The Terrible Catsafterme

SEASON 1 – ABC

Created by Dan T. Bradley and Allan L. Rice, and developed by Stanley Ralph Ross.

Theme song by Allan Blye, Chris Bearde, and Gene Farmer

• 001. Pilot (aka Whose Child Is This?) – 9/4/1974
  • Clifton Curtis (Clifton Davis) is a barber in Washington D.C. running Oscar’s Barbershop, which he inherited from his late father and adjoins the home he lives in with his mother Eloise (Theresa Merritt), whom everyone calls ‘Mama’. Mama is upset that Clifton is still staying out late with women and has not yet settled down and started a family. Clifton has a younger sister named Tracy Taylor (Lynne Moody) and his friends include postman Earl Chambers (Ed Bernard) and Junior (Ted Lange). A woman named Judy Wilson (Judy Pace) who claims to have had a fling with Clifton while he was stationed in the Army a year earlier, resurfaced and tells Clifton that he is the father of her baby Clifton Jr., and that she wants him to marry her. Clifton denies knowing who she is but matters aren’t helped when Earl remembers her from a drunken night, and Mama notes how much the baby looks like him. When Clifton refuses to marry her, Judy brings in her lawyer Ted Carruthers (Teddy Wilson) to try to reach a monetary settlement. Mama foils the plan when she agrees on Clifton’s behalf, that he will in fact marry her. Earl also recognizes Carruthers as the bartender where they met Judy. Carruthers is in fact the actual father of the baby and they are just looking for a settlement. Jester Hairston is Wildcat and DeForest Covan is Josh, seniors who often hang around Oscar’s. 5/19/16

• 002. Honesty Day – 9/11/1974
  • With Tracy’s husband Leonard (Ilunga Adell) out of town, Tracy stays with Mama, who prepares a special trout casserole. Clifton and Tracy both hate it but are afraid of hurting Mama’s feelings by telling her. This leads to a conversation about telling white lies, and Clifton declares the next day to be ‘honesty day’ during which everyone tells the full truth about everything. This only serves to alienate everyone in the barber shop from Leonard, and get Mama upset. In Leonard’s absence, he receives a perfume-scented letter with female handwriting from Cleveland where he has recently done business. When he returns home, everyone is honest with him, and soon he is filled in on honesty day and participates as well, telling Tracy that he married her for her body. Eventually the subject of the letter comes up, and Leonard tells Tracy that she can open it if she doesn’t trust him. She ends up ripping up the letter and they head home… but she returns later to take it with her. Fuddle Bagley is a customer. 5/19/16

• 003. Clifton’s Dubious Romance – 9/18/1974
  • Mama once again tries to set up Clifton with a respectable girl by inviting over her fellow church member Louella Carstairs (Paulene Myers) and her attractive daughter Polly (Berlinda Tolbert), who have just moved to town from Baltimore. Clifton and Polly immediately hit it off, but Polly resists being kissed and insists on waiting until their fourth date after they’ve gotten to know each other. Earl (now played by Teddy Wilson) claims to know Polly, who was known as ‘Pushover Polly’ back in Baltimore where she had slept with Earl and some of his friends. Clifton announces his engagement to Polly, and at the engagement party, she recognizes Earl. When Clifton confronts her about it, she admits that she had slept with quite a few people and was only pretending to be a prude because she thought that would attract Clifton. Clifton calls off the engagement but takes the blame himself instead of exposing Polly to her mother. Lisle Wilson takes over the role of Leonard Taylor. 6/23/16

• 004. Cousin Albert – 9/25/1974
  • Clifton is irritated when his wealthy cousin Albert (William Elliott), a successful insurance agent, comes for a visit, especially as it prompts Mama to dote on Albert while pushing Clifton to make something of his life. It turns out though that Albert is actually making his money by selling marijuana. Clifton is tipped off to this by Junior but doesn’t really believe it until he finds a bag of weed in Albert’s coat. Clifton nearly gets caught with it by the lazy police Officer O’Reilly (Gordon Jump), then threatens Albert to leave or else he will tell his mother. Albert doesn’t think that he’ll tell out of fear of hurting Mama, who considers Albert her favorite nephew. Albert finally agrees to leave, but O’Reilly shows up and arrests Albert, who accuses Clifton of turning him in. It turns out that Mama actually called the police after she overheard Albert admit that he was a dealer to Clifton. Later Mama gets a letter from Albert’s mother Charlotte saying that Albert is nearing parole and is working on a new trade… actually selling insurance. 6/24/16

• 005. Clifton’s Sugar Mama – 10/2/1974
  • Mama introduces Clifton to three of her oldest and dearest friends August Hollins (Ernestine Wade), Mrs. Birdie (Lillian Randolph), and ‘Aunt’ Minerva (Kim Hamilton). Much to his surprise, Minerva, the lady who once babysat and bathed him, has stayed attractive and young looking. Although Clifton maintains to his friends that Minerva is just a family friend, he ends up accepting her invitation to go out with him. At first Mama assumes that the relationship is innocent and she encourages it, but after being convinced by Tracy, she realizes that Minerva is a ‘black widow’. She enlists Josh and Wildcat to pose as millionaires to try and woo Minerva away from Clifton. Minerva doesn’t fall for it, and takes offense at Mama’s trying to dissuade her, refusing to stop seeing Clifton. However once Clifton notices how Minerva is bossing him around, he breaks it off anyway. They part ways on friendly terms, much to Mama’s relief. 9/12/16

• 006. Clifton’s Big Move – 10/9/1974
  • Earl runs into his and Clifton’s old army buddy Freddie Hampton (Ray Vitte), who asks Clifton if he’d like to move into his bachelor pad with him. Clifton thinks the party lifestyle sounds great and breaks the news to Mama, who is disappointed in Clifton’s lifestyle choice. Clifton makes the move but soon realizes that Freddie parties constantly and Clifton can’t get a moment of peace. He decides to move back home, but Mama is planning on taking in a tenant, and initially refuses Clifton’s offer to come back thinking that he is only doing it for her. When he finally convinces her that he has outgrown the party lifestyle, she takes him back with open arms, which is bad news for Junior, who had planned on taking Clifton’s old room. Jeannie Bell is Ginger. 9/13/16

