed her portrayal of the ditsy character, explaining, "We're both extremely determined and ambitious, [but] I'm a very serious-mind person. I can be silly and that's what I do for Sara Joy. I take that silly side of myself and just extend on it."[35] She also responded to critics who questioned her repeated portrayals of dumb characters in sitcoms by stating, "I think laughter is God's hand on the shoulder of a troubled world."[45]

The demanding five-day-a-week shooting schedule began to take its toll on Flowers, leading to strain on his voice, which he described as making him "sound like a frog".[46] He expressed regret about committing to a daily show,"[47] describing the set as chaotic and even referring to it as "Casa Tastrophe".[47] In addition to the weekday shoots, Madame retained her regular gig on Solid Gold,[48] which was shot every two weeks over the course of four days.[49] There have been allegations that Flowers developed a significant cocaine habit during production in an effort to cope with the demanding pace.[50] [51] [52] In an interview on the set of Madame's Place, Armistead Maupin commented on Flowers's noticeable weight loss,[53] and during the same interview, "Madame" made a humorous remark about Hollywood's rampant drug issue, stating, "I never do cocaine. I don't want to get that close to a mirror."[48]

Theme song

Michael K. Miller of Solid Gold composed the theme song, with lyrics by Monica Riordan, and assistance from Alan Satchwell:[54]

Her outrageous charm fills this funny farm that we call Madame's Place.An initial attempt to record George Burns and Ethel Merman performing the song proved unsuccessful.[55]

Release

Intended for late-night broadcasts aimed at adults in the 18-49 range,[56] the show secured deals in 110 markets, making it the largest sale for a first-run syndicated show up to that point, reaching 83% of households in the USA.[57] In addition to the standard 30-minute episodes, Paramount also created hour-long compilations of the week's shows[18] for stations to broadcast on the weekends.[58]

Madame's Place was a huge hit in Atlanta, where the hour-long Saturday edition topped the ratings for WATL,[59] but many stations only licensed the hour-long version,[60] weekday distributors complained that inexpensive reruns of The Twilight Zone pulled in higher ratings,[61] and it was dealt a death-blow when New York's WWOR-TV and another major RKO network decided to drop it from their schedule.[62] The cost of maintaining the five-shows-a-week pace became unsustainable when a significant portion of the country wasn't even airing the episodes,[60] leading to the show's cancellation in January 1983.[63]

The show went on to be rerun on the USA Network from 1986 to 1991,[64] alternating between daytime[65] and late-night[66] timeslots. Throughout 1999, episodes infrequently aired on TV Land.[67] In the UK, it aired on The Paramount Channel from 1995[68] -1996[69]

Reception

The show received generally positive reviews. TV Host's Wayne Miller gushed that "the show is not only original, but more often than not, it's downright funny."[70] He continued, "The supporting cast sparkles as an ensemble foil to the luscivious [sic] Madame." Tom Hopkins of The Dayton Daily News stated, "It's funny stuff, with some sharp writing and some skillful work by Flowers. At a time when TV is mired in spinoffs and regrinds, Madame's Place is a bright new concept."[71] Bob Curtright of The Witchita Eagle-Beacon noted, "The talk-show format allows numerous guest celebrities, giving it the feel of The Muppet Show. The home front provides the kookiness of Soap. The combination is hilarious, but obviously not for everyone."[72] Michael Dougan of The San Francisco Examiner dubbed it "the randiest show on commercial television,"[73] concluding, "I know a lot of people do find Madame funny and, to them only, Madame's Place comes recommended."

