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Mary Richards, Archie Bunker and More of the Most Hilarious Characters From the ‘70s

Entertainment

Dec 23, 2019 5:12 pm·

By Closer Staff

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The ‘70s were a groundbreaking time for many reasons, but especially on television, when actors and actresses were making viewers forget their worries and laugh at home. Here is a definitive list of the characters with the best comedic chops from that decade.

1 of 23

Mary Richards, ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show’

“You’ve got spunk,” grouched Mary Richards’ WJM-TV newsroom boss, Lou. “I hate spunk.” The single working woman portrayed by Mary Tyler Moore was an inspiration in the 1970s and went on to become a feminist icon. The actress’ comedic timing was also legendary. Just check out “Chuckles Bites the Dust,” where a grieving Mary chastises her colleagues for making jokes at the TV station’s beloved clown Chuckles’ death, only to hilariously get the giggles in the middle of his funeral.

2 of 23

Rhoda Morgenstern, ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show’

A Jewish girl from the Bronx turned window dresser in the Twin Cities, Rhoda’s down-to-earth brashness was the opposite of her best friend Mary’s uptight Minnesota nice. Witty and insecure, Rhoda (Valerie Harper) started off as the schlumpy, overweight friend before she lost the weight and found her fashion sense. Rhoda’s best accessory? Those head scarves. Her most memorable fat-girl line? “I don’t know why I should even bother to eat this,” she said, holding a piece of chocolate. “I should just apply it directly to my hips.”

3 of 23

Sue Ann Nivens, ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show’

Before she was a Golden Girl, Betty White portrayed Sue Ann Nivens, the host of WJM-TV’s “The Happy Homemaker.” And like some modern-day cooking show personalities, Sue Ann was competitive, a perfectionist and a master of shade. Entering Mary’s new apartment, she announced, “I hope you’ll forgive me for not buying you a housewarming gift. I’m just waiting to see what you need most desperately. You’ve certainly left me an open field!”

4 of 23

George Jefferson, ‘The Jeffersons’

He moved on up to the Upper East Side of Manhattan, but self-made dry-cleaning magnate George Jefferson never forgot his roots, nor was he shy about flaunting his newfound wealth. Known as much for his strut and physical humor as he was for his racially charged zingers, Sherman Hemsley’s diminutive George was at his best — or worst — when trading barbs with his stately neighbors and sassy back-talking maid, Florence. But it was his wife, Louise, who always reeled him in with a dose of her dry wit.

5 of 23

Mork, ‘Mork & Mindy’

An extraterrestrial from the planet Ork sent to Earth to observe human behavior, a then-unknown Robin Williams quickly “nanu-nanu”ed his way into the zeitgeist. Landing in Boulder, Colo., Mork encounters Mindy, a wholesome twenty-something who lets him move into her attic and agrees to keep his alien status hush-hush. Whether he was speaking gibberish, drinking water through his finger or standing on his head when told to sit down, Mork’s manic antics meant Mindy had lots of explaining to do. Can you say “shazbot”?

6 of 23

Arnold Jackson, ‘Diff’rent Strokes’

As the younger of two brothers from Harlem adopted by a rich widower and his daughter, Gary Coleman’s character, Arnold Jackson, used his chubby cheeks and streetwise bravado to get himself both in and out of trouble. Arnold’s zany antics centered around school and his nemesis, “the Gooch,” his never-ending schemes and his acclimation to upper-crust living. But it was when Arnold addressed his brother with his famous catchphrase, “Whatchoo talkin’ about, Willis?” that we cracked up the most.

7 of 23

Jack Tripper, ‘Three’s Company’

How lucky can a guy get? Lusty bachelor Jack gets to share a cozy beachside bungalow with the beautiful Chrissy and Janet — but only by pretending to be gay to their prudish, nosy landlord. The sexual innuendo flew fast and thick, but it was John Ritter’s physical comedy skills that made the madcap show a stand- out. The scene where Jack unwittingly mixes tranquilizers and cocktails at a party and hits the dance floor (“Strut with me mama!”) is one of the funniest in sitcom history.