• 007. Mama Steps Out – 10/16/1974
  • Clifton and Tracy suspect that Mama is running round with another man when she starts sneaking around, neglecting her chores, and leaving the house dressed fancily. Earl informs Clifton that she’s been dating a man named Will Harrington (Charles Lampkin), who has six children. One of the daughters (Angela Satterwhite) brings the other kids to meet Clifton, telling him that their father sent them so they could see where they’ll be getting their free haircuts after he marries Mama. Clifton finally gets Mama to admit their relationship, and although she first denies any interest in marriage, soon it becomes apparent that she’s serious about him and his children. Mama invites Will over, and Clifton tells Will that it is Mama’s friend Ruby Lester (Dorothy Meyer) who does all the cooking and cleaning around the house. Soon Will loses interest in Mama and starts turning his attention to Ruby, thus proving that Will is only looking for a woman to take care of his house and children. Mama throws him out. Mama tells Clifton that she’s giving up on marriage and will just settle on ‘messing around.’ 12/5/16

• 008. The Loan – 10/23/1974
  • Clifton is irritated that he loaned Leonard $50 a couple of months earlier and has seemingly forgotten about it. With Leonard’s birthday coming up, Clifton tells Mama he’s not getting him anything because of the debt… but is too embarrassed to ask Leonard for the money back. However, when Leonard brags about some of his successful investments, Clifton can hold his tongue no longer and demands his money. Leonard has no recollection of the loan, Tracy wants to pay Clifton, and Mama thinks both of them are telling the truth. On the night of Leonard’s birthday party, Clifton receives an apology note from Leonard along with the $50 that he said he forgot about. Clifton is then embarrassed to give him the piece of string that he got for him – which was meant to remind him not to forget things. When Clifton then apologizes and says he bought it before he received the apology letter, Mama has to admit that it was actually her who wrote the letter. The fight between Clifton and Leonard resumes until Clifton shows him his ledger indicating the loan. Leonard apologizes and pays the debt, and then Mama finds that Clifton had made a note when Earl had loaned him some money that he too had forgotten to pay back. 12/5/16

• 009. Clifton’s Con – 10/30/1974
  • As Mama and Clifton are complaining about the financial tight time they’re in, Cliff’s old army buddy Floyd Gatlin (Rod Gist) stops by for a visit, hoping that Cliff might be able to give him a job. Although times are tight, he agrees, but then finds out from Junior that Floyd is an ex-con who had done time for theft. Clifton still agrees to keep him on, and even though he cuts up Leonard while shaving him, Clifton still refuses to fire him because he knows he’ll never find another job. Mama later realizes that her silverware is missing and assumes that Floyd must’ve stolen it. When Clifton questions Floyd, he gets angry and runs off. It looks even worse when Earl spots Floyd going into a pawn shop. Floyd later returns protesting his innocence, claiming he only went into the pawn shop to pawn the friendship watch that Cliff had given him since he felt they were no longer friends. Mama is still unsure of his innocence, until Tracy returns the silverware that he has borrowed for a party. 3/18/17

