Monday, October 1, 2012

CLASSIC TV LESSONS

I was watching an episode of "Father Knows Best", one afternoon, around the time "The Help" was in theaters. I wondered if, in the 50's, the character "Grace" had sparked controversy or conversation. (For my fellow classic TV trivia buffs, she was the 74 year-old, white, cleaning woman who'd worked at Jim Anderson's insurance company for 32 years.) I also wondered if the role had been offered to a Black actress before being given to Mary Young (1879-1971)...anyway, Grace came in to clean Jim's office, and shared advice from her father, which distracted me from the whole scarce-roles-for-Black actresses issue. It was just a simple lesson from which anyone could benefit: "Don't try to be what ya AIN'T. Find out what ya ARE, and be the best one of it." ...: )