Where Have You Gone, America’s Sweetheart?

 

Unless I missed one somewhere, it seems like many years (decades?) since any celebrity has been hailed as “America’s Sweetheart.” And that’s really not surprising, as it’s the kind of designation that many would now consider demeaning – an archaic expression left over from the oppressive patriarchy. Women don’t exist to be our collective sweethearts…etc.

 

I wonder how the stars of an earlier era felt after having that description bestowed upon them. They probably didn’t see it as demeaning, as there was sincere admiration behind what was intended as a compliment; but I could see how it might be limiting. Once you’re dubbed “America’s Sweetheart” you can’t be spotted doing Tequila shots at a biker bar.

 

It’s an expression that belongs to another time and place, when the public persona of celebrities was more carefully crafted, and millions of people didn’t have phones with video cameras in their pockets, always ready to catch the moment when a beloved public figure slipped from her pedestal. Everyone is an open book now.

 

When the term was in vogue it fit naturally onto some Comfort TV stars, praising some combination of the characters they played and the delightful intrinsic qualities of beauty, charm, and kindness they brought to the role ­– or, in the case of variety show stars, the warm and engaging personality they projected. 

 

 

Who were they? I offer ten selections below.

 

I could find no official criteria for Sweetheart status, but it stands to reason that one prerequisite is a certain level of national acclaim – you can’t be America’s Sweetheart if most of America doesn’t know who you are. That was easier to do in the pre-cable era of television when we were all watching the same shows.

 

It’s also a phrase associated with wholesomeness and even innocence – If you went out with America’s Sweetheart you didn’t take her back to your place – you took her to the malt shop, or home to meet mom. Of course we knew we never had a chance with these lovely paragons – but at least they would be nice enough not to laugh if we asked them out.

 

Annette Funicello

The Mouseketeer turned beach girl turned Skippy spokeswoman was the first America’s Sweetheart created by television. At the age of 15, Annette received 6,000 fan letters a month. And unlike many young women who would bristle at being associated with family-friendly Disney entertainment (back when Disney still provided that), she accepted the responsibility she felt came with that fame. That was why she went along with Walt Disney’s request that she only wear a one-piece bathing suit in her beach movies with Frankie Avalon. 

 

 

There’s a reason why the generation that first loved her never lost that devotion, and grieved so deeply when she was diagnosed with MS, and later passed from that disease. Read some of the comments on her YouTube videos. They’re incredibly touching.

 

Shelley Fabares

Another obvious choice, but I sang her praises already in a recent tribute blog so let’s move on.

 

Karen Valentine

Through her Emmy-winning portrayal of teacher Alice Johnson on Room 222, Karen Valentine had that plucky underdog quality that put viewers in her corner as she coped with the challenges of a difficult and sometimes hazardous profession. She was naïve and nervous but never dumb – this was not a series that would ever portray a teacher that way. Sadly, Valentine never found another role as perfect for her, but this one is enough to secure her Sweetheart status. 

 

Goldie Hawn

Even among a cast as big and colorful and talented as the stars of Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, Goldie Hawn always stood out. Was she really that ditzy blonde who couldn’t read a line without giggling, or was that as much a made-up character as Lily Tomlin’s Ernestine? We found out later that at least some of her confused responses and spontaneous laughter were authentic, because producers would slip  new, unexpected (and occasionally dirty) words into the cue cards they had her read.  Either way, for a while it was one of the most adorable things on television. 

 

 

Sally Field

Had Gidget lasted longer than one season, it might have locked her public persona in permanent Sweetheart mode. Maybe it still did, as three years of wearing a nun’s habit still couldn’t shake that image. Like Goldie Hawn she made the jump to movies when that was still a rare feat, and won an Oscar. But even now, in her ‘70s and after a long and distinguished career, she still resembles that girl who’s ready to grab her surfboard and ride the next big wave. 