• 010. Clifton’s Persuasion – 11/6/1974
  • Clifton has been having a run of good luck at the racetrack, the pool hall, and in his dating life, but he gets irritated when Mama volunteers Clifton to deliver the opening prayer at the next church service to the new young pastor Reverend Armbruster (Tim Reid). Furthermore, he confesses to Mama that he is leaning toward agnosticism. Mama is furious and demands that he wise up and delivery the prayer. When the Reverend tells him that it’s not unusual to have doubts about God, and that he himself had had them within the past year, Clifton gives in and delivers the prayer. Afterward he not only feels closer to God, but he also begins another run of good luck… and also learns that pool hall where he had intended to be during the church services that morning was raided by the police. 3/18/17
• 011. Oscar’s Affair – 11/13/1974
  • The church is getting ready to open a new Sunday school wing and Mama and the family hope that they will name it after her late husband Oscar. When she finds out that he is one of three nominees, she rushes to brag to her old rival Lenore Wilton (Hilda Haynes), who once dated Oscar and is visiting town. Lenore tells Clifton that Oscar once had a fling with her after he had already married his mother. Clifton is afraid of his mother or the church finding out, which could cause him to lose the nomination. Clifton and Earl ask Ruby if she knows anything about their relationship, but she has only heard rumors from Lenore, whom she doesn’t always believe. Mama finds out about the rumors and recalls a week that she had kicked Oscar out of the house. Josh and Wildcat come over and deliver the news that the wing has been named after Oscar and also set Mama’s mind at ease by telling her that when Oscar got kicked out of the house, he went on a fishing trip with them. Mama is thrilled about the news, but later Josh tells Wildcat that it wasn’t Oscar with them but someone else, although Wildcat maintains that it was Oscar. 9/11/17
• 012. Tracy’s Trouble – 11/20/1974
  • As Mama tries to convince Clifton to settle down with a woman and get married like his sister, Tracy shows up crying because she has left Leonard because he always corrects her. Mama puts in a call to Leonard, and a woman answers… but it turns out to be Leonard’s answering service. Leonard shows up to reconcile, complaining that Tracy always interrupts him, but their argument just gets personal and escalates until Leonard storms out again and heads to the YMCA. When Junior reports back that Leonard is living it up there with the boys, Mama demands that he come over for dinner under threat of embarrassing him in front of his colleagues. The dinner is rocky, but when Clifton and his date Welinda (Esther McCarroll) get into a similar argument when Clifton corrects her, Tracy and Leonard see how ridiculous they look, and both agree to make up. Leonard even impulsively asks her to join him in Boston on his business trip… even though he leaves her there to head to Montreal. 9/13/17
• 013. The Gun – 12/4/1974
  • Junior informs Clifton that Earl was robbed and knocked out cold by the robber. With all of the robberies in the neighborhood, Clifton decides to buy a gun to defend his home. Mama is furious about the notion, but Clifton feels it is necessary and hides it in the desk on the stairs. When Leonard and Tracy stop by the house on their way to a masquerade party dressed as the Lone Ranger and Tonto, Clifton mistakes Leonard for a robber and draws his gun. When he trips on his way down the stairs, the gun goes off and Leonard hits the ground. Tracy thinks Clifton has killed him, but he actually missed and hit a mirror, and Leonard has merely fainted. Clifton decides to get rid of the gun, but before he can, a real burglar (Cal Gibson) breaks in and finds the gun. When Clifton comes home, the robber holds him at gunpoint, but Mama, angry about the intrusion, tells him that she has taken out the bullets. Scared of having all of the burglaries in the neighborhood pinned on him, the burglar flees without anything that he stole. Mama then fires the gun accidentally, not realizing that she forgot to remove the bullet in the chamber. Ernest Williams II is the customer. 4/16/18
• 014. Song and Dance Man – 12/11/1974
  • Clifton’s father’s old friend Blainey Carter (Slappy White), a nightclub entertainer now performing in the act Blainey and McBee, comes for a visit and brings his partner McBee. They assume McBee is a man, but she turns out to be a beautiful young woman named Lola (Roseanne Katon), whom Clifton is instantly attracted to. They begin to spend late nights together after the shows, but then Junior drops the bomb that Lola is married… to Blainey. Clifton immediately confronts her and declines to continue to date her, even though she claims that Blainey is well aware of the situation. Clifton verifies this with Blainey, who says that having an open marriage is the only way that a young woman like Lola would stay with him. However, both Blainey and Clifton seem distraught that their engagement in town has been extended by a month. Mama is particularly upset by the situation, but when she invites them over for dinner, they both agree that this is how they want things. Clifton however can see the pain in Blainey’s eyes and tells him that he and Lola are going to be married. This gets Blainey to lay out his true feelings that he wants her as his actual wife, a sentiment that she says she’s been wanting to hear for a long time. 4/17/18
• 015. Mama Gets Fractured – 12/25/1974
  • Mama has fractured her foot but refuses to stop doing housework, keeping Clifton busy taking care of her. He is ready a for a break and Earl has arranged a fishing trip with a couple of ladies, with the plan of having Tracy take care of Mama while he is gone. However, she is forced to cancel when Leonard is invited to have the two of them stay with his boss in Philadelphia, which he is sure could lead to a promotion. Clifton then tries to get Mama’s friend Ruby to stay with her, and she agrees… but an argument with Mama on how to arrange the pillows on the couch causes her to storm out. Mama realizes she has been selfish to not worry about Clifton’s trip and tells him to leave her alone to go, but he in turn feels selfish for trying to palm her off on someone else. Realizing they are both liars, they are set to have Clifton stay, but then Ruby suddenly returns and says she is sorry for the fight. Clifton is ready to go, but then Ruby, while laying down shelving paper in the kitchen, falls and fractures her leg as well, leaving Clifton home to take care of both of the ladies. 12/16/18
• 016. The Last Haircut – 1/8/1975
  • As Clifton and Mama are furiously cleaning the barbershop in anticipation of a visit from the health inspector to renew Clifton’s business license, Clifton and Earl suddenly realize that the 94-year-old customer Loan Shark Louie has died in the barber chair. Clifton wants to call the police immediately, but Earl tries to talk him into the moving the body off the property to avoid the trouble. Clifton refuses, but in an effort to hide the body from Mama and Tracy, Earl moves the body into the alley and then moves it back in when the coast is clear. When Clifton refuses to give a haircut to Josh, and he and Wildcat tell Mama, she realizes that something fishy is going on. Clifton finally admits that Louie died, so she calls the police. When they tell her to not move the body, Earl becomes nervous that he might be in legal trouble and lose his job. Officer O’Reilly investigates the scene and realizes that the body has been moved when he finds Louie’s shoe in the alley and tells everyone this could mean big trouble for whoever moved the body. Clifton takes the rap, which could lead to manslaughter charges if Louie hadn’t been dead when he was moved… but then reveals that the coroner determined that Louie died of natural causes. Mama is proud that Clifton took the rap for his friend… but then sends him to do more cleaning for the health inspector. 12/16/18
