TV Moms Then Now

The mom of four grown children, two boys and two girls, Camille, star Bonnie Bedelia, 62, likes to express her earthy side through her paintings, and expressed her frustration after one too many lies and affairs from her husband Zeek by having a fling with her art teacher. Camille doesn't claim to have all the answers when her kids have a problem, often getting flustered when they need her advice. But when they need words of encouragement, she's there, even when they didn't know they needed to hear it.

Airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on NBC.

This real-life couple turned their successful radio program into a TV show about two idealistic parents raising their sons, their real-life offspring David and Eric "Ricky" Nelson, in the fifties. Much like the Bravermans, the late Harriet Nelson wrangled run-of-the mill issues that families face on a day-to-day basis, though she did it in a sweater set and pearls. Harriet got a chance to raise two "daughters," and give some womanly advice when two college gals moved into the boys' old bedroom on the spinoff series, Ozzie's Girls.

She's got the title of mother to her two grown sons, Charlie and Alan, but Evelyn, the sassy Holland Taylor, 67, is much more interested in her luxurious home and wardrobe than to fawn over her children's every move. That's not to say she doesn't meddle, leaving her sons go out of their way to avoid their mom who they sometimes refer to as the devil. Even with that nickname, the many times over married real estate agent would put down her pitchfork and raise hell if her sons were ever in major trouble.

Airs Mondays at 9 p.m. on CBS.

Evelyn must have studied Mona's mating playbook. The mom of divorced ad executive Angela Bower was single and ready to mingle, dating all types of men from boy toys to silver foxes over the show's eight seasons in the eighties, and star Katherine Helmond, 83, was one of the first women of a certain age to be able to embrace her sexuality on TV. Despite her frequent flings, Mona was always there for her family. And her way with men gave her an uncanny sense to know that her daughter was in love with their hunky housekeeper Tony before Angela did.

About the author:

"TV DivaGal" Delaina Dixon is an entertainment journalist who's written about just every form of television. You can read more of her work, with her own dash of DIVAness, at her site www.DelainaDixon.com.