The Goldberg's

Gertrude Berg starred in the extremely popular radio sitcom "The Goldbergs", which made a successful transition to television and then to this one-off film. The appeal of "The Goldbergs" was similar to that of its contemporary "The Honeymooners": both featured working-class character studies in 1950s New York City, although "The Goldbergs" was more broadly ethnic, and featured more plausible situations and gentler humour. "The Goldbergs" was very much beloved in its time, yet it has not lingered in the public consciousness in the same way that "The Honeymooners" has done. In 1973, Kaye Ballard starred in a Broadway musical ("Molly") based on "The Goldbergs": it ran only two months. "The Goldbergs" was unique for its time, in that the lead actress was also the head scriptwriter and a producer of the series: a few male actors were also their own scriptwriters and producers, but Gertrude Berg was the first woman to work so effectively on both sides of a radio mike or tv camera.