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Fernwood, Ohio - The hometown of the Hartman
family on the soap opera spoof MARY HARTMAN, MARY HARTMAN/SYN/1976-77.
The Hartman's live in the Woodland Heights area at 343 Bratner
Avenue. Tom Hartman (Greg Mullavey), an automobile assembly-line
worker shares a home with his dim-witted, gullible wife, Mary Shumway
Hartman (Louise Lasser) and daughter,
Heather (Claudia Lamb). Lorette Haggers (Mary Kay Place), a crippled
country western singer was Mary Hartman's best friend. Her husband, Charlie works on
the assembly line with Tom
Hartman. Mary's grandfather Raymond Larkin (Victor Kilian) earned the
moniker "The Fernwood Flasher" for his habit of running around the
small Midwest town and exposing his aging naughty bits to an
unsuspecting public. The newspaper that reported this event was the
Fernwood Courier Pres whose motto is "You Do It, We'll Print It."
Whenever Tom Hartman needed a night away from the wife and family
he visited the GGG, the Glorious Guardians of Good, a local
fraternal organization. The head of the lodge was the Keeper of the
Keys, also known as "Massah."
Another well know citizen of Fernwood, Ohio as Barth Gimble
(Martin Mull), a talk show host of "Fernwood 2-Night" broadcast from
WZAZ-TV Channel 6 at Acacia Street. Barth, the egotistical twin
brother of Garth Gimble, a wife beater [who impaled himself in a
closet on an aluminum Christmas tree] performed each talk show with
the help of his half-witted sidekick, Jerry Hubbard (Fred Willard)
and Happy Kyne (Frank DeVol), the leader of the show’s four-man
studio band, the Mirth Makers. One of their finest hours on the air was a contest called "I
would like to throw the switch because...contest."
Barth Gimble, the host of this late night talk show debacle (who
later moved to the fictional town of Alta Coma known as the
"Unfinished Furniture Capital of the World" to host AMERICA 2-NIGHT)
urged his viewing audience to become involved in the festivities of
"Electrocution Night '78," a local happening where a convict was to
be executed "live" on stage. Oh boy, pass the popcorn!
TRIVIA NOTE: In 2004, TV Guide ranked
the 'Mary Hartman' series as No.21 in their list of the "25 Top Cult
Shows Ever!"
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