One Day at a Time (1975 TV series)

File:One day at a time 1975.jpeg
***One Day at a Time*** is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from December 16, 1975, to May 28, 1984. It starred Bonnie Franklin as a divorced mother raising two teenage daughters, played by Mackenzie Phillips and Valerie Bertinelli in Indianapolis.

## Background

The series was created by Whitney Blake and Allan Manings, a husband-and-wife writing duo who had both been actors in the 1950s and 1960s. The series was based on Whitney Blake's own life as a single mother raising her three children (including future actress Meredith Baxter) after her divorce from her first husband.

## Overview

Divorced mother Ann Romano moves herself and her teenage daughters, rebellious Julie and wisecracking Barbara, from their home in Logansport, Indiana, to Indianapolis. Ann frequently struggles with maintaining her role as mother while affording her daughters the freedom she never had as a young woman. Dwayne Schneider, the building superintendent, provides usually unwanted advice to the tenants, especially Ann.

Ann dates her divorce lawyer, David Kane and they become engaged, but on their wedding day David says he wants kids; Ann does not, so they call off the wedding.

After David takes a job in Los Angeles, the show focuses on Ann's dilemmas as single mother and career woman, as well as the girls' growing pains, with Schneider becoming a more welcome part of the family. Ann's strained relationship with her ex-husband Ed slowly improves, as does the girls' relationship with his new wife Vickie. Julie and Barbara graduate from high school and head into the working world. Julie eventually marries flight-attendant Max Horvath. Alex, the orphaned son of Ann's deceased boyfriend, moves in, changing the dynamics in the female-dominated apartment. Later in the series' run, Julie gives birth to daughter "Little Annie" Horvath, Barbara marries dental student Mark Royer, and Ann's mother Katherine moves nearby.

In the penultimate episode, Ann decides to take a job in London, leaving her daughters in Indianapolis raising their own families. In the series finale, Schneider also leaves town, moving to Florida to take care of his niece and nephew.

## Production

For its entire run, the series was taped in Hollywood before a studio audience. Originally, it was taped at CBS Television City. Shortly after its premiere, the series began taping at Metromedia Square, where it remained until 1982. From 1982 to 1984, the series was taped at Universal Studios.

Like many sitcoms developed by Norman Lear, *One Day at a Time* often tackled serious issues in life and relationships, particularly those related to second-wave feminism, and can be considered an example of the "dramedy" (hybrid comedy/drama) genre. Stories depicting such events as weddings, births, and other important milestones frequently stretched over two-, three-, and four-part episodes.

### Theme Song & Opening Credits

The theme song for *One Day at a Time*,*This Is It,* was composed by Brill Building songwriter Jeff Barry and his wife Nancy Barry, and performed by recording artist Polly Cutter. The opening credits were originally seen over a filmed sequence showing Ann, Julie, and Barbara excitedly moving into their new home. Later, the opening credits sequence mostly consisted of clips of each cast member taken from previous episodes.

### Casting

Actors Bonnie Franklin, Pat Harrington, Jr., and Valerie Bertinelli were the only cast members to remain with the series throughout its entire run. Lead actress Mackenzie Phillips was fired after the fifth season due to growing problems with substance abuse. She later returned in a frequent recurring role. Original cast member Richard Masur was written out early in the second season, but returned as a guest-star in the sixth-season finale.

After Masur's departure, the producers tried going in a different direction: instead of Ann Romano being romantically involved with a man, she should have a comedic foil. For that role, producer Lear chose actress and comedienne Mary Louise Wilson, who had just completed a successful run on Broadway as Tessie Tura in a revival of *Gypsy* starring Angela Lansbury. Wilson was signed to play Ginny Wroblicki, a cocktail waitress who moves into Schneider's apartment building, and immediately becomes Ann's best friend and confidante. The shows' ratings began to decline soon after Wilson's arrival, as the character of Ginny Wroblicki proved to be unpopular with viewers. According to her memoir, *My First Hundred Years in Show Business*, prior to being cast as Ginny, Wilson had never seen *One Day at a Time* and immediately sat down and watched an episode one night in her apartment.

She did not find the sitcom funny at all and was not given a script until the first read-through of her first episode. Wilson also did not get along with Franklin, "who took her role as arbiter over moral issues very seriously" and who considered herself "our foremost authority on Broadway." She also thought that Harrington's character of Schneider was not funny at all, although she liked Harrington himself, and found him hilarious off-screen.