• 017. The Shakedown – 1/15/1975
  • Clifton agrees to co-sign a $500 loan for Earl to get his car fixed, but after the fact Junior warns him that the Mutual Trust and Guarantee Company that they used is run by a local loan shark named Nate Pritchart (Lonny Stevens). Earl begins to worry when Nate and his henchman Pig Iron Brooks (George Reynolds) attempt to recover nearly double the loan money the next day. He keeps pressing Clifton, beats up Earl, and even threatens Mama, who can’t believe that Nathaniel has come to this, as she knows his mother Martha (Ella Mae Brown) and how proud she is of him. Clifton is then forced by Nate to allow him to use his barbershop as a place for his bookies Big Jelly (Dave Turner) and Red Dog (Alfonso Williams) to conduct business. However, when Nate presses him to turn over the barber shop to him entirely, Clifton responds by having Mama invite Martha over. Knowing that it will kill her if she finds out about her son’s illegal activity, Nate is forced to sign the debt as paid in full in front of his mother. Mama and Martha decide to work together with the local church and to aid in consumer protection in the neighborhood, delivering the final slap in the fact to Nate. 12/9/19
• 018. The Ambulance Chaser – 1/22/1975
  • One afternoon while Clifton is picking up his dry cleaning on foot, he is clipped by a taxicab. The driver Mr. Martinez (Jose Gonzales-Gonzales) tracks him to the barber shop full of apologies and claiming fault. Clifton thinks he is okay but doesn’t want to make a big deal out of it, but while showing off that he is just fine, he collapses and has to be taken to the hospital. Martinez offers to pay the hospital bill, but when Earl brings a lawyer named A.C. Barr (Richard Stahl), who specializes in personal injuries and wants to go for maximum payments from the cab company. When Martinez comes to visit Clifton in the hospital and confesses that he is glad he’s not being sued because it might destroy his livelihood and he is raising six kids, Clifton begins to have second thoughts. Furthermore, Mama doesn’t think it is right, and Junior congratulates him on hiring the crookedest lawyer in town. Barr brings in Dr. Fairfax (Ken Sansom) to give him a faulty diagnosis, which pushes Clifton to fire Barr… who presents him a bill for $1400 and says he will have to pay it unless they work together. Clifton takes the case to court, as Barr continues to taunt and threaten him and poke fun at the court judges. When the bailiff (Paul Vaughn) announces the Honorable Judge John C. Boyle (Lance Taylor Sr.), it end up being the silent man who couldn’t speak who shared the hospital room with Clifton and overheard everything. Kandi Keith is Nurse Nancy. 12/13/19
• 019. Earl’s Girl – 1/29/1975
  • Earl has been distracted for a few days and when questioned by Clifton, he admits he has met a beautiful girl named Joanne Roberts (Chelsea Brown). Mama is going to have Leonard and Tracy over for dinner, so invites Earl to bring along Joanne. When Earl is out of the room, Joanne tells Clifton that she just came from a date with another man, while Earl tells Clifton that he is going to propose to her. Clifton tries to talk him out of it, but he is gung-ho, whereas it is obvious that Joanne still wants to play the field. She ends up telling him that she’s not ready to get married, but he is relentless in asking. She comes to talk to Clifton to ask him to talk to Earl and she ends up making a pass at Clifton. Although he declines, Earl still catches Tracy trying to read Clifton’s palm, gets angry, and storms out. Mama invites Earl over to try and make amends, and she talks to Earl and explains the truth: that Clifton wasn’t interested in her, but she wasn’t interested in Earl either. Although he is upset, he makes amends with Clifton. A girl named Cindy Finch (Stephanie Faulkner) stops by the house to ask Clifton to a Stevie Wonder concert, but when she sees Earl and recognizes him from her grade school, she ends up taking Earl to the concert. Clifton is upset, but Mama sees through him and tells Clifton she knows that he had arranged that to give Earl a boost of confidence. Clifton can’t help but admit that it is true. Harvey Ellington is the customer (cut from syndicated and DVD version). 3/31/20
• 020. The Witness – 2/5/1975
  • Mama is fearful to let Tracy go out at night because of the recent robbery at Weiss’s Delicatessen. Earl denies being near the deli during the robbery, but later lets it slip to Mama that the perpetrator was a ‘white guy.’ Earl finally admits that he did see the robbery but doesn’t want to get involved. Mama finally talks him into going to the police to identify the robber, who he pegs as the mammoth Croaker Connelly (Lee Kolima), who has a vendetta against those who betray him. Mama and the family and friends throw Earl and congratulatory party, but the celebration is cut short when Junior announces that Croaker’s lawyer was able to get him off. Earl becomes too scared to leave Clifton’s house and spends the next days following Mama around. Even Officer O’Reilly is scared to be there and sneaks out himself. Finally, Mama can stand it no longer and tells Clifton that his friend has to leave. Clifton tells Earl that Croaker has been arrested in Mexico, so Earl gleefully heads home. He doesn’t get any further than the front door before Croaker appears and tries to strangle him. He is followed closely behind by the police Captain (Sidney Clute) who arrests Croaker. Clifton admits that he went to the police station and told them that Earl was at his house, so they staged a stakeout in front of the house waiting for Croaker to come after him. 4/1/20
• 021. Clifton and the Kid – 2/12/1975
  • Clifton has been dating a girl named Jill (Lillian Lehman) who has a young son named Jimmy (Tierre Turner) whose own father isn’t part of his life. Clifton is crazy about Jimmy and spends a lot of time with him. Mama is concerned about their future together, but Clifton says he’s not ready to settle down with Jill. In fact, one night they go out and fight the entire evening. When they get home, they decide that the magic is gone from their relationship and that they should break up. Jimmy overhears this when he is supposed to be sleeping. The next day Jimmy runs away from home and goes to stay with Clifton, who attempts to bring him back home despite the fact that Jimmy tells Clfiton that he loves him. Clifton is finally able to convince him to return home, but soon he is back at Clifton’s after running away again. He tries to make himself more unappealing to Jimmy but that doesn’t work. Finally, he gets the idea to ‘run away’ with Jimmy every couple of weeks to the movies or somewhere else fun they can go together. Jimmy agrees to this, although he confesses to Mama that it is a dumb idea, but he didn’t want to hurt Clifton’s feelings. 7/12/20
