In TV land, mixing up the generations has long been a way of generating some fun. Here’s a look at some series in which adult children and their parents have shared addresses (and laughs):
Judging Amy: Amy Madison Gray’s no-nonsense mother, Maxine (Tyne Daly), takes in her newly divorced daughter, a former New York City attorney, and granddaughter, Lauren, after Amy moves back to Connecticut to become a juvenile court judge. A social worker, Maxine rarely lacks an opinion (or heart) and helps care for Lauren.
The Beverly Hillbillies: Granny (Irene Ryan), Jedd Clampett’s highly excitable mother-in-law, kept busy cookin’ up vittles, scheming to fix up Ellie May and teaching Jethro a lesson. Not quite comfortable in her new swanky digs, she often threatened to return to her Bug Tussle cabin.
The King of Queens: Jerry Stiller plays the high-maintenance Arthur Spooner, who lives in the basement of his daughter and son-in-law’s house in Queens, N.Y.
Sanford and Son: Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx), a cantankerous widower, would fake a heart attack (“I’m coming to join you, `Lizabeth!”) each time his frustrated son, Lamont, threatened to move out and leave the family junk-dealing business.
Munsters (left): Among the family of misfits who resided in a cobweb-filled house at 1313 Mockingbird Lane in Mockingbird Heights was Lily’s father, Grandpa (Al Lewis), who spent much of his time in his dungeon lab.
— Tribune staff.