James Brown of The Los Angeles Times commented, "Liking this show depends on one's tolerance for the campy utterings of Wayland Flowers' sassy puppet, Madame. Since mine is extremely low, 'Madame's Place' is a long 30-minutes."[74] He concluded, "As sitcoms go, 'Madame's Place' is probably no better or worse than, say, Joanie Loves Chachi. It's just that I have a hard time warming up to puppets. Even Kermit gives me the chills." Rick Malaspena of The Oakland Tribune called it "a harmless piece of camp," concluding, that "it's not always truly funny, and it might wear thin when the novelty fades."[75]

Episodes

There has been considerable confusion regarding the episode count, largely due to misinformation from the studio, compounded by the long unavailability of the show. Shortly after the series concluded, a multi-page Paramount trade ad in Television/Radio Age magazine stated there were "75 half-hours" available,[76] a count that is accurate only if you include the unaired pilot.[2] Later in the same issue, it mentions "150 half-hours" (the show was canceled halfway through the season,[77] so it's probable that someone didn't get the memo), and this number continued to appear in trade magazines for over a year.[78] Adding further to the confusion, a subsequent revision to the trade ads listed 93 shows,[79] and fans have mistakenly presumed that the episodes that were uploaded to YouTube constitute the complete series.[80] [81]

Airdates are fairly consistent, but since the show was syndicated to independent stations, they varied. In some markets, it aired after midnight, while in others, the premiere was delayed by a week or more. American copyright records simply list the episodes by numbers. The titles below possibly originated in a German episode guide,[2] but they're also utilized on IMDb.

Weekend version

Paramount created hour-long edits to give the show wider exposure, but it backfired, with more stations opting to run the weekend edition than the standard weekday episodes.[60] It was reported that these edits combined two episodes "with extra material,"[18] but TV listings sometimes indicated storylines from only one to up to four shows. This version aired straight through Christmas, so several episodes debuted in this format before the stand-alone weekday versions were broadcast in February. None are available on YouTube, they were last broadcast in the United States in 1983,[82] and specifics are scarce.