• 022. The Hero – 2/19/1975
  • Earl’s Uncle Wesley Craig has passed away, and Earl confesses to Clifton that his cousin Hank (Hilly Hicks), who has been hiding in Canada since he turned state’s evidence against gangster Mean Doc Green (Roger E. Mosley). Green is now out of prison, and it is all but guaranteed that he will come after Hank, so Earl wants for him to stay with Clifton. He declines because he is worried that Mama could get hurt, but when Mama finds out, she insists that he stay with them and that they not live in fear. Meanwhile Doc Green does in fact find Leonard in the barber shop and shows him a picture of Hank, threatening that if anyone harbors him, they will be sorry. Earl and Clifton come up with a plan to get Hank to his father’s funeral, by creating a fake funeral full of guests including Earl, Josh, Wildcat and his young date (Jayne Kennedy), and Clifton’s friend Freddie Hampton and his two dates (Sandra Cheltenham, Brenda Douglas). Doc Green does in fact show up for the funeral, over which Junior presides as the pastor. Although his service is lackluster, Doc enjoys it so much that he insists that Junor perform a ceremony for one of his associates at the river. The real funeral for Uncle Wesley is then scheduled for later that night at a different funeral parlor. 7/13/20
• 023. The Image Maker – 2/26/1975
  • Cliff’s old classmate Roland Ellis (Dennis Robertson) is now a TV producer, and his program wants to do a show on the up-and-coming black middle class and hopes to feature Cliff as the star subject of the show. Mama meets him and is put off by the fact that Roland stumbles around asking stereotypical questions, and the fact that the station has no black producers who would be more equipped to handle such a show. However, Cliff sees it as a big publicity boost, so asks Mama to cooperate. Roland has to bring over his executive producer Mr. Johnson (John Milton Kennedy) to give final approval, and on the night, he is supposed to be there, he faces visits from Leonard who wants to do comedy, Junior who wants to dance, and Earl who has brought along back-up singers (Maxine Anderson, Irene Stokes) so he can audition his singing. Worse yet, Cliff’s Uncle Gus Hotchkiss (Sam Laws) shows up expecting to stay with them for two weeks. It so happens that Mr. Johnson re-schedules the visit for the next day, but knowing that Gus is uncultured and foul-mouthed, Cliff gets Junior to take him around Washington D.C. to sightsee, hoping to keep him away from the producer. When Roland arrives early and meets Gus, he tells Cliff that he will simply have to kick Gus out when they film, as the producer would never go for having him on the show. Cliff tells Roland that his family and background are more important to him than the show, and if the producer doesn’t like having Gus there, then the program is off. When Johnson arrives, Gus quickly gravitates to him, throws his arm around him, and starts being boisterous in his face. Later when the TV show airs, Cliff and Mama sit down to watch it, and are surprised to find out that they are not only airing it, but that the star of the show has changed to being Uncle Gus. 10/30/20
• 024. Trial and Error – 3/5/1975
  • With Tracy out of town in Philadelphia, Clifton invites Leonard to join his poker game with Earl, Freddie Hampton, and some other friends. Clifton ends up cleaning them out and leaving with his winnings. The next morning Earl is concerned because he can’t get hold of Earl, and then Junior brings the news that Leonard has been arrested while visiting a house of ‘dubious pleasures’ on the way home. Leonard is barefoot and staving off the ramblings of a man named Reginald Farnsworth V also known as Blotto (Jack Perkins), and when Clifton comes to see him and pay his fine, Leonard refuses because it would imply that he is guilty. Even when Tracy shows up at the jail, he maintains that he had a flat tire in front of the cathouse, and not realizing what it was, went in to use the phone. His story however doesn’t ring true when one of the prostitutes Foxy Flo (Suzanne Zenor) sees him in the jail cell and claims he was her client the night before. Although everyone else is suspicious, Clifton believes Leonard and goes to bat for him by visiting the assistant D.A. Mr. Turner (Marcus J. Grapes), who reluctantly agrees to Clifton’s plan. Turner brings Flo into his office, and Mama brings Leonard, and she once again identifies him. However, when ‘Leonard’ removes his mustache and glasses, it is actually Clifton. Turner agrees to release Leonard and drop the charges, but when Flo recognizes Clifton and goes running into his arms, Mama is none too happy. 10/30/20
• 025. Clifton and Politics – 3/12/1975
  • Clifton throws his support behind his friend Philip Fleming (Stack Pierce), who is running as City Councilman. Mama however refers to him as ‘fat-mouthed’ and doesn’t approve of his militant style and the time he spent in jail. Junior and Leonard agree with Mama, while Earl and Tracy think that is all behind him and he will make a difference. Mama refuses to allow Clifton to host a fundraising rally at their house, so Clifton moves in with Tracy and Leonard, causing further bickering between them. Mama is finally swayed by Clifton’s powerful message about how you need to work to change things, or else you have no right to complain. On the night of the fundraiser, two militants (Ron McIlwain, Maurice Warfield) show up to support Fleming, but after Mama tries to throw them out, Fleming shows up and tells them he doesn’t want their support and tells them to leave. The two militants later come back in through the kitchen and ask Clifford for the $20 that Fleming promised them to pretend they are militants so Fleming could throw them out. Clifford is severely disillusioned by Fleming’s dishonesty, and he throws them all out. He tells Mama she was right, but that he has no plans to get out of politics… telling her that he is considering running for Councilman himself. Ford Lile is Eustace, Davis Roberts is Dr. Jessup, and Wonderful Smith is Childs, all fat cat donors invited to the fundraiser. 2/16/21
• 026. Stephanie’s Boyfriend – 3/26/1975
  • Clifton’s ex-fiancé Stephanie Roland (Emily Yancy) has moved back into the neighborhood, and her mother Lucille (Brunetta Barnett) tells Clifton that she is engaged to an artist named Neville Ewing III (Ronald Yates Warden). Clifton is a bit jealous when he hears this, and when he and Stephanie see each other, sparks fly, and they wind up kissing. She tells Clifton that she isn’t engaged to Neville yet and agrees to have dinner with him at the house. Neville comes to see Clifton and threatens that he will kill someone if he continues to see Stephanie, but Clifton doesn’t heed the warning and they continue to date. Junior finds out that Neville has bought a gun, and sure enough he shows up with it at the barber shop. Clifton refuses to back down from him, and Neville tells him that the person he intends to kill is… himself. He locks himself in the bathroom and won’t come out for Clifton, Mama, or Stephanie. Clifton uses reverse psychology and tells him to get it over with so he and Stephanie can go out together. Neville finally comes out and says he couldn’t go through with it. They all offer to remain friends with him and offer to have him inside for a drink, and he finally accepts. 2/16/21

