The Family (sketch)

"The Family" is a series of comedy sketches featured on The Carol Burnett Show, with one installment airing on Carol Burnett & Company. The Carol Burnett Show debuted the skit series during its seventh season in 1973–74. It would air new installments of the skit for the remainder of its 11-season run, through its final season in 1977–78. However, the final installment of "The Family" wouldn't air until September 8, 1979 on a different four-week summer series titled Carol Burnett & Company. This was the only installment of "The Family" that did not air on The Carol Burnett Show. The Carol Burnett Show had completed its run almost a year and a half earlier on March 29, 1978. Altogether, there were 31 installments of "The Family" sketches.

Not only was "The Family" well received enough to become a recurring skit on The Carol Burnett Show, but it was admired enough to be developed into a 1982 made-for-TV movie, Eunice, and then spun off into a full-fledged comedy series in 1983, titled Mama's Family: a show which first aired on NBC, until it was cancelled in 1984; then revived in 1986 in first-run syndication, lasting until its series finale in 1990.Carol Burnett, whose Eunice Higgins character was central in "The Family" sketches, did not appear in the sitcom's second life, due to her acrimonious 1984 divorce from The Carol Burnett Show and Mama's Family producer Joe Hamilton, who owned all the Mama's Family characters. Burnett also resented Vicki Lawrence for accepting the role of Mama in first-run syndication as she would be working for Hamilton.

Along with featuring Carol Burnett as Eunice Higgins, "The Family" skits featured Vicki Lawrence as Thelma Harper (originally, only known as "Mama" for the most part, although Mickey Hart, Ed's employee, had referred to her as "Thelma"), and Harvey Korman as Ed Higgins. In "The Family" sketches, Mama has five children (in the subsequent series, she has only three): in addition to Ellen Harper (played by Betty White) and Eunice, there were three sons: Larry Harper (Alan Alda), Phillip Harper (Roddy McDowall), and Jack Harper (Tommy Smothers). All three were replaced by Vinton Harper, played by Ken Berry, in the spin-off television series. Berry played Phillip in the made-for-TV movie, Eunice (precursor to Mama's Family). Tim Conway played recurring character Mickey Hart, Ed's employee.

...
Wikipedia