Mama's Family episode "Rashomama" (last seen played by Carol Burnett) Mama's Family episode "Sins of the Mother" (last seen in general) Mama's Family episode "Pomp and Circumstance" (last heard, portrayed in voice only)
Carol Burnett Tanya Fenmore as a child version of Eunice (Mama's Family episode "Mama's Birthday") Heather Kerr as a teenage version of Eunice (Mama's Family episode "Sins of the Mother") Phyllis Franklin in a voice-only portrayal (Mama's Family episode "Pomp and Circumstance")
Eunice appeared occasionally on "The Family" skit's spin-off sitcom Mama's Family. As portrayed by Carol Burnett, Eunice was in six episodes of Mama's Family, all of which were in the first life of Mama's Family on NBC. Five of Burnett's six appearances were in season 1. The sixth episode of season 2 ("Rashomama"), which aired on November 3, 1983, was Burnett's final portrayal of Eunice. The character made two subsequent appearances in flashback episodes. Tanya Fenmore played Eunice as a child in the nineteenth episode of season 2 ("Mama's Birthday).[3] This marked the character's final appearance in the first life of the sitcom.
Eunice appeared only once during the second life of Mama's Family (originally in first-run syndication). The character's final appearance was in the fourteenth episode of season 4 ("The Sins of the Mother"), portrayed as a teenager by Heather Kerr.[4] Eunice is presented once more in voice only in the final episode of season 4 ("Pomp and Circumstance"); Eunice, voiced by Phyllis Franklin, spoke to Mama over the phone to inform her that she couldn't attend her son Bubba's high school graduation. She declined to explain her reasons to Bubba, hanging up when Mama threatened to put him on the phone.
Always clad in a tattered green dress and wearing her hair in a 1940s-era perm, Eunice is a working-class homemaker married to Ed Higgins. Eunice had a stormy, irrepressible, browbeating persona, always going melodramatically out of control, ranting and raving. However, especially on The Family sketches, Eunice was beaten down by her tyrannical, emotionally-abusive mother, and her fits of rage were usually provoked by her mother's passive-aggressive comments. Her character was portrayed as a jealous antagonist in her appearances on Mama's Family, much more so than her appearances on The Family sketches. Carol Burnett has said that Eunice is her favorite character from her show.[5] Burnett did not appear at all in the first-run syndication version of the show due to her acrimonious 1984 divorce from Carol Burnett Show and Mama's Family producer, Joe Hamilton, who owned all the Mama's Family characters.[6] Also, as revealed in Vicki Lawrence's autobiography, Burnett resented Lawrence for accepting the "Mama" role in first-run syndication, this being during her divorce from Hamilton. She held a grudge against Lawrence up until Hamilton's death in 1991.[7] According to the original Carol Burnett Show, Eunice had three brothers: Phillip (Roddy McDowall); Larry (Alan Alda); Jack (Tom Smothers); and one sister, Ellen (Betty White). Later, Mama's Family added a fourth brother, Vinton, played by Ken Berry. Their Aunt Fran was played by Rue McClanahan.
Writers Dick Clair and Jenna McMahon created the Eunice character as part of a sketch the two would perform on TV variety shows in the 1960s. McMahon played Eunice and Clair played her brother. They later adapted the sketch for The Carol Burnett Show in 1973, and added the mother character (initially thinking Burnett would play the mother). In contrast to being Midwestern as Clair and McMahon had created, Burnett based the characterization on her own mother, who also had a Texas accent.[8]
Burnett said Bob Mackie's costumes helped her with her feel for the character.[9][10]
Family/Early life
Eunice, her husband Ed (Harvey Korman), and an acting teacher (Madeline Kahn)
Eunice and her family are from Raytown, Missouri.[11] Eunice's birthday is December 19 which makes her a Sagittarius. Her mother is Thelma Harper, whom she sometimes refers to as "Old Lady." Eunice eloped with a hardware store owner named Ed Higgins after he impregnated her. Eunice and Ed had two sons, Bubba (who later moved in with Thelma during the run of Mama's Family) and Billy Joe. Her older sister is Ellen Harper and she has at least one brother, depending on the installment (Vinton Harper in Mama's Family; Larry, Phillip, and Jack in the original sketches.)
Eunice had a strained relationship with her parents growing up, as they blatantly favored her sister Ellen. She was bitter towards her father, who called her his "Prune Tart", while calling Ellen "Apple Dumpling".
Even in adulthood, Eunice's mother blatantly favors her rich sister Ellen, though Eunice visits her mother much more often and takes care of her more. This leads to a bitter, cold dynamic between the two sisters, Eunice regarding Ellen as a selfish snob, and Ellen seeing Eunice as obnoxious, embarrassing and crazy.
Eunice and her mother, Thelma Harper have a very dysfunctional relationship. Eunice often tries to please her mother, but she is never satisfied, and nags Eunice to the point where she becomes irate and so agitated she goes into screaming fits. Mama often also guilts Eunice, putting her more on edge. This leads to Eunice snapping back at her mother, calling her "old lady", and hysterically ranting.