SEASON 2

Theme song: “That’s My Mama” by Lamont Dozier

• 027. The Birthday Party – 9/10/1975
  • Clifton and Earl, who now works as a barber at Clifton’s shop while still working part time at the post office, discuss Mama’s upcoming birthday, when Leonard comes in after the store has closed and asks for a haircut. Clifton doesn’t charge him, but then Leonard immediately asks for payment for doing Clifton’s taxes. Clifton is aggravated, and Earl suggests that Clifton might be jealous of Leonard’s success. Meanwhile, Laura Pierce (Ernestine Wade) shows up early for Mama’s party, and brags about the nice gifts that her son always got for her, which irritates Mama. Everyone gathers and opens gifts, and Mama likes the wallet that Clifton got for her even if it is nothing fancy. Leonard then presents an envelope containing information about a funeral plot he bought for her. She and everyone at the part is dumbfounded, but Mama comes to appreciate the practicality of the gift. She and Leonard even go to see the plots. Clifton can do nothing but make fun of the gift and try and humiliate Leonard, which Mama notices and criticizes Clifton for. She orders them to work out their issue while she and Tracy (now played by Joan Pringle) go and get some pizza. Earl tries to mediate as well by bringing a bottle of cheap wine. They throw him out but take some of his words to heart when he tells them that they are a ‘tight-lipped phony’ and a ‘jive-time pretty boy.’ The two confess that they are actually both jealous of one another. Clifton admits he wasn’t a good brother-in-law, as he had skipped Leonard and Tracy’s wedding reception to play in a softball game. They both forgive and become friends. However once Mama and Tracy return, Leonard accidentally spills the beans after the softball game and enrages both of them at Clifton, while Clifton is angry that he couldn’t keep their secret. 6/13/21
• 028. Business Is Business – 9/17/1975
  • Clifton has been doing well financially with a group of executive clients, to whom he goes to their office to cut their hair there. One of the executives, the wealthy black tycoon Albert LaForche (Mel Stewart) proposes that he finance a business for Clifton to run, whereby a group of barbers visit executive offices all over the city. Earl goes along with Clifton to see LaForche, and fails to impress him with his lowbrow behavior. Later Clifton offers to let Earl be his executive assistant, meaning he would no longer have to cut hair and clean up. Despite Clifton’s warning, Earl heads to the post office and immediately quits, while Clifton promises Mama an air conditioner for her bedroom. However, Clifton then gets a letter from LaForche indicating that he is not agreement in his choice to give Earl the job. Clifton, who has been using Leonard to negotiate the contract, brings him to LaForche’s office to try to persuade him to accept Earl, but LaForche won’t budge. Clifton becomes angry when it becomes clear that LaForche, despite being black, is bigoted against street brothers. He walks out on the deal and tells him off. Mama has to return her air conditioner when Junior brings it, but she is proud enough of Clifton’s loyalty to Earl to make up for it. 6/13/21
• 029. Mama’s Solution – 9/24/1975
  • Clifton has been having a hard financial year due to taxes and improvement assessments, and thanks to a suggestion from Laura (now played by Helen Martin), Mama wants to get her own job to help. Clifton won’t hear of it, and when Leonard comes over as Clifton’s financial advisor, he also won’t take his advice that he cut Earl loose. Mama, Tracy, and Leonard all accuse Leonard of being chauvinistic for not allowing Mama to get a job, but when it is suggested that Leonard give mama a job as a receptionist at Shaeffer, Babcock, and Fenton, Leonard seems reluctant. However, he can’t go back on his world, or he’ll be seen as the chauvinist, so he hires Mama as the receptionist. Mama starts to see the dark side of the law business when she’s forced to constantly lie to people who call to speak to one of the lawyers. Even Leonard often tells Mama that he’s ‘not here’ when someone calls. Eventually it gets to be too much for her. And it also becomes to much for the business owners, because as Mama is drafting her resignation, the lawyers all decide to give Leonard the job of firing her. Leonard comes over frantic about firing her and wants Clifton to do it. Clifton is happy she’ll not be working there any longer, but not happy that his Mama is getting fired. Earl is afraid this means that Clifton will have to fire him, but Clifton assures him that will never fire him. Earl tells Mama she’s fired, so Leonard is forced to explain why. Mama doesn’t care since she has already quit. 10/11/21
• 030. That’s Earl, Brother – 10/1/1975
  • Clifton is heading to a Barber’s Convention in New York, and plans to leave Earl in charge, but just before he leaves, he witnesses a customer whose face was sliced up by Earl’s poor shaving. Nevertheless, he still proceeds to go anyway. Just before Earl returns, Earl meets an attractive barbershop cosmetics saleslady named Thelma (Vernee Watson) and agrees to see her demonstration. Once Thelma has Earl under a wet, hot towel, she breaks into the cash register and steals $147. Clifton comes back to find Earl under the towel, talking to no one about how he made Clifton everything he is today, while the cash register is empty of all of its money. Earl vows not to return to work until he has found Thelma and recovered the $147. After days of no luck, Clifton gets the idea to get Earl to the next game of poker with Junior. Clifton then tells Junior to make sure Earl gets a good hand, which turns out to be a four-of-a-kind, and then bet $30 in the hand. Junior ends up with a Royal Flush, but as he’s laying down his cards, he lies about the Ace of Spades being in his hand, so Earl can win the pot of $150. Earl then touts how he’s now a confident Poker player, and also brags about how plans to spend his money. He doesn’t get too far out of the house, before remembering that he owes Clifton the money, although he is tempted to play some more cards with it. 10/11/21
• 031. A Date with Judy – 10/8/1975
  • Earl does a number on Freddie’s hair, parts it, and leaves his ears sticking out, much to Freddie’s irritation. Clifton tells Earl about his date that night with a girl named Gloria. Shortly after, their old friend Judy Hendrix (Tamu Blackwell) from the neighborhood returns from Europe after losing her boyfriend there. Making matters worse was that she had gone to Europe in the first place to forget her old boyfriend Chuck Weber. When Gloria calls and cancels the date with Clifton to see the rock group Don Corleone and the Potato Chip Band. Despite the fact that he’s never been attracted to Judy, he offers to take her to the show. When he takes her back to her apartment, he offers to fix her broken toilet and winds up soaked. After he takes his shirt off, he and Judy end up kissing. Since all his friends think that Judy is ugly, Clifton tries to keep it secret from her so as not to be embarrassed. As Freddie stays after Earl for the hack job he did on his head, Junior shows up and gives away the fact that Cliff went out with Judy. He and Earl make fun of Clifton, who tells them that he just sees her as one of the guys. He starts to feel guilty with himself, and Mama gives him advice that it is a person’s disposition that makes them attractive, citing Cliff’s father as a good example. He decides to give Judy a chance and takes more razzing from Earl. Cliff blows up on him and tells him he’s about to lose his job, his friendship, and some of his teeth. Earl can’t resist taking another jab at Judy, even after apologizing. Earl goes over to see Judy, only to find out that she is now back together with Chuck. Cliff plays it off and tells her that he was only there to congratulate her. She heads off to go to Virginia Beach with Chuck, while Cliff stays behind to water her flowers. 4/7/22
