TV's Madame

TV's Madam (seen in center).

TV's Madam appeared with Joel and the Bots during the fourth host segment for Cave Dwellers to showcase how the whole foley sound system design worked. This puppet was set afire and was played by Trace Beaulieu.

Pop Culture Significance

• "Madame's Place" is an American sitcom that featured the misadventures of Madame, a puppet in the form of a bawdy old movie star with a naughty sense of humor. Madame's Place aired for one first-run season from September 20, 1982 until February 25, 1983, although the actual number of episodes produced is disputed (some references say 75, some say 150). The show was unusual for a sitcom in that it was produced for first-run syndication to air five days a week.

• The series centers around the puppet Madame, who was a huge hit with audiences in the 1970s and 1980s with American puppeteer Wayland Flowers as her creator.

• Madame is an "outrageous old broad" who entertains with double entendres and witty comebacks. Bedecked in fabulous eveningwear and summer diamonds ("Some are diamonds; some are not"), Madame's look is based on movie stars such as Gloria Swanson. Madame lived in a plush mansion with her butler, ex-boxer Pinkerton (Johnny Haymer); they interacted with nerdy day planner Bernadette (Susan Tolsky), Madame's beautiful, IQ-challenged, southern-belle niece Sara Joy (Judy Landers), and nosy kid neighbor Buzzy (Corey Feldman).

• Madame's Place covered all of the bases from an abandoned baby on the doorstep to an outrageous fortune teller (played by guest star Edie McClurg) peddling her theories.

• Within the series, Madame had a talk show featuring guests including Debbie Reynolds, Foster Brooks, and William Shatner.