Alvin Tutweiler
Encyclopedia
Alvin Tutweiler is a fictional character in the television series Mama's Family
. He was played by Alan Oppenheimer
.
lived for many years. Despite his often pompous ways and tendency to rub his constituents the wrong way, he was a somewhat decent mayor.
He had met Ellen Harper
not long after she had divorced her husband, Bruce Jackson, and the two bonded. To the snobbish and very conniving Ellen, she saw him as a step to becoming possibly the first lady of the state. Her claim to this was "it worked for Nancy Reagan
!"
As always, trouble began when, during a senior citizen's group meeting at Thelma's house, she challenged the usually unopposed Mayor in his next election. This was a shock to Ellen, who refused to have any part of it, and fought her own family to try and stop it. Obviously her heart was set for Alvin to win, but in the end, despite Ellen's machinations, Thelma defeated him by a shocking landslide.
However, she discovered that campaigning for mayor, and actually running a city are two very different things, and Thelma realized that she couldn't run Raytown, so she resigned and handed the reins of the city back to Alvin, who remained mayor all during the rest of the show's run.
Another time where the mayor made things tough for Thelma was when he was about to demolish the neighborhood she lived in to put in another landfill. Making Raytown distinguished by having two landfills! However, her neighborhood (and her house in particular) was a former house of ill-repute where the founder of Raytown, James A. Ray, had died. It was located at Number One Old Decatur Road, and although the street system had changed, the house that she lived in was purchased back when it was Number One Old Decatur Road, and so the house was saved, to Tutweiler's chagrin, by making it a historical landmark. The neighbors were furious about this because they were hoping for a ton of money, and also to be rid of Thelma as a neighbor.
Mama's Family
Mama's Family is an American television sitcom that premiered on NBC on January 22, 1983. It was cancelled in May 1984, but NBC would continue to air reruns until September 1985. In September 1986, Mama's Family returned in first-run syndication, where it aired for an additional four seasons,...
. He was played by Alan Oppenheimer
Alan Oppenheimer
Alan Oppenheimer is an American character actor and voice actor. He has performed numerous roles on live-action television since the 1960s, and has had an active career doing voice work in cartoons since the 1970s.-Early life:...
.
Raytown's Pompous Mayor
Tutweiler was the mayor of the fictitious community of Raytown, where Thelma HarperThelma Harper
Thelma Harper is a fictional character, who originally appeared on the ongoing Mama's Family on The Carol Burnett Show. She was portrayed by Vicki Lawrence...
lived for many years. Despite his often pompous ways and tendency to rub his constituents the wrong way, he was a somewhat decent mayor.
He had met Ellen Harper
Ellen Harper
Ellen Jackson is a fictional character who made sporadic appearances in the sketch comedy, The Family, and its spin-off sitcom, Mama's Family. She was played by Betty White.-Biography:...
not long after she had divorced her husband, Bruce Jackson, and the two bonded. To the snobbish and very conniving Ellen, she saw him as a step to becoming possibly the first lady of the state. Her claim to this was "it worked for Nancy Reagan
Nancy Reagan
Nancy Davis Reagan is the widow of former United States President Ronald Reagan and was First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989....
!"
As always, trouble began when, during a senior citizen's group meeting at Thelma's house, she challenged the usually unopposed Mayor in his next election. This was a shock to Ellen, who refused to have any part of it, and fought her own family to try and stop it. Obviously her heart was set for Alvin to win, but in the end, despite Ellen's machinations, Thelma defeated him by a shocking landslide.
However, she discovered that campaigning for mayor, and actually running a city are two very different things, and Thelma realized that she couldn't run Raytown, so she resigned and handed the reins of the city back to Alvin, who remained mayor all during the rest of the show's run.
Another time where the mayor made things tough for Thelma was when he was about to demolish the neighborhood she lived in to put in another landfill. Making Raytown distinguished by having two landfills! However, her neighborhood (and her house in particular) was a former house of ill-repute where the founder of Raytown, James A. Ray, had died. It was located at Number One Old Decatur Road, and although the street system had changed, the house that she lived in was purchased back when it was Number One Old Decatur Road, and so the house was saved, to Tutweiler's chagrin, by making it a historical landmark. The neighbors were furious about this because they were hoping for a ton of money, and also to be rid of Thelma as a neighbor.