S. Robert Lichterand Daniel R. Amundson

It takes diff'rent strokes to move the world.

-- "Diff'rent Strokes" Theme Song

When Kingfish uttered his last "Holy Mackerel, Andy!" in 1953, it marked the
end of television's most controversial depiction of blacks. Ironically, the departure of
"Amos 'n' Andy" also signaled the end of a brief period of ethnic diversity that would
not reappear in prime time for two decades. Several of the earliest family sitcoms
were transplanted radio shows set in America's black or white ethnic subcultures.
"The Goldbergs" followed the lives of a Jewish immigrant family in New York for
twenty years on radio before switching to the new medium in 1949. It featured
Gertrude Berg as Molly Goldberg, everyone's favorite Jewish mother. An even more
successful series that premiered the same year was "Mama," which chronicled a Nor-
wegian immigrant family in turn-of-the-century San Francisco. Theme music by
Grieg added to the "ethnic" atmosphere, as did accents that made Aunt "Yenny" into
a popular character. These white ethnic shows were soon joined by the all-black
"Amos 'n' Andy" as well as "Beulah," which starred the black maid of a white mid-
dle-class family.

All these shows relied on stereotypical dialogue and behavior for much of their hu-
mor. But social standards were changing, and the new medium created its own de-
mands and perceptions. For example, not only Amos and Andy but even Beulah had
been portrayed on radio by white males. When the popular radio show "Life withLuigi"

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