7/15/2019 Producer Susan Harris interview

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BEHIND THE SCENES

Susan Harris has ahigh-class problemBy Frank Lovece

SusanHarris isn't a golden

girl. Unlike the four womenwho inhabit her new NBC se-

ries "Theicolden Girls," the

She created the hits "Soap"and "Benson." She also creat-ed the flops "It Takes Two,""I'm a Big Girl Now" and

"Hail to the Chief." But look atit this way: How many peoplecan strike out three times and

still come up with the show allthe pundits are touting as thenext runawav hit?

"I've got d high-class prob-lem," admits the earthy MissHarris,"but I'd rather go inwith positive press than nega-tive- But veah. it makes me a

little nedous'wondering if I

can live up to the publicity."Harris knows the pre-pub-

licity jitter too well. Before"Soap" hit the air in 1977, peo-

ole ivere condemning it for,hmong other reasons, featur-ins TV's first continuing gay

character. Despite critical ac-

claim, four years of respect-able ratings, a hit spinoff

('^Benson") and the launching6f several major careers,'"Soap,"' asserts Miss Harris,"was a victim of the advertis-iDg agencies who quickly suc-cumbed to minority pressuregroups."

Herris' new series. about

four of a certain age sharing ahome in Miami. doesn't lookllke it will be as sensitivelyoutrageous as "Soap." For one

thinq, Harris is writing only a

few of the show's episodes her-self. But her stylistic touches

will definitely be evident: Asone of the show's three cre-ators (along with her husband

Paul Junger Witt and TonyThomas), Miss Harris will be

around to doctor scripts whenshe isn't off working on an up-coming Disney project.

"I've grown," she says, "butbasically I'm the same person

with the same sort of visionand the same slightly skewedway of looking at things. Myview of the world has re-mained fairly consistent."

Does this mean "Soap's"Jessica Tate will someday vis-it "Golden Girls" as she spiri-tuallv visited "Benson"?

-N'o," laughs Miss Harris. "Ihave to assume'Jessica livedbecause (actress) KatherineHelmond is in another show

right now."

Susan Harris

Release the week of Oct, 20-Oct. 26, 1985