8 of 23

Arnold Horshack, ‘Welcome Back Kotter’

Vinnie may have been the heartthrob, but Arnold Horshack got the biggest laughs as class clown of the unruly gang of re-medial high school students called the Sweathogs. Unlike his slacker friends, he was always wildly waving his hand to answer the teach’s questions (“Ooh, ooh, Mista Kahta! Mista Kahta!”) — usually incorrectly. Horshack was the sole Sweathog who got promoted out of class, only to return because he missed his pals. He put on the dumb act “in order to be liked,” said actor Ron Palillo. “He was the smartest kid in school.”

9 of 23

Dwayne Schneider, ‘One Day at a Time’

Referred to primarily by his last name — often screamed in frustration by single mom Ann Romano — building superintendent Dwayne Schneider (Patrick Harrington Jr.) inserted himself into the lives of her family (which included two teen daughters) as easily as he let himself into their apartment with his jangling master key collection. Well-meaning but hopelessly stuck in an antiquated sexist mind-set, Schneider was dragged into an age of female equality by his interactions with Ann’s family.

10 of 23

Les Nessman, ‘WKRP in Cincinnati’

The motley crew of staffers at Ohio radio station WKRP were each written as complex and flawed individuals, but none was as haplessly lovable as news director Les Nessman, played by Richard Sanders. Frequently mispronouncing names on air and never quite grasping the value of some stories over others, Les was nonetheless proud of his Silver Sow Award for farm news and bragged of it often. But you had to respect his boundaries — which, in his case, meant a perimeter laid out in masking tape to create his own “office.”

11 of 23

Felix Unger, ‘The Odd Couple’

Tony Randall shone as the persnickety half of The Odd Couple, Felix Unger. After his wife kicks him out, the neat and tidy commercial photographer moves in with his sloppy friend, Oscar Madison, and constantly fails to get the beer-loving sportswriter to clean up his act. With his mobile face and physicality, Randall could go from suave to unhinged like no one else, and his signature allergic nose-honk will never be matched. “The reason that so few of us are good at comedy is that it’s so damned hard,” he once said before asking, “Have you ever seen Paul Newman in a comedy?”

12 of 23

Hawkeye Pierce, ‘MAS*H’

He wielded a wit as sharp as his scalpel, but Capt. Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce was just trying to stay sane as chief surgeon of a mobile army hospital amid the blood and horror (and awful mess-tent grub) of the Korean War. Anti-war and anti- authoritarian, Alan Alda’s martini-swilling Hawkeye spent his spare time playing pranks and womanizing, but underneath the smart aleck was a sensitive soul who could go from Groucho Marx silly to serious and sober in a heartbeat.

13 of 23

J.J. Evans, ‘Good Times’

Groundbreaking as a sitcom because it featured television’s first African-American two-parent family, the Evanses, Good Times made a star of the eldest son, J.J., with his elaborately enunciated slogan, “Dy-no-mite!” As played by comedian Jimmie Walker, J.J. was sometimes criticized for being lackadaisical when it came to employment, but it was his boisterous nature and rollicking voice that made him appear even grander than his lanky frame.

14 of 23

Andrew “Squiggy” Squiggman, ‘Laverne & Shirley’

With his unique look — buggy eyes, greaser haircut and motorcycle jacket — would-be ladies’ man Squiggy always made a splash when entering a room alongside partner in crime Lenny. His trademark “Helloooo” was perfectly creepy. Not that that ever stopped him. “Squiggy looks in the mirror and thinks he’s the handsomest guy in the world,” said David Lander, who originated the character with college pal McKean in comedy clubs. The two hoped for a Lenny and Squiggy spin-off. Said Lander, “There’s so much more to the characters that we could develop.”

15 of 23

Lenny Kosnowski, ‘Laverne & Shirley’

Played by the incomparable Michael McKean, Lenny was one of two neighbors who insinuated themselves into the lives of Shotz beer workers Laverne DeFazio and Shirley Feeney. A truck driver for the brewery, fair-haired Lenny was the taller and ganglier of the duo, who were known for their slapstick physical comedy — and for always making a spectacular entrance, usually into the girls’ apartment — much to Laverne and Shirley’s dismay.

