Ellen Harper
Encyclopedia
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
.
. Snobbish by nature, affluent by marriage, Ellen is the oldest of Carl and Thelma Harper's
three children. Even as a child, her snobbish tendencies asserted themselves. Typically, she prefers not to associate with anyone in her family—-unless it benefits her in some way. She was married to an often spoken of but never seen husband named Bruce Jackson, whom she later divorced. Her ability to do anything well irritated her resentful younger sister, Eunice
, to no end. This, added to the fact that Ellen was Carl and Thelma's clear favorite, added to the explosive rivalry between the two sisters. Ellen later learned of Bruce's infidelity from Eunice, who gleefully exposed it to her face. Ellen's relationship with her brother Vinton "Vint" Harper tends to be amicable, although like the rest of the family, she usually dismisses him for being a bit dim.
Shortly after her divorce from Bruce Jackson, Ellen began to date a much younger man named Glenn, to which Thelma vehemently objected. She later began seeing Alvin Tutweiler
, mayor of Raytown. Ellen saw him as the ticket back into the high society that she missed since her divorce. When confronted on this conniving by her mother, she flippantly replied: "it worked for Nancy Reagan
." Ellen was clearly resentful towards her mother when she decided to run against her boyfriend for mayor. Despite Ellen's conniving, Thelma won the Mayor's race. However, Thelma realized that she couldn't run Raytown, so she relinquished the Mayor's office back to Tutweiler.
When the show went into syndication, it was presumed that Ellen still lived in Raytown, but she wasn't seen much after the second season (Betty White was, by this time, starring in The Golden Girls
.)
Despite being her mother's favorite, Ellen (like her siblings) isn't spared Thelma's criticism, insults or wrath. When Fran
died and Ellen's presence was not at her funeral, this caused a huge rift in Thelma and Ellen's relationship, and Thelma threatened to not speak to her again. Afterwards, Ellen made an attempt to mend fences with her mother by showing up with a peace offering, but Thelma remained unmoved and ordered her out of the house. Thelma let go of her animosity when she soon after learned that Ellen had been checked into the hospital for surgery (in reality, she had a mere fanny tuck). It was there that Thelma admitted to Ellen that she had always favored her the best of her three kids.
Ellen was chosen as Raytown Country Club's Woman of the Year, and was embarrassed when Thelma, Vint, and Naomi showed up at the awards ceremony. She has also dated a successful businessman named Glenn, who was so young that Thelma observed "She's old enough to have lived two of his lives."
However, in "The Family" sketches on the Carol Burnett Show, Ellen has no qualms about snapping back at her mother, when she is annoyed with her. In those sketches, she was also near gleeful whenever she got something that Eunice wanted, like a Tiffany lampshade, or a box of fine china. She also tended to rub it into Eunice's face that she was favored, and Eunice was not.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
who made sporadic appearances in the sketch comedy
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
, The Family
The Family (sketch)
The Family is a series of skits that aired on The Carol Burnett Show. It was so successful that it became a recurring skit on The Carol Burnett Show and later spun off into the comedy series Mama's Family, a show which first aired on NBC, and then in syndication...
, and its spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
sitcom, Mama's Family
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,...
. She was played by Betty White
Betty White
Betty White Ludden , better known as Betty White, is an American actress, comedienne, singer, author, and former game show personality. With a career spanning seven decades since 1939, she is best known to modern audiences for her television roles as Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and...
.
Biography
Ellen Mae Harper was born on December 19 in Raytown to Carl Harper and Thelma Crowley 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...
. Snobbish by nature, affluent by marriage, Ellen is the oldest of Carl and Thelma Harper's
Thelma 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...
three children. Even as a child, her snobbish tendencies asserted themselves. Typically, she prefers not to associate with anyone in her family—-unless it benefits her in some way. She was married to an often spoken of but never seen husband named Bruce Jackson, whom she later divorced. Her ability to do anything well irritated her resentful younger sister, Eunice
Eunice Harper Higgins
Eunice Higgins is a fictional character from the comedy sketch, The Family . Eunice was also featured in a film named after her in 1982, on CBS...
, to no end. This, added to the fact that Ellen was Carl and Thelma's clear favorite, added to the explosive rivalry between the two sisters. Ellen later learned of Bruce's infidelity from Eunice, who gleefully exposed it to her face. Ellen's relationship with her brother Vinton "Vint" Harper tends to be amicable, although like the rest of the family, she usually dismisses him for being a bit dim.
Shortly after her divorce from Bruce Jackson, Ellen began to date a much younger man named Glenn, to which Thelma vehemently objected. She later began seeing Alvin Tutweiler
Alvin Tutweiler
Alvin Tutweiler is a fictional character in the television series Mama's Family. He was played by Alan Oppenheimer.-Raytown's Pompous Mayor:Tutweiler was the mayor of the fictitious community of Raytown, where Thelma Harper lived for many years...
, mayor of Raytown. Ellen saw him as the ticket back into the high society that she missed since her divorce. When confronted on this conniving by her mother, she flippantly replied: "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....
." Ellen was clearly resentful towards her mother when she decided to run against her boyfriend for mayor. Despite Ellen's conniving, Thelma won the Mayor's race. However, Thelma realized that she couldn't run Raytown, so she relinquished the Mayor's office back to Tutweiler.
When the show went into syndication, it was presumed that Ellen still lived in Raytown, but she wasn't seen much after the second season (Betty White was, by this time, starring in The Golden Girls
The Golden Girls
The Golden Girls is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris, which originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992. Starring Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty, the show centers on four older women sharing a home in Miami, Florida...
.)
Despite being her mother's favorite, Ellen (like her siblings) isn't spared Thelma's criticism, insults or wrath. When Fran
Fran Crowley
Frances Marie Crowley, commonly known as "Fran Crowley", is a fictional character on the television series, Mama's Family. She was portrayed by Rue McClanahan during the show's first two seasons.-Character history:...
died and Ellen's presence was not at her funeral, this caused a huge rift in Thelma and Ellen's relationship, and Thelma threatened to not speak to her again. Afterwards, Ellen made an attempt to mend fences with her mother by showing up with a peace offering, but Thelma remained unmoved and ordered her out of the house. Thelma let go of her animosity when she soon after learned that Ellen had been checked into the hospital for surgery (in reality, she had a mere fanny tuck). It was there that Thelma admitted to Ellen that she had always favored her the best of her three kids.
Ellen was chosen as Raytown Country Club's Woman of the Year, and was embarrassed when Thelma, Vint, and Naomi showed up at the awards ceremony. She has also dated a successful businessman named Glenn, who was so young that Thelma observed "She's old enough to have lived two of his lives."
However, in "The Family" sketches on the Carol Burnett Show, Ellen has no qualms about snapping back at her mother, when she is annoyed with her. In those sketches, she was also near gleeful whenever she got something that Eunice wanted, like a Tiffany lampshade, or a box of fine china. She also tended to rub it into Eunice's face that she was favored, and Eunice was not.
Trivia
- In The FamilyThe Family (sketch)The Family is a series of skits that aired on The Carol Burnett Show. It was so successful that it became a recurring skit on The Carol Burnett Show and later spun off into the comedy series Mama's Family, a show which first aired on NBC, and then in syndication...
sketches, her husband's name was Arthur and they had two spoiled daughters, named Mary Beth and Debbie.