That's My Mama (1974): 18 Shocking Facts You Totally Missed

That's My Mama (1974) was a barbershop sitcom hiding Jackson Five hits, a Love Boat bartender and a secret baby girl. Clifton Davis wrote Never Can Say Goodbye for the Jackson Five before he ever picked up the clippers on ABC. Weeks into the show, Gloria Gaynor turned his song into a disco smash. Ted Lange's Junior sailed off to become Isaac the bartender on The Love Boat, and Theresa Merritt's Mama later shared a movie screen with Michael Jackson in The Wiz. The series even began as a pilot with a different son, and the first Earl lasted only two episodes. Earl married the new Tracy for real, Leonard was the first victim in a horror classic, and the men behind Elvis' comeback special built this barbershop. Then Little House on the Prairie moved in next door. And the bonus: the first Tracy gave up a baby girl in 1964, and decades later that daughter, who had watched her Mama on TV every week, finally found her. 0:00 Intro 0:24 Jackson Five hit 1:42 Love Boat 3:08 Broadway Mama 5:39 First Earl 8:58 Horror victim 12:20 Checker players 15:30 Disco twist 17:32 Canceled 20:51 Bonus 👇 Which fact surprised you the most? Tell me in the comments.