 

 

Doris Day

Doris Day first acquired Sweetheart notices when she was still a band singer in the 1940s, and kept them through dozens of movie musicals. By the time The Doris Day Show debuted in 1968, she had held onto the affection of her audience for more than 25 years, a testament to how “America’s Sweetheart” status is something you can never outgrow. Day also enjoyed poking fun at her image with typical Midwestern modesty, especially on her many wonderful TV specials. She understood that it was nice to be thought of in such an affectionate way, but one didn’t have to take it too seriously. Oh, for the days when we didn’t take everything so life-and-death seriously. 

 

 

Mary Tyler Moore

She had already played a happily married wife and mother on The Dick Van Dyke Show, and to great acclaim. But Mary’s America’s Sweetheart status didn’t really kick in until The Mary Tyler Moore Show. As a single 30-ish career woman trying to make it on her own, Mary Richards always had the audience on her side while dealing with an occasionally intimidating boss, an egotistical news anchor, and a never-ending succession of bad dates.

 

Marie Osmond

I know for a fact that a lot of teenage boys who had the Farrah Fawcett poster on their wall in the 1970s also harbored a secret crush on Marie Osmond. 

 

It wasn’t cool to like the Osmonds back then, but if you watched Donny & Marie (secretly or otherwise) you saw those moments when she subtly let you know she thought a lot of this stuff was pretty corny too, even as she gladly delivered punch lines in whatever crazy costume that week’s comedy sketch required. 

 

 

Valerie Bertinelli

The 1970s were a decade with more beautiful prime time stars than any other; there were Charlie’s Angels, of course, and Wonder Woman, the Bionic Woman, Daisy Duke, and your Cruise Director Julie McCoy – but they were all impossible dreams. And then there was Valerie Bertinelli, who was likewise out of my league, but at least she was in my age group. 

 

Was there really any other reason to watch One Day At a Time, at least until fellow Sweetheart Shelley Fabares joined the cast? She had one of those smiles that just burst through the TV screen and into your heart. No wonder Eddie Van Halen married her; if we were Eddie Van Halen, that’s exactly what we would have done too.

 

Katie Couric

Look, I don’t make the rules. And I get that this is a status a journalist would reject more vociferously than an actress or singer. But when Couric joined NBC in the ‘80s and got promoted to Today Show cohost not long after, that title locked onto her like a targeting missile and wouldn’t let go. 

 

 

Who did I miss? Did you have an ideal America’s Sweetheart classic TV star? Is there anyone on TV now that would qualify? Let me know!

Top TV Moments: Karen Valentine

What’s fascinating to me about Karen Valentine is how her career parallels that of Mary Tyler Moore…until it doesn’t. 

Both were young, attractive brunette ingénues when they were cast in a hit television series – Moore in The Dick Van Dyke Show, Valentine in Room 222. Both shows featured outstanding writing and remarkable ensemble casts. And both Moore and Valentine earned Emmy Awards for their work.

After that, Moore would be given her own series, The Mary Tyler Moore Show. And Valentine would be given her own series, Karen. Moore’s show became an Emmy-winning classic that secured her place as one of television’s most beloved stars. But Karen, despite being created by such esteemed talents as Larry Gelbart, Gene Reynolds and Carl Kleinschmitt, was canceled after 13 episodes.

What happened? Depends who you ask. But because of that second classic show Moore is rightly recalled as one of the first ladies of television despite several later, failed attempts at another hit. And while Valentine still worked steadily, It was mostly in made-for-TV movies that were out of circulation for years before YouTube.

What a difference those 13 episodes could have made.

The Ed Sullivan Show (1964)

I have not seen Karen Valentine’s TV debut, for which IMDB has her listed only as singer/dancer. But I always like to list a star’s first appearance. It would be fun to track down the footage from this episode, which also featured Harry Belafonte.

Dream Girl of ’67 (1966)

Valentine’s first series was this now-forgotten, year long beauty pageant created by Chuck Barris. 

A celebrity panel put five contestants through their paces in each episode, with different girls winning the title of ‘Dream Girl’ of the day, the week, the month, and ultimately the entire year. Karen Valentine replaced original hostess Beverly Adams (both were billed on the series as “Resident Dream Girl.”)

Room 222 (1969)

From the moment those school bus doors closed on student -teacher Alice Johnson, Karen Valentine became one of those America’s Sweetheart TV stars that people just loved to watch. 

