Tuesday, April 16, 2019
Remembering Georgia Engel of The Mary Tyler Moore Show; BET Gets Another Comedy Series

Actress Georgia Engel, who was best known for her role as Georgette Franklin Baxter in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, has died. She died on April 12 in Princeton, New Jersey. Ms. Engel was 70.

Engel starred as Georgette Franklin Baxter in 57 episodes of the CBS sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show from 1972 to 1977. Georgette was the ditzy but sweet-natured girlfriend and later wife of Ted Baxter (Ted Knight). They adopted a 8-year-old son named David (Robbie Rist) and had a baby girl of their own named Mary Lou. The series also starred Mary Tyler Moore, Edward Asner, Gavin MacLeod, Valerie Harper (1970-1974), Cloris Leachman (1970-1975), John Amos (1970-1973) and Betty White (1973-1977). Engel received two Emmy nominations for Outstanding Continuing Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for the role in 1976 and 1977. She appeared as Georgette in the two Rhoda's Wedding episodes of Rhoda in 1974 and an episode of Hi Honey, I'm Home in 1992.

After The Mary Tyler Moore Show ended, she starred as Mitzi Maloney in the 1977-1978 CBS sitcom The Betty White Show. Mitzi Maloney was Joyce Whitman's (Betty White) naive best friend/roommate. The series also starred John Hillerman, Caren Kaye, Alex Henteloff, Barney Phillips and Charles Cyphers.
She appeared as Loretta Smoot in the short-lived 1980 ABC sitcom Goodtime Girls, which was set in Washington, D.C., during World War II (1942). Loretta shared a one-room apartment with Edith Bedelmeyer (Annie Potts) and Betty Crandall (Lorna Patterson). The series also starred Francine Tacker, Marcia Lewis, Merwin Goldsmith, Peter Scolari, Adrian Zmed and Sparky Marcus.
Engel starred as Susan Elliot in the 1983-1984 NBC sitcom Jennifer Slept Here, which starred Ann Jillian as a ghost named Jennifer Farrell. Susan Elliot was the wife of George (Brandon Maggart) and the mother of Joey (John P. Navin, Jr.) and Marilyn (Mya Akerling). Glenn Scarpelli played Marc, the next-door neighbor and friend of Joey.

She had recurring roles in several sitcoms. She appeared as Shirley Burleigh in 17 episodes of Coach from 1991 to 1997. Shirley Burleigh was the cheerful wife of Minnesota State athletic director Howard Burleigh (Kenneth Kimmins). She played Pat MacDougall, Robert Barone's (Brad Garrett) mother-in-law and the wife of Hank MacDougall (Fred Willard), in 14 episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond from 2003 to 2005. Engel received three Emmy nominations for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for the role in 2003, 2004 and 2005. She reunited with Betty White once again in the TV Land sitcom Hot in Cleveland in 2012. She appeared as Mamie Sue Johnson, a naive friend of Elka's (Betty White), in 18 episodes from 2012 to 2015.
Some of her other sitcom guest appearances included Mork & Mindy, The Associates, The Love Boat, Working, The Office, Two and a Half Men and One Day at a Time (2018).
She was also known for her voice work. Her voice film credits included The Magic of Herself the Elf, The Care Bears Movie, Dr. Dolittle 2, Boog and Elliot's Midnight Bun Run, Open Season, Open Season 2 and Open Season 3. Her TV voice credits included Hercules and Hey Arnold!.
Ms. Engel was a funny actress with a sweet voice. She was perfect in her role as the lovable Georgette Franklin Baxter. It was great to see her work with Betty White so often. We thank her for the many laughs and entertainment she brought us during her career. She will be deeply missed.
Share your memories on our The Mary Tyler Moore Show message board. View photos in our galleries.

On the heels of the second season pick up of critically-acclaimed Boomerang series BET Networks announces continued partnership with Lena Waithe as it green lights her single-camera comedy series Twenties. Created and written by Waithe when she was in her early 20s the eight-episode half-hour series, follows the adventures of a queer black girl, Hattie, and her two straight best friends, Marie and Nia, who spend most of their days talking 'ish' and chasing their dreams. Twenties is a scripted show about friendship, finding love, and messing everything up along the way. The project was originally developed by TBS but didn't move forward.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Monday, September 14
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - "The War on Alcohol" (FX and FXX, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Dennis, Dee and Frank look to recruit white-collar suits for happy hour while Mac and Charlie seek to enlist blue-collar factory workers so they can return the bar to the melting pot it once was.
Adults - "Talia" (FX and FXX, 9:33PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Anton learns that his sister is starting a family, while Issa begins thinking about her own fertility. Written by Shaun Menchel; Directed by Maggie Carey.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 14)
Monday, September 14
- Mariska Hargitay (Can't Hurry Love) - Watch Mariska on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC. She also talks about hosting the Emmys on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
- Salma Hayek Pinault (The Sinbad Show) - Salma appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. She also talks about Without Blood on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Tracee Ellis Ross (black-ish/Girlfriends) - Tracee is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Tyler Perry (House of Payne/Love Thy Neighbor) - Tyler talks about Why Did I Get Married Again? on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Ke Huy Quan (Head of the Class/Together We Stand) - Ke talks about Never Say Die: A Memoir on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
- Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother/Star Raving Mad/Doogie Howser, M.D.) - Neil talks about Sunny Dancer on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Olivia Rodrigo (Bizaardvark) - Drew is kicking off season 7 with an extra special interview with Olivia on site at the first ever Daisy Chain Fields Festival! Olivia is joining Drew to debut personal space, a new intimate interview style where Drew gets to know her guests on a deeper level on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Tony Danza (Taxi/Who's the Boss?/Hudson Street/The Tony Danza Show) - Tony appears on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:15am.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
01/20/26 - The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Golden Age Collection (Blu-ray)
01/27/26 - The New Fred and Barney Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/11/26 - Tom and Jerry - The Complete CinemaScope Collection (Blu-ray)
03/24/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Vault - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
04/11/26 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Fourth Season (DVD)
04/21/26 - Famous Studios Champion Collection (Blu-ray) (DVD)
05/19/26 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series - 75th Anniversary Edition (DVD)
05/19/26 - Looney Tunes Cartoons - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
06/16/26 - Difficult People - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
06/30/26 - Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
07/14/26 - The Office - The Complete Series - Superfan Extended Episodes (Blu-ray)
07/28/26 - The Bill Dana Show - The Complete Series (DVD)
07/28/26 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series - 75th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray)
07/28/26 - The Paper - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
08/25/26 - Perfect Strangers - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/08/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Vault - Volume 3 (Blu-ray)
09/22/26 - Bridget Loves Bernie - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
09/29/26 - The Quick Draw McGraw Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
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