Morning name on the 8th: Park Overall, the actor.
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From Wikipedia:
Park Overall (born March 15, 1957) is an American actress, environmental and women’s rights activist, and former U.S. Senate candidate, known for her trademark heavy Southern accent. Her best-known role was as nurse Laverne Higby Todd Kane in the sitcom Empty Nest, though she has appeared in a number of feature films, including Biloxi Blues, Mississippi Burning, Talk Radio, and more recently, In the Family.
That Southern accent is from eastern Tennessee, where Overall grew up. Overall complained that Empty Nest portrayed her character as a hillbilly, but she stayed in the role to honor her contract.
Overall in this role can be viewed in this YouTube clip, where she’s sparring with Bea Arthur as the character Dorothy Zbornak.
On Empty Nest, from Wikipedia:
Empty Nest is an American sitcom that originally aired on NBC from 1988 to 1995. The series was created as a spin-off of The Golden Girls by creator and producer Susan Harris.
… The show concept borrowed some elements from the British comedy series Father, Dear Father, also featuring a father living with his two daughters and large dog. However, unlike that series (in which the daughters are still teenagers and the ex-wife and her new husband are both conspicuously present), the two daughters in Empty Nest are self-supporting adults, and the lead character is a widower.
… The show revolves around pediatrician Dr. Harry Weston (Richard Mulligan), whose life is turned upside down when his wife, Libby, dies, and two of his adult daughters move back into the family home in Miami. Early episodes established that The Golden Girls were neighbors of the Westons (Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan, and Betty White all guest-starred as their Golden Girls characters, and vice versa), while Estelle Getty eventually became a regular on the series. Weston always wanted a boy and occasionally expressed regret at never having had one.
Eldest daughter Carol (Dinah Manoff) was a neurotic and high-strung recent divorcée, while middle daughter Barbara (Kristy McNichol) was a tough undercover police officer. The two sisters frequently bickered and vied for the attention of their father, whom they called “Daddy.” The Westons’ large dog Dreyfuss was also prominently featured.
… Another main character was the Westons’ neighbor, Charley Dietz (David Leisure), a womanizing cruise ship employee who frequently barged into the house unannounced to borrow food or make sexist comments. Charley had a father-son relationship with Harry and a love-hate relationship with Carol.
Harry’s job was another major focus for the show. For the first five seasons Harry worked at a hospital where he was aided by his wise-cracking Southern nurse Laverne (Park Overall).
The program’s central cast in 1988:
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The actors, left to right: Manoff, McNichol, Mulligan, Overall, Leisure
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