• 032. Earl’s Dad and Mama’s Glad – 10/15/1975
  • Earl is excited for his father Sammy (Lee Weaver) comes for a visit from Topeka and hopes that he is proud of him for working for Cliff as a barber. Sammy likes to tout that he works for a stock brokerage firm, although he is actually only a janitor with them. Nevertheless, he always has his eye on striking it rich or become a partner in the company. Earl hosts a dinner for his father and invites Cliff and his Mama. When Sammy brags about his job to the guests, Earl can do nothing but roll his eyes. Junior also shows up and invites Earl and Cliff to leave with him to go to a party. Cliff talks Earl into going along and says that his father and Mama will get along great. Sammy starts talking to her about his friends who are opening a black-owned shopping mall, and Mama decides to invest $200 in the mall, but insists that Sammy not tell Cliff. When the guys get back, Junior also asks for some financial advice, and on Sammy’s advice, he invests $100 in peanut futures. The next night, Mama agrees to go out dancing with Sammy, but she decides to get her money back from him. Mama tells Mama and Earl about it, Earl comes clean and tells Mama not to cover the check because his father likes to make promises without delivering. Junior however finds Sammy’s advice helpful and has made quite a bit of money from peanuts. Mama tells Earl that he needs to overlook his father’s exaggerations and tell him that he loves him for who he is. Mama surmises that Sammy acts the way he does in order to impress Earl and make him think he’s a big shot. When Sammy arrives to pick up Mama, she insists that the two of them talk. Earl tells him that he’s proud to be his son, and that he doesn’t need any fancy titles for his sake. They embrace, and when Earl calls him a maintenance engineer, Sammy corrects him and tells him he’s a janitor. 4/7/22 
• 033. Weekend Daddy – 10/22/1975
  • While Clifton is away in Kansas City ironing out the will of his Uncle Eugene and settling his estate by selling off his pet shop, Leonard stops by and drops the news that he’s going to be father. That is, he’ll be a Weekend Father, a program to spend time with children who don’t have fathers. This will be a trial run for Tracy and him to decide whether they want to start a family. The boy’s name is Andy (Kristoff St. John), a precocious little boy with a giant afro. Leonard brings Andy over to Mama’s place for her to babysit for him, and for Earl to give him a haircut. Andy takes an instant liking to Earl but seems much less interested who has every intention of being someone he can emulate. Mama tries to ward off the backhanded comments for Laura about why Tracy and Leonard are not having their own children, while finding some of Clifton’s old toys for Andy to play with. Leonard takes Andy to the football game but loses him before Tracy can even meet him. After sending him with money to the concession stand, Andy doesn’t come back. Eventually he shows up at Mama’s place, and despite the fact that Leonard gives him a spanking and scolds him for disappearing, Andy seems to like Leonard taking authority over him and he starts to obey him. After he leaves to take Andy home, Mama finds that Leonard is in the barbershop, having snuck Andy back home. He had been with Andy the whole time, but eventually had a talk with him about being respectful of Leonard… after taking all of Andy’s money playing pool. 8/4/22
• 034. Clifton and La Femme – 10/29/1975
  • Junior stops by for a haircut and encourages Clifton and Earl to come see a Black Art Exhibit at the Savings & Loan. He has been seeing a new woman and tells them that they might meet some beautiful women there. Clifton loans Junior his car when his breaks down. Later Earl decides to go to the exhibit and takes Clifton along with him. Clifton does in fact meet a woman named Denise (Sylvia Mackey), but the only catch is that she only speaks French. Although she thinks Clifton’s name is Pierre, she agrees to go out for cocktails with him and they spend the night together. The next day while Mama is giving Clifton a book on how to learn French, Junior comes in and tells Clifton he didn’t make it to the exhibit because Clifton’s car broke down on him. He brings in his new girlfriend… who turns out to be Denise. Clifton tries to do the right thing and step aside, which becomes more crucial when he sees how serious Junior is about her. As Earl keep dropping wisecracks about the situation, Clifton tries to explain to Denise that they have to call it off and she needs to concentrate on Junior, but she makes it clear that she is falling for him instead. Finally, Clifton tells Junior the truth about their night together, but explains that he had no idea that she was his girl. Junior at first gets angry at Clifton, but then Denise tells Junior all of the things she doesn’t like about him, so he decides to bail. Clifton says that he cares about Junior and doesn’t want to date anyone who treats him this way. Earl joins in and reads her the riot act also. Junior tries to tell Denise that he’s sorry this happened and that he’ll call her…although he isn’t sure if he spoke French correctly. Then he calls another woman he just met earlier that evening for a date. 8/4/22
• 035. Mama’s Big Move – 11/5/1975
  • Mama and Laura walk out of a dirty movie and return to Mama’s house, where Laura does more bragging about her son Orestes. He has gotten his own place, and Mama admits that she thinks it is time for Clifton to move out and start his own life. Thinking that Mama would still be at the movies, Clifton brings home his date Pamela (Janear Hines), and they get caught by Mama and Laura heading upstairs. Mama tries to give them their privacy, but Pamela decides they should just leave. Clifton later tells Earl that he didn’t get anywhere with Pamela because she thought he was dominated by his mother. Earl suggests that Earl should get his own place, but Clifton says he can’t afford to keep the house going while also renting his own place. Clifton suggests that he sell the house and get Mama her own smaller place. Meanwhile, Mama has decided to take Laura up on an offer to move in with her. Clifton tells her that if he is sure then he will work on selling the house. He and his friends start partying at the house with Pamela and her friends Althea and Natalie. Leonard helps Clifton look into selling the house. Mama is putting a lot of work into keep the Laura’s house clean, but when Clifton goes to have dinner at Mama’s new place while Laura goes out with her boyfriend Everett, Mama goes overboard to tell Clifton how much she enjoys living there. Clifton knows this means that she’s really not happy, and Tracy adds that she’s obviously having a hard time not being acting as a mother. Clifton decides he is going to try and get her to come back home but thinks she will only agree if she thinks she is helping Clifton, so he makes a big mess in the house for her to see when she comes to get some things. When Mama arrives, she doesn’t even notice the mess. However, she directly tells him that she made the offer to leave but has now reconsidered her decision because she belongs there, but now she is coming back home. They decide they will do just fine until Clifton can save up for his own place. 12/4/22 
• 036. Queen of the Ribs – 11/12/1975
