Written by country music legend Tom T. Hall, the song "Harper Valley PTA" became a country crossover hit for Jeannie C. Riley, hitting #1 on both the country and pop charts. It was the first song by a woman singer to achieve that distinction, something that did not happen again until 1981, when Dolly Parton topped both said charts with "9 to 5."
In 1978, the song became a movie, starring Barbara Eden (I Dream of Jeannie). When the movie aired on NBC in 1980, the network was impressed with the ratings and ordered a series based on the movie. It was originally going to be an hour long, but was shortened to 30 minutes, just before its premiere. Due to an actors's strike that delayed the start of most of the 1980-81 season, Harper Valley PTA did not make it to the air until January 1981.
Eden reprised her film role as Stella Johnson who served on the school's PTA (Parent-Teacher Association), battling against the evil PTA head Flora Simpson-Reilly (Anne Francine), her snobby daughter Wanda Reilly Taylor (Bridget Hanley) and Wanda's husband, lawyer Bobby Taylor (Rod McCary). Rounding out the cast were Jenn Thompson as Dee, Stella's daughter, Suzi Dean as the Taylors' daughter Scarlett, Fannie Flagg as Stella's friend Cassie, a beautician, and George Gobel as Otis Harper, the town's mayor, a descendant of the town's namesake family. Several recurring cast members appeared during the first-half season as other members of the PTA. The show was produced by Sherwood Schwartz, producer of Gilligan's Island and The Brady Bunch. Claudio Guzman, who'd directed episodes of Jeannie, also directed some from this series as well.
Though the PTA had been integral to the song and movie, this aspect was dropped as the show entered a second season under the new title Harper Valley, with Mills Watson coming on board as Stella's uncle, Winslow Homer "Buster" Smith. Watson was fresh off an earlier series, The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo. Originally airing on Friday nights, Harper Valley moved to Thursday for Season Two, only to get bumped to Saturday. Without the PTA, the series was just another generic sitcom.
I can't seem remember any of the second-season episodes, but a few from the spring 1981 tryout have stuck in my mind. In one, Stella learned Flora was tampering with Stella's mail, so Stella wrote herself a fake letter from an imaginary Middle Eastern princess who will be visiting Harper Valley. This was an homage to I Dream of Jeannie.
The original song was used for the first season intro, and was reworked for the second season:
8 comments:
Hari OM
WEll, I never heard of a show being developed out of the lyrics of a song before! Can't say it is my taste, but well done them for making it work. YAM xx
H=Hope
I always loved that song when she shot them down for being two-faced.
Beth
https://bethlapinsatozblog.wordpress.com/
I know the song but not the program.
I know the song, I remember watch an episode of the show but did not know it was a movie, which is strange cause that's the sort of thing I usually know. https://dave-homeschooldad.blogspot.com/2022/04/h-is-for-hammer-hank-and-hairy.html
I have not thought of this song in years! Bet I hear it played somewhere in the next week though, lol. I didn't realize there was a series based on it though :)
betty
https://benchsnotebook.blogspot.com/
I remember the song, of course, and the tv movie but not the series. But when I read your description, I realized one of the actresses in it, Bridget Hanley, once played Candy opposite Bobby Sherman in "Here Come The Brides" which was loosely based on "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers." I was IN LOVE with Bobby Sherman and wanted to be Candy!
Not my kind of music, but it was fun to listen to.
It's funny, I vaguely remember watching the show as a kid, but it was only a few years ago when I learned it was a song first.
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