The Flying Nun
Encyclopedia
The Flying Nun is an American sitcom produced by Screen Gems
for ABC
based on the 1965 book The Fifteenth Pelican, by Tere Rios, which starred Sally Field
as Sister Bertrille. The series originally ran on ABC
from September 7, 1967 to September 18, 1970, producing 83 episodes.
, the series centered on the adventures of a community of nuns in the Convent
San Tanco in San Juan, Puerto Rico
. The comic elements of the storyline were provided by the flying ability of a novice
nun, Sister Bertrille, played by Sally Field
in her second sitcom role after Gidget
.
In the series pilot, Chicago native Elsie Ethrington arrived from New York City after having been arrested for being involved in a protest; she then adopts the name of Sister Bertrille. It was also later learned in the episode "My Sister, the Sister" that Sister Bertrille had come from a family of doctors and is the only one who did not follow in their footsteps. She became a nun after being impressed by the missionary work of her aunt.
Sister Bertrille could be relied upon to solve any problem that came her way by her ability to catch a passing breeze and fly. This was attributed to her small stature and heavily starched cornette
(the headpiece for her habit
; the cornette was based on one worn until the mid-1960's by the Daughters of Charity, although Sister Bertrille was never said to belong to that order). Her flying talents caused as many problems as they solved. She once explained her ability to fly by stating, "When lift plus thrust is greater than load plus drag, anything can fly." The reason behind that statement was that Sister Bertrille weighed only 90 pounds, and in one episode tried to gain more weight so she could stay grounded, but those attempts proved to be a failure.
Madeleine Sherwood
played the sober but gentle Reverend Mother Placido; Marge Redmond
played jolly Sister Jacqueline, whose voice also served as set-up narration for the episodes; Shelley Morrison
played Sister Sixto, whose first language was Spanish and who repeatedly mangled English idioms; Linda Dangcil
played Sister Ana; Vito Scotti
played Captain Gaspar Fomento, the local police officer around San Tanco. Alejandro Rey
played local playboy and casino owner Carlos Ramirez. Ramirez had been an orphan raised by the nuns at San Tanco and maintained his gratitude to them at all times, despite constantly letting Sister Bertrille draft him into her schemes, something she did with alarming frequency.
, never responded favorably to the show, and credited most of its success to the appeal of Sally Field.
The show was also commended by several Roman Catholic orders in the late 1960s for humanizing nuns and their work. It also offered a difficult typecasting
obstacle for star Sally Field to overcome.
, along Hollywood Way north of West Oak Street.
A soundtrack LP featuring songs from the series sung by Sally Field was released by Colgems in 1967.
Field spoke on a DVD featurette for season 1, and talked of taking the role after her stepfather Jock Mahoney
scared her by saying she should not refuse the role as she might not work again in show business. She finally accepted the role and Screen Gems fired their second choice lead Ronne Troup
who had begun filming the pilot. Field recalled hanging from a crane and being humiliated by a parade of episodic TV directors, one of whom actually grabbed her shoulders and moved her into position as if she were a prop. She credits co-star Madeleine Sherwood for mentoring her to enroll in acting classes during her evenings and weekends.
Another problem the show's producers had to contend with was the fact that at the beginning of the filming schedule of The Flying Nun's third (and final) season, Sally Field was noticeably pregnant with her first child. This was a logistical nightmare for a series in which Field's character was supposed to be a religious celibate, and skinny enough to fly away in the wind. The show solved the problem by using props and scenery to block view of Field's body below the chest, and using long shots of Field's stunt double for the flying sequences.
was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series as Sister Jacqueline role during the 1967-68 season. She lost to Marion Lorne
, who won posthumously for her role as "Aunt Clara" on Bewitched
.
has released the first two seasons of The Flying Nun on DVD in Region 1. The third and final season has yet to be released.