16 of 23

Archie Bunker, ‘All in the Family’

He called his wife, Edith, a “dingbat”; his liberal son-in-law Mike a “Polack pinko”; and his daughter Gloria a “weepin’ nellie atheist.” That’s when Archie Bunker wasn’t griping about Edith’s visits to the “groinacologist,” railing against “ivory showers” and pooh-poohing “detergents to crime.” But at the end of the day, Carroll O’Connor somehow made the reactionary blue-collar worker a complex and even sympathetic character. “What I’ve done is make Archie not the head of a lynch mob but a human being,” the actor once said. In fact, Archie was TV’s most lovable bigot.

17 of 23

Bob Hartley, ‘The Bob Newhart Show’

At the office, buttoned-down Chicago psychologist Dr. Bob Hartley had to deal with oddball patients, a sassy secretary and the swinging single orthodontist from the suite next door. At home, he lovingly sparred with his sarcastic and sexy schoolteacher wife, Emily. Through it all, Bob Newhart played the poker-faced straight man, under-reacting with his inimitable bone-dry wit. It was the only way to go, the stand-up comic once explained, saying Dr. Bob had to be “the glue that holds things together — because everyone else is nuts.”

18 of 23

Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli, ‘Happy Days’

Too cool for school — and definitely too cool to dance — the Fonz, in his trademark jeans, white T-shirt and leather jacket, was the breakout star of the 1950s-set sitcom. Able to bring a jukebox to life with his fist, unhook a bra with one pinch and get a girl on each arm with a single snap, the Fonz was the idol of the clean-cut kids hanging out at Arnold’s. Years later, actor Henry Winkler admitted his catchphrase, “Aaaaay!” was a way of coping with his dyslexia: “Learning lines was so hard, I reduced an entire paragraph to a sound, ‘Aaaaay.’”

19 of 23

Maude Findlay, ‘Maude’

Brassy, sassy Maude Findlay was an incorrigibly outspoken middle-aged housewife who wore her liberal politics on her sleeve, which caused no end of bickering with her arch-conservative, alcoholic husband, Walter. Maude herself was fond of the booze, as well as tranquilizers and Valium, which took the sting out of his frequent insults. “God’ll get you for that, Walter,” was her sardonic, deadpan reply. Whenever Maude, played by the deep-voiced Bea Arthur, answered the phone, people mistook her for her husband — a running gag that never got old.

20 of 23

Fred Sanford, ‘Sanford and Son’

Cantankerous junkyard owner Fred Sanford was sometimes described as the African-American version of Archie Bunker: They both favored jokes with racial overtones, they were both hardheaded and the two were similarly redeemable when it came to protecting their families. Only in Fred’s case, his favorite relative wasn’t his embattled son, Lamont, but his late wife, Elizabeth. Clutching his chest for effect, Redd Foxx’s Fred would feign a heart attack, crying out to Elizabeth that this was “the big one.”

21 of 23

Latka Gravas, ‘Taxi’

Sunshine Cab’s mechanic Latka Gravas hailed from a strange land and spoke a strange tongue, though he eventually learned to say “Thank you very much!” — but never at the right moment. Suffering from multiple personality disorder, the character, played by comic chameleon Andy Kaufman, sometimes morphed into a smooth-talking lounge lizard named Vic Ferrari. But it was the lovably loopy Latka who got the last — and biggest — laugh at his farewell party, when he offered himself to fellow cabbie Elaine, with the unforgettable line, “Tonight, I will give you my body, to use as you will.”

22 of 23

Louie De Palma, ‘Taxi’

The little man everyone loved to hate, Danny DeVito’s Louie De Palma was the despotic dispatcher who lived to torment the taxi drivers at New York’s Sunshine Cab Co. Holding court inside his caged-in office at the garage, he boasted about his crimes and misdemeanors, including stealing from the bosses and spying on sexy Elaine while she changed clothes. Loathsome Louie was also prone to dispensing nasty nuggets of un-PC wisdom to his underlings. “Hey, ya wanna great tip? Here it is: Never pick up a cripple.”

23 of 23

Flo Castleberry, ‘Alice’

In Phoenix’s Mel’s Diner, it was the waitresses who truly ruled the place, frequently talking back to the greasy spoon’s namesake owner. Working alongside the title character and scatterbrained Vera was the strong and brassy Flo, whose catchphrase, “Kiss my grits,” earned her pop culture ubiquity. Actress Polly Holliday’s role was eventually expanded into its own two-season series, Flo. Whether she was taking care of business or flirting up a storm, Flo always remained sassy.