Teaching at Walt Whitman High was a challenge for even more experienced educators like Pete Dixon. But in episodes like “Alice in Blunderland” viewers watched Alice struggle to learn the ropes and persevere. She was naïve and nervous, but never dumb – this was not a series that would portray a teacher that way. My favorite Alice episode is “Write On, Brother,” in which students launch an underground newspaper. Alice’s support for the effort is tested when the paper does a hit piece on her.

Gidget Grows Up (1969)

Karen Valentine starred in more than 20 made-for-TV movies – this was the first. When we meet Gidget here she’s a college dropout who moves to New York to become a guide at the United Nations. There, she catches the eye of an Arab sheik, a hotel busboy, and a (much older) ambassador’s aide. 

As in the 1965 series, Gidget narrates much of her own story, and Valentine’s vocal inflections sometimes recall those of series star Sally Field. Paul Petersen plays Moondoggie, who is now in the military, and Bob Cummings plays her wise, understanding father (and is surprisingly good in the role Don Porter owned). Paul Lynde delivers some laughs as Gidget’s eccentric movie buff landlord, but somehow the whole thing doesn’t come together. Maybe Gidget without the beach is like Emma Peel without London.

Hollywood Squares (1970)

Valentine spent seven years and more than 170 episodes on this popular daytime and nighttime game show, including some in the famed center square. She was one of the better panelists at making a phony answer sound authentic.

The Daughters of Joshua Cabe (1972)

Produced by Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg, two names famed for escapist TV, this is a delightful movie starring Buddy Ebsen as a Wyoming widower trying to bring his three adult daughters back to his ranch. When all three prefer to stay in the city, he recruits three wayward women to take their place – a hooker (Lesley Anne Warren), a con artist (Karen Valentine) and a pickpocket (Sandra Dee). 

They’re all “bad girls” but in the wholesome TV movie way, and Valentine in particular is a hoot as her character tries to adjust to frontier life. An already stellar cast is further buoyed by Jack Elam, for once not playing a crazy old coot.

The Girl Who Came Gift-Wrapped (1974)

A magazine publisher (Richard Long) receives a bikini-clad girl (Karen Valentine) as a birthday present. Sounds like a set-up for a skit on Love, American Style. But there’s a lot more going on in this surprisingly touching (and funny) TV movie with a wonderful cast – Farrah Fawcett, Tom Bosley, Dave Madden and Reta Shaw. This may be the best remembered of Valentine’s TV movies – and that’s not a bad choice if it is. 

Karen (1975)

A time slot where the lead-in was Hot L Baltimore didn’t help. The recasting of Denver Pyle with Charles Lane was a sign that the cast chemistry wasn’t coming together. And when two of the first three scripts were scrapped before going into production, warning bells were likely sounded. But audiences really liked Karen Valentine, so there was still confidence this series would work. She played Karen Angelo, a lobbyist in Washington DC. Some reviews were positive, but others were merciless. The website TV Obscurities has a great article with more details about the show and why it didn’t click with viewers. 

Starsky and Hutch (1977)

The plot of “Fatal Charm” predates the film Fatal Attraction – Hutch meets Diane, an attractive nurse, and some casual flirtation leads to spending the night together. Valentine plays the troubled young lady, whose behavior grows more and more erratic. The climax offers a gender switch on Psycho, with Hutch as the victim in the shower and Diane as the knife-wielding maniac. 

Muggable Mary, Street Cop  (1982)

Here is yet another enjoyable TV movie now available to watch again thanks to YouTube. Valentine plays Mary, a single parent in New York City who joins the police force not because she wants to protect and serve, but because they have a great medical plan that will help her son, who was born with a medical condition that requires several surgeries. To the surprise of everyone, including herself, she excels at the job. 

She couldn’t count on ‘cute’ anymore as she did in earlier bits of fluff like Coffee, Tea or Me (1973), but here Valentine excels as a flawed adult who, like Alice Johnson, is still finding her way in the world. And bonus points for not overdoing the New York accent.