Eunice is unhappy with her marriage. She views her husband, Ed, as a dolt and has called him a dumb cluck or a goon numerous times. He eventually leaves her.
Eunice is generally very unhappy and bitter, distraught and broken down by her mother, and very emotionally unstable and going on many destructive hissy fits. She eventually visits a psychiatrist, where Eunice reveals she is worried about her fits, and is not happy about herself. The psychiatrist eventually helps her realize she does not have to let her abusive mother affect her, and leads her on the road to recovery.
References
^McLean, Robert A. (March 14, 1982). "A New Special from Carol Burnett: Reprise of her popular 'Eunice' role strikes a universal chord", The Boston Globe.
^Shales, Tom (March 15, 1982). "Too much 'Eunice'", The Washington Post, p. C11.
^Lawrence, Vicki; Eliot, Marc (1995). Vicki!: the true-life adventures of Miss Fireball - Vicki Lawrence, Marc Eliot - Google Boeken. ISBN9780684802862. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
^Christon, Lawrence (October 13, 1986). "A Beloved Comedienne Returns". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
^Horowitz, Susan (1997). Queens of comedy: Lucille Ball, Phyllis Diller, Carol Burnett, Joan Rivers, and the new generation of funny women. Routledge. pp. 77–78. ISBN2-88449-243-7
^Burnett, Carol (2011). This Time Together: Laughter and Reflection. Random House. p. 88. ISBN0-307-46119-X
^Marc, David (1997). Comic visions: television comedy and American culture. John Wiley & Sons. p. 184. ISBN1-57718-003-8
January 07, 2023
eunice, harper, higgins, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, de. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Eunice Harper Higgins news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2009 Learn how and when to remove this template message Eunice Higgins nee Harper is the main character in The Family comedy sketches played by Carol Burnett and featured on The Carol Burnett Show 1974 78 and Carol Burnett amp Company 1979 Eunice was also featured in her eponymous CBS made for TV movie which aired in 1982 1 2 The film starred Carol Burnett as Eunice Ken Berry as Eunice s well to do brother Philip Berry played a different brother Vinton on the spin off TV series Harvey Korman as Eunice s husband Ed Higgins Betty White as Eunice s sister Ellen Harper Jackson Vicki Lawrence as Eunice s Mama Thelma Harper and Dick Clair as the voice of Eunice s father Carl Harper The film takes the Harper family on a 23 year journey Eunice Harper HigginsCarol Burnett left as Eunice HigginsFirst appearanceFamily sketch episode Phillip s Visit Last appearanceMama s Family episode Rashomama last seen played by Carol Burnett Mama s Family episode Sins of the Mother last seen in general Mama s Family episode Pomp and Circumstance last heard portrayed in voice only Created byDick ClairPortrayed byCarol BurnettTanya Fenmore as a child version of Eunice Mama s Family episode Mama s Birthday Heather Kerr as a teenage version of Eunice Mama s Family episode Sins of the Mother Phyllis Franklin in a voice only portrayal Mama s Family episode Pomp and Circumstance In universe informationNicknameEunie by Ed TitleMrs HigginsOccupationHomemaker MotherFamilyCarl Harper father deceased Thelma Harper mother Ellen Jackson sister Vinton Harper brother SpouseEd HigginsChildrenBubba Higgins son Billy Joe Higgins son mentioned in Mama s Family sketches RelativesFran Crowley aunt deceased Buzz Harper nephew Sonja Harper niece Tiffany Thelma Harper niece Mary Beth Jackson niece Eunice appeared occasionally on The Family skit s spin off sitcom Mama s Family As portrayed by Carol Burnett Eunice was in six episodes of Mama s Family all of which were in the first life of Mama s Family on NBC Five of Burnett s six appearances were in season 1 The sixth episode of season 2 Rashomama which aired on November 3 1983 was Burnett s final portrayal of Eunice The character made two subsequent appearances in flashback episodes Tanya Fenmore played Eunice as a child in the nineteenth episode of season 2 Mama s Birthday 3 This marked the character s final appearance in the first life of the sitcom Eunice appeared only once during the second life of Mama s Family originally in first run syndication The character s final appearance was in the fourteenth episode of season 4 The Sins of the Mother portrayed as a teenager by Heather Kerr 4 Eunice is presented once more in voice only in the final episode of season 4 Pomp and Circumstance Eunice voiced by Phyllis Franklin spoke to Mama over the phone to inform her that she couldn t attend her son Bubba s high school graduation She declined to explain her reasons to Bubba hanging up when Mama threatened to put him on the phone Always clad in a tattered green dress and wearing her hair in a 1940s era perm Eunice is a working class homemaker married to Ed Higgins Eunice had a stormy irrepressible browbeating persona always going melodramatically out of control ranting and raving However especially on The Family sketches Eunice was beaten down by her tyrannical emotionally abusive mother and her fits of rage were usually provoked by her mother s passive aggressive comments Her character was portrayed as a jealous antagonist in her appearances on