Wilson wrote that "aside from Lear, nobody thought I was funny...To make matters worse, each character, according to the show's formula, had to have a 'serious' moral dilemma at some point, and I was given some problem about an illegitimate child to work out in these increasingly sentimental scenes that made my bowels shrink." At the end of the second season of *One Day at a Time*, Wilson begged her agent to ask Lear to release her from her contract. Wilson later admitted, "I felt terribly wrong to be so miserable. I knew this was the kind of break actors longed for."

Wilson was also unaccustomed to working on a sitcom with four cameras in front of a live audience where "you said your line when the red light on the camera went on...and there follows a pause longer than the river Styx before the light on camera four goes on" at which the character you're speaking to says the next line. After the meeting with her agent, Wilson impulsively changed her mind and agreed to stay with the series, but it was too late. Her agent had already informed Norman Lear of Wilson's unhappiness and she was released from the show after appearing in 14 episodes. The character of Ginny Wroblicki was never seen, referred to, or heard from again except in a fifth-season episode ("Retrospective") made up mainly of clips from earlier in the series.

For the next two seasons, the central cast of Ann, Julie, Barbara and Schneider was supplemented by recurring characters, including William Kirby Cullen as Julie's boyfriend Chuck Butterfield, Howard Morton and K Callan as Chuck's parents, John Putch as Barbara's awkward friend Bob Morton, Scott Colomby as Barbara's boyfriend Cliff Randall, and John Hillerman and Charles Siebert as Ann's bosses, Mr. Connors and Mr. Davenport, respectively. Dick O'Neill and Nedra Volz made three appearances together as Orville and Emily, residents of the retirement home where the main characters put on a semiregular variety show. Joseph Campanella also made several appearances as Ann's ex-husband and the girls' father, Ed Cooper.

Michael Lembeck joined the series as Julie's husband, Max, in the fifth season, but he was written out as a consequence of Phillips' firing (but later returned in season seven along with Philips). A steady stream of regulars was added in the ensuing seasons, including Ron Rifkin as Ann's boyfriend, Nick; Glenn Scarpelli as Nick's son, Alex; and Boyd Gaines as Barbara's boyfriend, later husband, Mark. Shelley Fabares, who had previously guest-starred as Ann's rival co-worker Francine Webster, appeared more frequently, eventually becoming a regular. Nanette Fabray, who played Ann's mother, also made more frequent appearances before becoming a regular cast member in the final season. Howard Hesseman joined the series for a short time as Mark's father, Sam, who would become Ann's second husband.

## Cast

* Ann Romano played by Bonnie Franklin
* Julie Cooper Horvath played by Mackenzie Phillips
* David Kane played by Richard Masur
* Barbara Cooper Royer played by Valerie Bertinelli
* Dwayne Schneider played by Pat Harrington Jr.
* Ginny Wroblick played by Mary Louise Wilson
* Max Horvath played by Michael Lembeck
* Nick Handris played by Ron Rifkin
* Alex Handris played by Glenn Scarpelli
* Mark Royer played by Boyd Gaines
* Francine Webster played by Shelley Fabares
* Katherine Romano played by Nanette Fabray
* Sam Royer played by Howard Hesseman

## Episodes

### Season One

* Ann's Decision
* Chicago Rendezvous
* Jealousy
* How to Succeed Without Trying
* David Loves Ann
* Julie's Best Friend
* Super Blues
* All the Way
* Fighting City Hall
* Julie's Job
* The College Man
* Father David
* Dad Comes Back (Part 1)
* Dad Comes Back (Part 2)

### Season Two

* The Runaways (Part 1)
* The Runaways (Part 2)
* The Runaways (Part 3)
* The Runaways (Part 4)
* Barbara's Emergence
* David's New Job (Part 1)
* David's New Job (Part 2)
* The Upholstery Ripoff
* Schneider's Pride and Joy
* A Visit from Dad
* The Maestro
* Happy New Year
* J.C. and Julie (Part 1)
* J.C. and Julie (Part 2)
* The New Car
* Schneider Loves Ginny
* Ginny's Child
* Julie's Operation
* The Traveling Salesperson
* The Butterfields
* Barbara Plus Two
* The Singles Bar
* The College Question
* The Girls Alone