  • While Mama is trying to win a radio contest by answering her phone with a greeting about the station WMAI, Earl is flustered in the barber shop and cuts his customer Quincy (David Downing). It seems he has become smitten with hostess at Ben’s Barbecue named Wynona (Tracy Reed), but he thinks he isn’t classy enough for her. Both Earl and Mama try to convince him to be himself and just ask her out. He takes the advice to ask her out, but he reinvents himself to pretend he is just as classy as she is. In fact, he also tells her that he is the owner of Oscar’s Barber Shop. He brings her in to see the shop and meet his ‘protege’ Clifton and his shoeshine boy Junior. They play along with him initially, even though Leonard stops by and nearly reveals the truth, but once Earl starts dressing up, hanging out with Leonard, going to fancy places, and smoking a pipe, Earl starts to get annoyed. When he tells Mama about it, she convinces him that his phoniness may cost him his relationship, but that Clifton needs to be there for him to support him when he crashes and burns. Earl then walks on work again to go see a foreign film screening. Meanwhile, Junior gets boxing tickets for them, but he and Earl don’t really want Earl to go along and tell him that they assumed he would be with Wynona. Earl tells them that Wynona is out of town with her sick aunt, but Junior reports to him that he’s seen Wynona in town with her in her yellow Stingray. Earl says she drives a 1953 DeSoto, and the only person in town with a yellow Stingray is Zipper Wilson. Earl calls Wynona’s place and Zipper answers. Clifton tells Earl that Wynona liked him for himself, and that no one, including him and their friends, like a phony. They tell Earl that they like him for who he is, and Earl admits that the fancy lifestyle wasn’t for him anyway. 12/4/22
• 037. A Man from the Past – 11/19/1975
  • Earl is working on learning the Vietnamese language, Clifford is having an allergic reaction to the Oyster au Gratin that Mama made due to his oyster allergy, and he and Junior plan to go see Jesse Jackson speak. Meanwhile, Mama gets a call from an old boyfriend named Jake Rawls (Bernie Hamilton), who Mama dated right before she got married to Clifton’s father Oscar. Although Mama reminisces about what a wild youth he was, Clifton is surprised when Jake shows up and reveals that he is now a minister. When Clifton comes home at 2:00 in the morning, he finds that they have been up talking all night. Jack starts sneezing and reveals that he too is allergic to the Oysters au Gratin. Cliff starts to suspect that Jake and Mama might have conceived him before she met his father, especially since he was born eight months after Mama and his father got married, weight a full ten pounds, three ounces. After laboring over the uncertainty, he talks to Tracy and Leonard about it but they can’t offer much to help him. Jake then comes by and tells Clifton that he has something to tell him: he wants to propose to his mother. Before he can answer, Clifton asks him about his relationship with his mother before she got married, and he tells Clifton point black that his mother would have nothing to do with pre-marital sex. He also tells Clifton that he wasn’t allergic to the oysters but rather the au gratin. Clifton gives his blessing to Jake to propose to Mama. When he does ask her to marry him, she turns him down, telling him that they have gone their separate ways and that they are now completely different people. They decide to continue their friendship and keep in touch via mail to get to know each other as they are now. Mama tells him that she would be glad to make him some Jambalaya the next time he comes for a visit, but he tells her that he is allergic to shrimp. She points out that Clifton is too. 5/18/23
• 038. Get Your Kicks on Routes 22 and 76 – 12/3/1975
  • Earl’s cousin Sterling Neal is getting married to a girl named Arlene, and Clifton, Mama, Earl, Tracy, Leonard, Junior, and Laura are all planning to make the trip to Scranton for the wedding. Earl doesn’t have much money to buy a wedding gift but Earl can’t give him an advance on his salary. He winds up getting him a framed picture of Sterling and Arlene when they were kids. Clifton gets him a very nice clock radio, which makes Earl jealous since Clifton’s gift is so much nicer. Everyone gets ready for trip with Leonard studying the map in advance. Earl and Clifton can’t seem to agree on which is the best route to take, with Clifton suggesting Route 22 and Earl suggesting 76. They keep picking at each other all through the car ride, until they finally realize they are lost. With the snow raging outside, they wind up all packing into an old, seedy motel. The two continue to bicker as they iron out the sleeping arrangement, until Mama insists that they go somewhere private and talk it out. They temporarily make up, but when everyone starts fussing over how great his gift to Sterling is, Earl has had enough, and he storms out into the night. Clifton starts to worry and feels guilty that Junior is out in the cold, so he goes out to look for him in the freezing cold. Clifton comes back nearly frozen to death, followed shortly by Earl, who has been hanging out with female night clerk of the motel. The two start bickering again, but when Earl finds out that Clifton went looking for him, he apologizes for the way he’s been acting. Clifton also acknowledges that although he wasn’t trying to show up Earl, he should have recognized how Earl felt and given him the clock radio to give to Sterling, which he offers to do. Earl tells him that he threw the clock radio out the car window… then tells him that he’s only joking. Richard Foronjy is the motel manager. 5/19/23
• 039. Clifton’s Casual Fling – 12/17/1975
  • Clifton and Earl have a double date with their girlfriends Sharon Hawkins (Dee Timberlake) and Diane (Sarina Grant). Earl’s attitude is more about getting amorous, while Clifton tells his Mama that he’s pretty serious about Sharon. The girls live together, and after going out dancing for the night, they all go back to the gals’ place. Earl is wound up and wants to stay there and gab, but Diane talks him into going to a Korean restaurant so that Clifton and Sharon can be alone. The next night, Sharon is going out to dinner with her parents, so Clifton decides to stay home and sort his records. Junior and Earl both come over to try and talk him into going out to pick up girls. Clifton tries to resist, but Earl calls him a chicken, and they wind up talking him into going out to help the guys find girls. Later that evening while Mama is entertaining Laura, Sharon stops by to see Clifton in hopes of returning a gold bracelet that he bought for her. Much to Laura’s delight, she tells Mama that the bracelet implies a long-term relationship that she isn’t ready for. Before she leaves, she also tells Mama that if she sees Earl to have him get in touch with Diane. When Clifton and Diane come home, Mama tells Clifton that she has some bad news for him, but she’ll wait to tell him in the morning. Naturally, the curiosity gets the better of him, especially after he realizes that the news came from Sharon and then he spots the bracelet that he gave Sharon back at the house. Likewise, Earl is petrified about why Diane would need to talk to him. They both decide to head over to their place, even though it is 1:30 in the morning. When they arrive, Diane tells Earl that all he ever thinks about is sex and that she has a mind and would like to spend some of their time talking. When Sharon comes out of her room, Earl and Diane leave the room and continue their discussion. Sharon tells Clifton that she feels the expensive gift implies a commitment, and she isn’t ready for that. Clifton tells Sharon that if she doesn’t take a chance she might miss out on a good thing. She decides to ‘borrow’ the bracelet and see if she grows into it. Earl agrees to be more caring, understanding, and compassionate in order to stay with Diane. The guys stay out all night with the girls and come back in the morning. Earl points out how women move from becoming involved to romance to love and then on to marriage, making Earl want to go get the bracelet back. 9/22/23

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