Mama s Family much more so than her appearances on The Family sketches Carol Burnett has said that Eunice is her favorite character from her show 5 Burnett did not appear at all in the first run syndication version of the show due to her acrimonious 1984 divorce from Carol Burnett Show and Mama s Family producer Joe Hamilton who owned all the Mama s Family characters 6 Also as revealed in Vicki Lawrence s autobiography Burnett resented Lawrence for accepting the Mama role in first run syndication this being during her divorce from Hamilton She held a grudge against Lawrence up until Hamilton s death in 1991 7 According to the original Carol Burnett Show Eunice had three brothers Phillip Roddy McDowall Larry Alan Alda Jack Tom Smothers and one sister Ellen Betty White Later Mama s Family added a fourth brother Vinton played by Ken Berry Their Aunt Fran was played by Rue McClanahan Contents 1 Creation and development 2 Family Early life 3 Relationships 4 ReferencesCreation and development EditWriters Dick Clair and Jenna McMahon created the Eunice character as part of a sketch the two would perform on TV variety shows in the 1960s McMahon played Eunice and Clair played her brother They later adapted the sketch for The Carol Burnett Show in 1973 and added the mother character initially thinking Burnett would play the mother In contrast to being Midwestern as Clair and McMahon had created Burnett based the characterization on her own mother who also had a Texas accent 8 Burnett said Bob Mackie s costumes helped her with her feel for the character 9 10 Family Early life Edit Eunice her husband Ed Harvey Korman and an acting teacher Madeline Kahn Eunice and her family are from Raytown Missouri 11 Eunice s birthday is December 19 which makes her a Sagittarius Her mother is Thelma Harper whom she sometimes refers to as Old Lady Eunice eloped with a hardware store owner named Ed Higgins after he impregnated her Eunice and Ed had two sons Bubba who later moved in with Thelma during the run of Mama s Family and Billy Joe Her older sister is Ellen Harper and she has at least one brother depending on the installment Vinton Harper in Mama s Family Larry Phillip and Jack in the original sketches Eunice had a strained relationship with her parents growing up as they blatantly favored her sister Ellen She was bitter towards her father who called her his Prune Tart while calling Ellen Apple Dumpling Relationships EditThis section consists almost entirely of a plot summary It should be expanded to provide more balanced coverage that includes real world context Please edit the section to focus on discussing the work rather than merely reiterating the plot July 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message Even in adulthood Eunice s mother blatantly favors her rich sister Ellen though Eunice visits her mother much more often and takes care of her more This leads to a bitter cold dynamic between the two sisters Eunice regarding Ellen as a selfish snob and Ellen seeing Eunice as obnoxious embarrassing and crazy Eunice and her mother Thelma Harper have a very dysfunctional relationship Eunice often tries to please her mother but she is never satisfied and nags Eunice to the point where she becomes irate and so agitated she goes into screaming fits Mama often also guilts Eunice putting her more on edge This leads to Eunice snapping back at her mother calling her old lady and hysterically ranting Eunice is unhappy with her marriage She views her husband Ed as a dolt and has called him a dumb cluck or a goon numerous times He eventually leaves her Eunice is generally very unhappy and bitter distraught and broken down by her mother and very emotionally unstable and going on many destructive hissy fits She eventually visits a psychiatrist where Eunice reveals she is worried about her fits and is not happy about herself The psychiatrist eventually helps her realize she does not have to let her abusive mother affect her and leads her on the road to recovery References Edit McLean Robert A March 14 1982 A New Special from Carol Burnett Reprise of her popular Eunice role strikes a universal chord The Boston Globe Shales Tom March 15 1982 Too much Eunice The Washington Post p C11 Mama s Family Mama s Birthday TV Episode 1984 IMDb Mama s Family the Sins of the Mother TV Episode 1988 IMDb Findlay Prentiss February 8 1998 Live show keeps edge on comedy The Post and Courier Humor Helps Carol Burnett Cope ABC News Abcnews go com Retrieved 2013 03 01 Lawrence Vicki Eliot Marc 1995 Vicki the true life adventures of Miss Fireball Vicki Lawrence Marc Eliot Google Boeken ISBN 9780684802862 Retrieved 2013 03 01 Christon Lawrence October 13 1986 A Beloved Comedienne Returns Los Angeles Times Retrieved June 28 2018 Horowitz Susan 1997 Queens of comedy Lucille Ball Phyllis Diller Carol Burnett Joan Rivers and the new generation of funny women Routledge pp 77 78 ISBN 2 88449 243 7 Burnett Carol 2011 This Time Together Laughter and Reflection Random House p 88 ISBN 0 307 46119 X Marc David 1997 Comic visions television comedy and American culture John Wiley amp Sons p 184 ISBN 1 57718 003 8 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Eunice Harper Higgins amp oldid 1065337520, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