Notes and References

  1. https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1983/BC-1983-03-14.pdf Broadcasting Magazine, March 3, 1983, p.48
  2. https://web.archive.org/web/20050215054824/http://www.epguides.de/madames.htm EpGuides.de Madame's Place (archived)
  3. News: Warren . Steve . 1988-11-04 . Wayland 'Madame' Flowers dies in the closet . Montrose Voice . 2023-08-30 . Madame's Place [was taped] on a furious schedule [of] 75 half-hour shows in 26 weeks..
  4. Book: Flowers, Wayland . Madame: My Misbegotten Memoirs . Dodd, Mead . 1983 . 9780396082347 . The book was initially promoted as Madame: The First Hundred Years:
  5. News: Belcher . Walt . 1982-10-24 . Madame Knows Her Place . The Tampa Tribune . "My original idea was to have Madame shot off into space in a rocket. And from there, she would break into TV shows unexpectedly," he said. "But there were compromises, and this is the format we settled on.".
  6. News: Maupin . Armistead . 1982-12-01 . Madame . Interview Magazine . Vol 12 Iss 12, p.48 . 2023-08-30 . I had an idea for a show very much like this one, but I was to live in the house with Madame so we wouldn't have all the problems with me not being seen..
  7. News: Kleiner . Dick . 1983-02-27 . Alas, the de-Flowering of Madame . The Sunday Columbian . 2023-08-30 . "I'm not appearing on the show at all," said Flowers. "That wasn't the way I wanted it at first, but now I think it's good. My mouth moves -- I'm not a ventriloquist -- and the producers didn't want that.".
  8. https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZmNhYTM4NWUtNDAwZS00Y2ZkLWE2ZjgtZTcxMDkyM2M2YTI4XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTEwODg2MDY@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg Madame's Place Trade Ad, February 1982
  9. News: Maksian . George . 1982-01-24 . Untitled . The Arizona Republic TV Digest . 2023-08-30 . Wayland Flowers is no dummy. He and his favorite puppet, Madame, have been signed to head a new half-hour comedy series for Paramount Television called Madame's Place..
  10. News: Maksian . George . 1982-01-24 . Untitled . The Arizona Republic TV Digest . 2023-08-30 . The show will feature Madame's... friends Jiffy, Crazy Mary, Baby Smedley, and Mr. Mackelhoney.... There'll be some "real" people, including Madame's houseboy and her friend, the nightclub bouncer, plus others..
  11. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28706925/ IMDb Madame's Place: Unaired Pilot
  12. News: Manna . Sal . 1982-10-12 . Puppet Evades Censors on TV's 'Madame's Place' . Lafayette Advertiser . 2023-08-30 . The pilot, which featured the star and a number of Flowers' other inananimate creations, just didn't work. "The strength of Madame is that she's highly adult," explained [Paramount senior Vice-President of Programming, John] Goldhammer. "She relates better to humans than to puppets. This is not a puppet show, but it has a puppet as its star. The pilot was too cartoonish.".
  13. News: Maupin . Armistead . 1982-12-01 . Madame . Interview Magazine . Vol 12 Iss 12, p.48 . 2023-08-30 . We did a pilot with Mary and Jiffy, but it's better just with Madame. She's such a strong character, and just having one puppet character in the show makes it different than anything that's been done before..
  14. https://archive.org/details/sim_televisionweek_1982-08-26_1_13?q=%22Madame%27s+Place%22 Electronic Media 1982-08-26: Vol 1 Iss 13
  15. News: Lee . Luaine . 1982-09-27 . Madame: Salty Puppet Solos in Her Own Show . Centre Daily Times . 2023-08-30 . Flowers is nowhere to be seen on the elaborate sets at KTLA studios, where Madame is taped for TV..
  16. News: Wilkinson . Bud . 1982-11-07 . Bawdy 'Madame's Place' gathers cult audience . Arizona Republic . 2023-08-30 . Said Flowers, "We had 30 (episodes) shot and in the can before it ever ran.".
  17. News: Lee . Luaine . 1982-09-27 . Madame: Salty Puppet Solos in Her Own Show . Centre Daily Times . 2023-08-30 . Touted to be the most expensive syndicated comedy show in history, the sets seem to bear that out. With a complete bedroom, living room, office, courtroom, and ornate bathroom, Madame really seems to have it made..
