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was NOT Vivian Bagley.  If you see any of the S4 episodes of Our Miss Brooks, the format changed and the character of Mrs. Nestor was introduced, played by Isabel Randolph.  In at least one episode, I have heard her referred to as a divorcee.  And there is one episode where it it mentioned that she has been married three times!  It was not clarified whether all those marriages ended in divorce, but at least one of them did.

 

Granted, Isabel Randolph was only a semi-regular, unlike Vivian Vance co-starring as Vivian Bagley on The Lucy Show.  Nevertheless, I've always heard Vivian Bagley referred to as "television's first divorced character."  But that isn't true.

 

As for Isabel Randolph, she is perhaps best known as Rob Petrie's mother on The Dick Van Dyke Show -- a part I think suited her well.   Her casting on Our Miss Brooks is rather odd as Mrs. Nestor is supposed to be the sister of Bob Sweeney's character.  She looks more like his mother.  In fact, Isabel Randolph was almost 29 years older than Bob Sweeney.  But then again, this is a show on which a middle-aged teacher, Miss Brooks, is desperately and constantly chasing after a youngish Mr. Boynton.  Mr. Conklin seems more her speed but he's already married.

 

Back to Isabel Randolph, she did have a few associations with Lucille Ball in earlier years, having appeared in The Fuller Brush Girl, The Dark Corner, and Best Foot Forward.  But I don't think she ever appeared with her on TV.  But presumably they must have encountered one another at some point at Desilu.

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I've seen some writings on The Lucy Show which do clarify that she's television's first "regular" divorced woman, meaning a leading role and not recurring. But you're right, most fail to clarify that point and call her the first divorced female on TV at all. I wasn't aware of specific prior examples until now, so thank you for mentioning it!

 

Let's not forget Katy the maid on My Favorite Husband, either, who was constantly referring to her numerous ex-husbands. Yes, it was radio and not television, but it proves divorce was hardly a taboo topic prior to the 1960s.

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I've seen some writings on The Lucy Show which do clarify that she's television's first "regular" divorced woman, meaning a leading role and not recurring. But you're right, most fail to clarify that point and call her the first divorced female on TV at all. I wasn't aware of specific prior examples until now, so thank you for mentioning it!

 

Let's not forget Katy the maid on My Favorite Husband, either, who was constantly referring to her numerous ex-husbands. Yes, it was radio and not television, but it proves divorce was hardly a taboo topic prior to the 1960s.

 

I've only listened to maybe a dozen episodes of MFH, so I wasn't aware Katy was divorced . . . and with numerous ex-hubands?  :)

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LittleRickyII, on 01 Mar 2017 - 07:15 AM, said:

I've only listened to maybe a dozen episodes of MFH, so I wasn't aware Katy was divorced . . . and with numerous ex-hubands?  :)

 

She frequently referred to her first husband, Clarence, and once made reference to six others: Peter, Harold, Oscar, Orville, Eggelberg and Yancy (she remembers because their initials spell PHOOEY).

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