Browse: Home / Celebrating the Living: Pam Dawber

Menu

Skip to content
  • Home
  • Who We Are
  • About
  • Privacy
  • Contact Us
  • Login

The-SoluteLogo

A Film Site By Lovers of Film

Menu

Skip to content
  • Features
  • Reviews
  • Long Reviews
  • News
  • Articles and Opinions
  • Other Media
  • The Friday Article Roundup: The Truth is In Here
  • Lunch Links: Schwarzfahrer
  • Websites on the Internet: THE SOLUTE
  • New on DVD and Blu-Ray
  • Movie Gifts Holidays 2024

Celebrating the Living: Pam Dawber

Posted By Gillianren on August 25, 2019 in Features | Leave a response

The straight man, or often straight woman, gets very little credit in comedy. In extreme cases, such as Margaret Dumont, people will go ahead and claim they just don’t have a sense of humour, which is demonstrably untrue in most cases. (Apparently, Wallace Shawn says himself that he doesn’t have one, and he doesn’t understand why Vizzini is funny. But he’s a definite exception.) They also, honestly, run the risk of being essentially forgotten. I grant you that my first thought, when I think of Pam Dawber, is how strangely her name is pronounced on the Spanish dub of Mork & Mindy. But still—can you imagine costarring opposite Robin Williams for nearly a hundred episodes without being allowed to just give up and laugh constantly?

Really, I’m kind of surprised that Pam Dawber hasn’t had a more notable career—and I remain one of the only people who remembers My Sister Sam for anything other than Rebecca Schaeffer’s tragic murder. It was a good show, and Dawber was fun in it. Not that I’ve seen it in a really long time, I admit. But she’s done very little else of note, unless you count twenty episodes as the voice of a dalmatian. This could be by choice; certainly she can afford not to work, as she’s married to Mark Harmon, but there it is.

And Mindy, honestly, is an underrated character. If they’d kept the focus of the series the way it was in the first season, more people might realize that. Initially, the show was about having Mork adjust to Earth and learn about it, and Mindy helped him do it. As the series progressed, Mindy was given little to do, I feel, and that’s a shame. I’m sure Robin Williams was thrilled to work with Jonathan Winters, but adding Mearth just meant that Mindy was pushed aside more. Honestly, it’s often the worst thing for a female character when she becomes a mother, because that defines her much more than her partner’s becoming a father.

At least Robin Williams helped Dawber push back against having the character sexualized. Mindy’s charming wholesomeness was really her appeal; there’s nothing wrong with sex, but there’s a lot wrong with how sexy women are generally portrayed in media, especially ’70s media. Seeing the intelligent, kindly Mindy turned into mere jiggle interest would have been painful. Mindy’s relationship with Mork felt organic—they seemed to grow interested in one another the way people really do, even people so radically different. Having her suddenly running around in tiny shorts and halter tops, drooling over men, would have felt far less so.

I’ve written before, several times, about the skill it takes to be a good straight man to someone really funny. But, as with Williams, Dawber was also given the chance to show other acting abilities on the show. I don’t know that she is a great actress; I haven’t seen enough of her to know one way or another. Honestly, though, I think I’ve seen enough to know she’s more talented than several other women on TV from that era who went on to have longer, more notable careers. I’m not going to name names, because that’s rude, but I’m sure you can list them yourself anyway.

Help me be able to introduce my kids to Mork & Mindy on DVD; consider supporting my Patreon or Ko-fi!

Posted in Features | Tagged celebrate the living, Pam Dawber, tribute

About the Author

gillianmadeira@hotmail.com'

Gillianren

Gillianren is a forty-something bipolar woman living in the Pacific Northwest after growing up in Los Angeles County. She and her boyfriend have one son and one daughter, and she gave a daughter up for adoption. She fills her days by watching her local library system’s DVD collection in alphabetical order, watching everything that looks interesting. She particularly enjoys pre-Code films, blaxploitation, and live-action Disney movies of the ’60s and ’70s. She has a Patreon account at https://www.patreon.com/gillianren

Related Posts

Life is a mysteryCelebrating the Living: Madonna→

Clearly Pryor knew a thing or two about wooing womenAttention Must Be Paid: Richard Pryor→

Definitely how most people picture him.Celebrating the Living: John Cameron Mitchell→

A sexy hot mess bigot!Attention Must Be Paid: Patricia Highsmith→

  • Comments
  • Popular
  • Most Recent
  • j*****@yahoo.com'
    mr_apollo on Year of the Month: Mon OncleWonderful piece, Sam. It's made…
  • j*****@yahoo.com'
    mr_apollo on Year of the Month: Mon OncleFellow heretic here. I've never…
  • n***********@gmail.com'
    Ruck Cohlchez on Film on the Internet: AN AMERICAN CRIMEI wouldn't have called it…
  • j***********@gmail.com'
    Son of Griff on LIFE ITSELFGlad to hear back from…
  • n*********@gmail.com'
    Jake Gittes on Film on the Internet: AN AMERICAN CRIMEThis is the single most…
  • “The End” of SAVAGES

    38502 views / Posted November 10, 2014
  • The Untalented Mr. Ripley: The Craft of Standup Comedy and the Non-Comedy of TOM MYERS

    31065 views / Posted June 26, 2018
  • What the fuck did I just watch? SPHERE

    30475 views / Posted March 19, 2015
  • Gordon with Mr. Looper

    Attention Must Be Paid: Will Lee

    27708 views / Posted January 7, 2023
  • Scenic Routes: SHOWGIRLS (1995)

    23561 views / Posted November 20, 2014
  • The truth is FAR out there.

    The Friday Article Roundup: The Truth is In Here

    December 6, 2024 / The Ploughman
  • This is a way lower res image than I will be allowed to get away with at the new site.

    Lunch Links: Schwarzfahrer

    December 5, 2024 / The Ploughman
  • Websites on the Internet: THE SOLUTE

    December 4, 2024 / ZoeZ
  • New on DVD and Blu-Ray

    December 3, 2024 / Greta Taylor
  • Movie Gifts Holidays 2024

    December 2, 2024 / The Ploughman

Last Tweets

    ©2014 - 2016 The-Solute | Hosted, Developed and Maintained by Bellingham WP LogoBellinghamWP.com.

    Menu

    • Home
    • Who We Are
    • About
    • Privacy
    • Contact Us
    • Login
    Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site!