  18. News: Manna . Sal . 1982-10-12 . Puppet Evades Censors on TV's 'Madame's Place' . Lafayette Advertiser . 2023-08-30 . Each week's product -- five half-hour shows plus a one-hour weekend episodes that combines two already shown segments with extra material -- is costing Paramount $250,000, which makes it the most expensive comedy ever produced for syndication..
  19. News: Stanley . John . 1982-09-26 . Manipulate Madame? She's No Dummy . The San Francisco Examiner . 50 .
  20. News: Belcher . Walt . 1982-10-24 . Madame Knows Her Place . The Tampa Tribune . Flowers said there were 12 writers working on the series. But he also contributes a lot of his own material..
  21. News: . 1982-09-02 . Madame cleans up her act, starts Sept. 19 on Ch. 8 . . 2023-08-23 . "The writers are writing the material," Flowers said, "But I have to change it a little.".
  22. News: Wilkinson . Bud . 1982-11-07 . Bawdy 'Madame's Place' gathers cult audience . Arizona Republic . 2023-08-30 . "When I'm writing, I like to be in a room with writers. You start with an idea and it bounces around the room like a pingpong ball," said Flowers..
  23. News: Warren . Steve . 1982-09-16 . The Best Little "Place" on TV . . 21 . 2023-08-30 . Madame's Place has 12 writers, Flowers says, but he does a lot of instant rewriting as they shoot..
  24. News: Belcher . Walt . 1982-10-24 . Madame Knows Her Place . The Tampa Tribune .
  25. News: Maupin . Armistead . 1982-12-01 . Madame . Interview Magazine . Vol 12 Iss 12, p.48 . 2023-08-30 . The writing has been good. I change some lines right out there on the floor, because we have a computer system instead of cue cards that can type changes in right there..
  26. News: Belcher . Walt . 1982-10-24 . Madame Knows Her Place . The Tampa Tribune . Flowers said Madame has more than 100 custom-designed outfits and nine stand-ins for the TV series..
  27. News: Kleiner . Dick . 1983-02-27 . Alas, the de-Flowering of Madame . The Sunday Columbian . 2023-08-30 . Today, he has Madame who, physically, is one of some eight or nine puppets, all virtually the same. But there are differences. Flowers has painted them all, and he can tell them apart. "They have different looks," he said. "The is one that even has an evil look.".
  28. News: Lee . Luaine . 1982-10-11 . Madame is the star of the show by Wayland Flowers is pulling the strings . . 2023-08-30 . For this show, she has 33 costumes so far, a lot of mix-and-match," he said. He and designer Minta Manning go through magazines, searching for the right "look" for the over-sexed octogenarian..
  29. News: Stanley . John . 1982-09-26 . Manipulate Madame? She's No Dummy . The San Francisco Examiner . 50 . Flowers had watched 'The Muppets' enough times to conclude "that all the sets had to be built up to give the actors a place to hide, and that left a tiny amount of room for the human guest stars to move in. So I've designed a skateboard with six wheels on the bottom which allows me to roll around the set down out of sight, a few inches off the floor. This gives Madame and the actors great mobility..
  30. News: Maupin . Armistead . 1982-12-01 . Madame . Interview Magazine . Vol 12 Iss 12, p.48 . 2023-08-30 .
    MAUPIN: Did it take you long to learn to operate that dolly... that thing you roll around on?
    FLOWERS: I kind of devised that. I'd always noticed in movies that are made with puppets, they build their stages up, but the actors can't move much; they have to stand still while the puppets dance around them and all. I just wheel all around the floor..
  31. News: Lee . Luaine . 1982-10-11 . Madame is the star of the show by Wayland Flowers is pulling the strings . . 2023-08-30 . For Madame's Place, Flowers has designed a low-slung black vinyl stool with wheels. He crouches on the stool, propelling himself with his legs as he moves Madame about, keeping himself out of the camera's range..
  32. News: Wilkinson . Bud . 1982-11-07 . Bawdy 'Madame's Place' gathers cult audience . Arizona Republic . 2023-08-30 . Flowers operates Madame by sitting below her, 4 inches off the ground on a board that has wheels to allow him to move her around the room when necessary..
