Why Was Mrs Naugahyde Written Out of Maude

According to DL, Mrs. Naugatuck left abruptly when she got a job in feature film starring Burt Reynolds and Dom DeLuise.

"Because Bea Arthur was jealous?"

You're such a fucking idiot, OP.

Because she kept burning the souffle.

R2, chillax!

This was discussed on DL several years ago, but if you google it somewhere on the interwebs there is an interview with Hermione Baddeley and basically her contract was up and she wasn't happy on the show and wanted to do other things. She felt that she didn't have enough to do on Maude but being contracted to the show meant she couldn't go out and do other stuff.

She was 135 years old, with a Cockney accent, what the hell else did she think she was going to do? An Unmarried Woman? Norma Rae?

She aspired to become a professional fluffer on porn sets.

There was always Bill Macy's sharted shit on the floor to clean up. Or was that Bea's ?

Mrs. Naugatuck's smoldering sensuality

Was a threat to every woman on the show

[quote] Mrs. Naugatuck's smoldering sensuality [w]as a threat to every woman on the show

Ahem.

You've got her name all wrong, OP. It wasn't Mrs. Naugahyde. It was Mrs. Pleather.

Please make a note of it.

She should have replaced Lana on Three’s Company as a love interest for Mr. Furley

The Finleys eventually had Mrs. Naugahyde made into a beautiful sofa.

Except for the original four Golden Girls and Stan everyone was written out eventually.

Was she Florida's replacement?

She got signed by superagent Jay Bernstein, who was going to give her the big blonde build-up he gave Farrah and Suzanne Somers. She thought her shit didn't stink.

Apparently the show runners did a survey and found out people preferred corduroy....

What was the character’s first name?

Who has a British maid? Outside of Britain of course. Seriously, though, British women come to America seeking work as domestic servants? What century is this? Also never understood why this British woman had a last name that was the same as a New York town with a Native American name. Did she emigrate to the U.S. and marry an Indian chief?

I always think of her as Bob Cratchit's wife in the 1951 version of A Christmas Carol.

r14

you win

Wasn't her backstory that she married an American G.I. and moved to the States after the war?

I can't believe I remember that.

Or made it up.

Her daughter married well. A 'Stella Dallas' situation?

Esther Rolle was awful even on Good Times.

Rue had her fired because she smelled like rubber.

"The Finleys eventually had Mrs. Naugahyde made into a beautiful sofa."

I grew quite attached to her.

They got rid of nearly everyone in the last season. They tried briefly to bring in another maid but it didn't really work. They showed Viv and Arthur less and, had the change to Washington DC gone on into another season, Viv and Arthur would have been off the show. Same for Carol.

I loved MAUDE, but it should have ended one season earlier.