Pilot (Season One, Episode One)
“When we shot the pilot in front of a live audience, they loved it and laughed in all the right places. They got the show and all the characters. We knew we caught lightning in a bottle.”
Smoke Gets In Your Lies (Season One, Episode Three)
“This is the episode we introduced Grandma Yetta (Ann Morgan Guilbert) to get Brighton (Benjamin Salisbury) to stop smoking. My real Grandma Yetta was insulted we wrote the character of Grandma Yetta to live in a senior home. That is until her salon on Queens Blvd treated her like a celebrity and always fit her in with an appointment.”
Imaginary Friend (Season One, Episode Six)
“In this episode, Fran gets to save the life of Gracie’s (Madeline Zima) imaginary friend using two pot covers as defibrillators, resulting in physical comedy becoming the cornerstone of every episode.”
Take Back Your Mink (Season Two, Episode Seven)
“This was the first time Fran got a little socially relevant by refusing to wear real fur.”
Stock Tip (Season Two, Episode Eight)
“I got to play a guy for the first time and the transformation was incredible. I really enjoyed playing a character other than Fran Fine. Plus, I got out of those high heels…”
Lamb Chop’s On the Menu (Season Two, Episode 18)
“We got the iconic Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop. This was one of the funniest episodes we ever shot and we used my real dog Chester Drescher to play C.C. Babcock’s (Lauren Lane) dog in the series but he liked Fran better. The dog and the Lamb stole every scene.”
Where’s The Pearls (Season Three, Episode 20)
“The Nanny had amazing guest stars: Whoopi, Bette Midler, Elton John, Twiggy, etc. But this one not only had Rosie O’Donnell but also Elizabeth Taylor. My mother was in heaven. The best part of it was Fran got into a car accident, ended up with amnesia and wound up with Mr. Sheffield (Charles Shaughnessy) in a bath tub.”
Hurricane Fran (Season Four, Episode 11)
“One of my favorite physical comedy scenes I ever did. Fran and Val (Rachel Chagall) take a vacation in the middle of a hurricane. I get to bring margaritas from the bar to Val, trying not to spill a drop through forty mile an hour winds.”
The Wedding (Season Five, Episode 22 & 23)
“It was like planning a real wedding: the colors, the flowers, the dress! I had to have fittings and even lost weight for it. My real-life parents were in it and they didn’t even have to pay for it this time.”
Yetta’s Letters (Season Six, Episode 19)
“The first episode we got to see a show Mr. Sheffield produced. Niles (Daniel Davis) got to sing. Sylvia (Renée Taylor) went to Paris. And Yetta got her life story made into a musical. What’s not to like?”