  33. News: Jones . Will . 1982-09-09 . Actress Following a trail of laughs . Minneapolis Star and Tribune . 2023-08-30 . I just couldn't get used to playing to the dummy, or the puppet, or whatever you call her. I just kept talking down toward the floor at Wayland, 'cause that's where the noise was coming from. But gradually, I got accustomed to the notion that the puppet really is Madame, and now I'm playing right to her, and very comfortable with it..
  34. News: Wilkinson . Bud . 1982-11-07 . Bawdy 'Madame's Place' gathers cult audience . Arizona Republic . 2023-08-30 . He explained that guests do sometimes fail to pay attention to the host. "Some will look down at me and I'll look up and say, 'Keep the eyes on the doll.'".
  35. News: McGinnis . Reoma . 1982-11-21 . Judy Landers Shares a Spot with 'Madame' . Democrat and Chronicle . 2023-08-30.
  36. News: . 1982-09-02 . Madame cleans up her act, starts Sept. 19 on Ch. 8 . . 2023-08-23 . For Madame's bedroom scenes, Flowers must lie on his stomach, extending his right arm through a crevice between the bed and pillow to operate Madame. He must watch a monitor to orchestrate Madame's movements, as well as a teleprompter..
  37. News: Wilkinson . Bud . 1982-11-07 . Bawdy 'Madame's Place' gathers cult audience . Arizona Republic . 2023-08-30 .
  38. Book: Feldman, Corey . 2013-10-29 . Coreography: A Memoir . . 56 . 9780312609337 . I had a stuffed monkey with Velcro hands and feet. It reminded me of Madame, so one day I decided to bring it in to show off to my new friend. "Can I borrow that?" he asked me. A few days later, he brought it back to the set, completely restyled to look like one of his puppets, complete with the little sticks to move the monkey's hands and feet..
  39. Book: Feldman, Corey . 2013-10-29 . Coreography: A Memoir . . 56 . 9780312609337 . I was elated. The great Wayland Flowers had made me a puppet. But when I showed it to my mother, she harrumphed. "Wayland Flowers is gay," she told me. I didn't know what that meant, of course... "How do you know he's gay?" I asked. "Trust me," she said, "I just know.".
  40. News: Southington . John . 1982-12-02 . Video Waves . Daily Record (Morristown, NJ) . 46 . The raunchy series starring Wayland Flowers and the puppet Madame as a famous star lost one of its regulars recently in the form of Corey Feldman, who played neighborhood kid Buzzy St. James. Feldman was dropped because Madame's dialogue and one-liners are considered so blue that the execs felt the boy wasn't in the right company..
  41. News: McGinnis . Reoma . 1982-11-21 . Judy Landers Shares a Spot with 'Madame' . Democrat and Chronicle . 2023-08-30 . My agent wanted me to do dramatic roles instead of comedy, but I enjoy comedy and when this role in Madame's Place came along I couldn't resist..
  42. Web site: Judy Landers Trivia . . n.d. . IMDb . 2023-08-30 . Owes some of her great shape to the fact that she began gymnastics at age 9 and has remained a devotee to fitness ever since..
  43. News: . 1983-06-21 . How Sexy Judy Stays Taut & Trim . Your Health . 2023-08-30 . She was a premier gymnast who conquered all comers at the New York State Championships at the age of 16..
  44. News: . 1983-06-21 . How Sexy Judy Stays Taut & Trim . Your Health . 2023-08-30 . While working on Madame's Place, she'd usually order Japanese shushi or a California combination of avocado and crabmeat wrapped in seaweed and topped with white rice. “Besides being low in, calories and high in protein, it's simply great with a little horseradish to give it that added zip,” she says..
  45. News: Geringer . Dan . 1984-02-21 . Making the Most of Their Assets . Philadelphia Daily News . 35 . I have just asked the bosomy Judy if she never felt just a little bit weird about building her TV career by playing a succession of incredibly dumb blondes, like... Sara Joy Pitts on the odiferous 'Madame's Place,' and in reply, Judy tells me with a straight face, "I think laughter is God's hand on the shoulder of a troubled world," and things suddenly get real quiet at La Terrasse..
  46. News: Belcher . Walt . 1982-10-24 . Madame Knows Her Place . The Tampa Tribune . Madame's voice was flawless. But when Flowers was speaking in his own Southern drawl, the voice was raspy. "I sound like a frog," he said. "We've done 50 shows in 10 weeks and Madame is in just about every scene.".
