Whereas Mike’s deceased wife is briefly mentioned in the pilot, Carol’s former husband is simply never discussed.
In 1969, Carol Brady ( Florence Henderson) of “The Brady Bunch” was actually a divorcee however, this was considered controversial and the studio refused to allow it. The initial compromise of allowing her to wear pants in one scene in an episode eventually faded away, and capri pants became her signature. Instead, she had to say she was “expecting” or “going to have a baby.” In 1961, Mary Tyler Moore fought the studios to be able to wear capri pants as housewife Laura Petrie on “The Dick Van Dyke Show.” She insisted women wanted to be seen as they are in their everyday lives – and women don’t vacuum in dresses. In 1952, Lucille Ball‘s Lucy Ricardo was one of the first pregnant characters on television however, the word “pregnant” was considered vulgar. Going back through the over seven decades of commercial television, it is somewhat amusing but also distressing to come across the many restrictions women faced as they attempted to bring real women to life on the small screen. And whereas a woman’s choice to be any of these things is wonderful, most homemakers generally do not do their chores in pearls, pumps and perfectly pressed dresses, and women have proven that they are adept at careers beyond the traditional. Once upon a time, in a land near and dear and a time not too long ago, women on television generally fell into one of two categories: the happy homemaker, or the single woman who may have a career (typically teacher or secretary) but is mainly looking for a husband.