### Season Three

* The Older Man (Part 1)
* The Older Man (Part 2)
* The Older Man (Part 3)
* The Older Man (Part 4)
* Ann's Out-of-Town Client
* Bob Loves Barbara
* The Second Mrs. Cooper
* The Ghost Writer
* Barbara's Friend (Part 1)
* Barbara's Friend (Part 2)
* Schneider's Kid
* Ann's Crisis
* The Race Driver (Part 1)
* The Race Driver (Part 2)
* Ann's Secretary
* Barbara's Rebellion
* The New Owner
* Ann's Competitor
* The Dress Designer
* Take the Money
* Barbara the Fink
* Julie's Big Move (Part 1)
* Julie's Big Move (Part 2)
* Ann, the Father

### Season Four

* Father, Dear Father (Part 1)
* Father, Dear Father (Part 2)
* Ann's Friend
* Bob's New Girl
* Schneider's Helper
* Yes, Sir, That's My Baby
* The Dating Game
* Peabody's War
* Jealousy (Part 1)
* Jealousy (Part 2)
* The Arab Connection
* Hold the Mustard
* Girl Talk
* The Married Man (Part 1)
* The Married Man (Part 2)
* The Married Man (Part 3)
* Going Nowhere
* Francine Strikes Again
* The Dental Hygienist
* The Piano Teacher
* The Broken Nose
* Mad for Each Other
* The Graduation
* Fear of Success
* Grandma Leaves Grandpa
* Schneider Gets Fired

### Season Five

* Back to School
* Pressure
* Julie's Wedding (Part 1)
* Julie's Wedding (Part 2)
* Home Again, Home Again
* Between Mother and Daughter
* Small Wonder
* Et tu, Ann
* A Little Larceny
* Heart Attack
* Male Jealousy
* Happy New Year II
* Schneider, the Model
* Triple Play
* So Long, Mom
* Old Horizons
* Endless Elliot
* Retrospective
* Girl with a Past
* Perils of Plastic
* No Laughing Matter
* Connor's Crisis
* Grecian Yearn
* Pen Pals
* The Spirit is Willing

### Season Six

* Teacher's Pet
* The Amarillo Connection
* Ann Meets Nick (Part 1)
* Ann Meets Nick (Part 2)
* Farewell, My Suite
* Merry Widow
* The Drop Out
* A Shot in the Dark
* Sunday Father
* November Song (Part 1)
* November Song (Part 2)
* Five Fingered Discount
* I Do, I Do
* A Tiny Romance
* Out of Bounds
* Once a Mom
* Alex's Project
* Caveat Emptor
* Small Wonder II
* Wicked Ann
* Indianapolis Story

### Season Seven

* Alex Moves In
* Airport
* Shake Hands
* Julie Shows Up (Part 1)
* Julie Shows Up (Part 2)
* Dinner at Seven (Part 1)
* Dinner at Seven (Part 2)
* Plain Favorite
* Alex's First Love
* Not So Silent Partner
* Gift Horses
* Stick'em Up
* Ann's Failure
* Grandma's Nest Egg
* Barbara's Crisis
* Mrs. O'Leary's Kids
* Diamonds Are Forever
* The Defector
* Meow, Meow
* Hardball
* Vegas (Part 1)
* Vegas (Part 2)
* Orville and Emily
* Hear Today, Gone Tomorrow
* It's in the Cards

### Season Eight

* The Perfect Wedding (Part 1)
* The Perfect Wedding (Part 2)
* The Honeymoon is Over
* Catcher in the Mud
* Last Time I Saw Paris
* Auntie Francine
* Lovers & Other Parents
* Miracle of Birth (Part 1)
* Miracle of Birth (Part 2)
* First Things First
* Pride and Privacy (Part 1)
* Pride and Privacy (Part 2)
* Pride and Privacy (Part 3)
* The Cruise
* Spare the Child
* The Hero
* The Good Life
* Social Insecurity
* A Young Man's Fancy
* The Letter
* Buyer's Remorse
* Sonny Boy
* Panzini
* Sisters
* Second Time Around
* Honeymoon II

### Season Nine

* Shakedown
* Take My Ex
* The Dentist
* The Bedtime Story
* Worried Heart
* Baby Love
* Travel Agent
* Not a Creature Was Staying
* Sam's Apartment
* Dear Max
* Never Hire a Relative
* Fifty
* Woman of the House
* Parting Company
* Ave Romano
* Bring in the Clowns
* Up in Smoke
* Meaning of Life
* The Nearness of You
* Off We Go
* Another Man's Shoes

## References

1. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20160304201747/http://www.museum.tv/eotv/onedayata.htm