  47. News: Wilkinson . Bud . 1982-11-07 . Bawdy 'Madame's Place' gathers cult audience . Arizona Republic . 2023-08-30 . Doing a five-day-a-week comedy is not an easy assignment. "It's like an asylum, not unlike my home. I call it Casa Tastrophe," said Flowers, adding, "I would rather not have done a strip show.".
  48. https://archive.org/details/sim_interview_1982-12_12_12/page/n47/mode/2up?q=%22Wayland+Flowers%22&view=theater Madame by Armistead Maupin, Interview Magazine, 1982-12: Vol 12 Iss 12
  49. Web site: Solid Gold: Trivia . . IMDb . 2023-08-29 . Two episodes were taped every two weeks over the course of four days and nights..
  50. Web site: Wayland Flowers and Madame . . n.d.. Find a Death . 2023-08-30 . It was during this time that Wayland started using drugs. Rumor around the set was that he had to be jacked up on coke just to handle being on a dolly for hours on end while shooting..
  51. Web site: True stories of the Fringe . . 2008-08-06 . The Scotsman . 2023-08-30 . The difficulties started when he began doing the television show five days a week. He had so much money so quickly, he was working so hard and it was just too much for him. He was taking cocaine just to keep going..
  52. Web site: IF: puppet . . 2014-10-26 . Josh Pincus is Crying . 2023-08-23 . Over the years, Wayland developed a heavy cocaine habit. His drug habit worsened and, to make things even worse, he was diagnosed with HIV..
  53. News: Maupin . Armistead . 1982-12-01 . Madame . Interview Magazine . Vol 12 Iss 12, p.48 . 2023-08-30 .
    WAYLAND FLOWERS: We're doing five shows a week, and Solid Gold at night.
    ARMISTEAD MAUPIN: You've lost weight. Is that why?
    WAYLAND FLOWERS: Yes, of course. I do love to work, but Jesus. I say, call the union; there's got to be something in the slave labor clause..
  54. Web site: Madame's Place sheet music . . Addax Music . 2023-08-30 .
  55. Web site: Madame's Place Theme...by Michael Miller - Comments . Michael Miller (bigeyezzzzzzz) . 2021 . YouTube. 2023-08-30 . We originally tried to get George Burns and Ethel Merman to sing the theme, but they both were already booked when we needed them..
  56. . 1982-02-08 . New Programs . Television/Radio Age . 106 . 2023-08-30 . Speaking of the audience that Madame's Place will be aimed at [W. Randolph] Reiss [senior vice president of Paramount Television Domestic Distribution] comments, "The show is primarily for young adults. The difference between programming in the late night and programming in the early evening is that, in the late fringe, you lose the kids and many of the teenagers and 50-plus audience. You lose those, and what you have left is 18-49.".
  57. . 1982-09-06 . Syndication Shorts . Television/Radio Age . 72 . 2023-08-30 . Paramount Television Domestic Distribution has sold Madame's Place in more than 110 markets, giving the comedy the largest lineup ever for a first-run syndicated strip, according to Paramount. The show has been sold to all of the top 10 markets, 18 or the top 20, and 41 of the top 50, representing more than 83 per cent of the U.S. households..
  58. . 1982-01-25 . INTV becomes a 'screenland' for major syndicators. Television/Radio Age . 79 . 2023-08-30 . At Paramount, a half-hour nighttime comedy/variety strip, Madame's Place, will be one of the centerpieces of the company's new offerings. Developed and produced by PTDD, it stars Wayland Flowers and is being sold as a strip program with availability of a special weekend edition in a one-hour form, according to W. Randolph Reiss, senior vice president..
  59. News: Greppi . Michele . 1982-11-26 . The Brain and the Bawdy . The Atlanta Constitution . 2023-08-30 . In the October Neilsen ratings, her Saturday show (a composite of the previous week's episodes) proved to be the highest rated show for Atalanta's Channel 36, one of the 120 stations which had bought the series by its fall debut..
  60. News: Greppi . Michele . 1983-04-10 . Feedback . The Atlanta Journal . 2023-08-23 . Although Madame proved to be a consistent ratings performer for Atlanta independent station WATL, more stations nationwide carried the hour-long weekend programs than carried the weeknight strips from which the weekend composites were edited. However, the interest in the weekend programs was not high enough to make Paramount want to spend the money necessary to keep producing them..
  61. . New shows and revivals . Television/Radio Age . 114 . 1983-02-28 . 2023-08-30 . In recent months, WSBK has been running The Twilight Zone at 11 p.m., followed by Madame’s Place, followed by feature films. “We have been getting our best ratings with Twilight Zone,” reports Judy Jurisch, programming manager for the station..
  62. News: Greppi . Michele . 1983-04-10 . Feedback . The Atlanta Journal . 2023-08-23 . Madame lost her own place in the television world when she was not renewed by two RKO stations carrying her (one of them was New York "superstation" WOR)..
  63. News: Duffy . Mike . 1983-01-27 . Channel 2 Gets Ready for a Workout . English . Detroit Free Press . Canceled: "Madame's Place," the raunchy syndicated sitcom that appears at 11:30 weeknights on Channel 2, has shut down production and will leave the air after the backlog of pre-taped episodes runs out in late February..
  64. Web site: Madame's Place: Trivia . . n.d. . IMDb . 2023-08-30 . It began airing on USA on June 30, 1986, and had a permanent home on the station until 1991..
  65. News: . 1986-06-27 . Madame' joins USA Daytime . South Bend Tribune . 2023-08-30 . Madame's Place, a situation comedy about an aging show business veteran who hosts a television talk show from her Hollywood mansion, will join the USA Network at 11:30 a.m. EST daily, beginning Monday..
  66. Web site: It Was a Thing on TV: Episode 354--Madame's Place . . 2023-03-12 . YouTube . 2023-09-01 . USA reran this at 11:30 in the morning, back around 1986. And amazingly enough, this reran on USA as late as 1990. It reran at 2 in the morning, but it was still airing on USA..
  67. News: Bianculli . David . 1999-10-04 . TV Land Mines Celebrity Gold . English . New York Daily News . The "Spin City" supporting players present an episode of "Madame's Place"... Later in the month, Jenny Jones also serves up a "Madame's Place" episode..
  68. News: . 1995-11-23 . TV Thursday Viewing . Herald Express . 4 .
  69. News: . 1996-07-06 . Weekend Television . Leicester Mercury . 28 .
  70. News: Miller . Wayne . 1982-11-06 . Changing the Channels . TV Host, Harrisburg/West Shore Edition . 2023-08-30.
  71. News: Hopkins . Tom . 1982-09-23 . 'Madame's Place' is a sweet show, but sort of tart . The Dayton Daily News . 2023-08-23.
  72. News: Curtright . Bob . 1982-10-01 . Kids' Show Voyager, a Tongue-in-Cheek History Lesson . The Witchita Eagle-Beacon . 11C . ..
  73. News: Dougan . Michael . 1982-09-16 . Madame Camps Out . The San Francisco Examiner . 2023-08-20.
  74. News: Brown . James . 1982-09-17 . The New Season: Previews of Syndicated Shows . Los Angeles Times . 14 .
  75. News: Malaspena . Rick . 1982-09-20 . Tonight, a classy, sassy doll and other delights . The Okland Tribune . 2023-08-20.
  76. https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-TV-Radio-Age/80s/1983/TV-Radio-Age-1983-03-14.pdf TV Radio Age, 1983-03-14, pp.14, 204
  77. . Programming 1984: scarcity in some time periods; continued eye on acquisition costs . Broadcasting . 70 . 1984-01-16 . 2023-08-30 . Madame's Place lasted only half the season..
  78. https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1984/BC-1984-04-23.pdf Broadcasting Magazine, 1984-04-23, p.144
  79. https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1985/BC-1985-01-14.pdf Broadcasting Magazine, 1985-01-14
  80. Web site: Obscure Puppet Media: The Dame, The Myth, The Legendary Madame . McPlane . Jett . 2023-05-27 . YouTube . There were 54 episodes, of which, 53 are available online thanks to the incredible preservation powers of Tav's Television..
  81. Web site: It Was a Thing on TV: Episode 354--Madame's Place . . 2023-03-12 . YouTube . 2023-09-01 . Every episode, presumably, is on YouTube, because some intrepid viewer, around 1989-90, recorded almost every episode of Madame's Place. There appear to be two episodes this person didn't record..
  82. Web site: Madame's Place: Trivia . . n.d. . IMDb . 2023-08-30 . The 30-minute version subsequently aired for 5 years on the USA network, but the 15 hour-long weekend edits haven't been seen since their original run in syndication..

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