Screen Gems
Screen Gems is an American movie production company and subsidiary company of Sony Pictures Entertainment's Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group that has served several different purposes for its parent companies over the decades since its incorporation....
for ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
based on the 1965 book The Fifteenth Pelican, by Tere Rios, which starred Sally Field
Sally Field
Sally Margaret Field is an American actress, singer, producer, director, and screenwriter. In each decade of her career, she has been known for major roles in American TV/film culture, including: in the 1960s, for Gidget or Sister Bertrille on The Flying Nun ; in the 1970s, for Sybil , Smokey and...
as Sister Bertrille. The series originally ran on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
from September 7, 1967 to September 18, 1970, producing 83 episodes.
Series background
Developed by Bernard SladeBernard Slade
Bernard Slade is a Canadian playwright and screenwriter.Born in St. Catharines, Ontario, Slade began his career as an actor with the Garden Center Theatre in Vineland, Ontario. In the mid-1960s, he relocated to Hollywood and began to work as a writer for television sitcoms, including Bewitched...
, the series centered on the adventures of a community of nuns in the Convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
San Tanco in San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
. The comic elements of the storyline were provided by the flying ability of a novice
Novice
A novice is a person or creature who is new to a field or activity. The term is most commonly applied in religion and sports.-Buddhism:In many Buddhist orders, a man or woman who intends to take ordination must first become a novice, adopting part of the monastic code indicated in the vinaya and...
nun, Sister Bertrille, played by Sally Field
Sally Field
Sally Margaret Field is an American actress, singer, producer, director, and screenwriter. In each decade of her career, she has been known for major roles in American TV/film culture, including: in the 1960s, for Gidget or Sister Bertrille on The Flying Nun ; in the 1970s, for Sybil , Smokey and...
in her second sitcom role after Gidget
Gidget (TV series)
Gidget is an American sitcom about a surfing, boy-crazy teenager called "Gidget" and her widowed father Russ Lawrence, a UCLA professor. Sally Field stars as Gidget with Don Porter as her father. The series was first broadcast on ABC from September 15, 1965 through April 21, 1966...
.
In the series pilot, Chicago native Elsie Ethrington arrived from New York City after having been arrested for being involved in a protest; she then adopts the name of Sister Bertrille. It was also later learned in the episode "My Sister, the Sister" that Sister Bertrille had come from a family of doctors and is the only one who did not follow in their footsteps. She became a nun after being impressed by the missionary work of her aunt.
Sister Bertrille could be relied upon to solve any problem that came her way by her ability to catch a passing breeze and fly. This was attributed to her small stature and heavily starched cornette
Cornette
A cornette is a piece of female headwear that was especially popular in the 15th to 17th century. It is essentially a type of wimple consisting of a large starched piece of white cloth that is folded upwards in such a way as to create the resemblance of horns on the wearer's head.Cornettes folded...
(the headpiece for her habit
Religious habit
A religious habit is a distinctive set of garments worn by members of a religious order. Traditionally some plain garb recognisable as a religious habit has also been worn by those leading the religious eremitic and anachoritic life, although in their case without conformity to a particular uniform...
; the cornette was based on one worn until the mid-1960's by the Daughters of Charity, although Sister Bertrille was never said to belong to that order). Her flying talents caused as many problems as they solved. She once explained her ability to fly by stating, "When lift plus thrust is greater than load plus drag, anything can fly." The reason behind that statement was that Sister Bertrille weighed only 90 pounds, and in one episode tried to gain more weight so she could stay grounded, but those attempts proved to be a failure.
Madeleine Sherwood
Madeleine Sherwood
Madeleine Sherwood is a Canadian actress of stage, film and television. She is widely known for her portrayals of Mae/Sister Woman and Miss Lucy in both the Broadway and film versions of Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Sweet Bird of Youth...
played the sober but gentle Reverend Mother Placido; Marge Redmond
Marge Redmond
Marge Redmond is an American actress.-Background/Family:Margery Redmond was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1924. She was the first wife of the late actor Jack Weston, with whom she developed her acting craft at the Cleveland Play House after they married in 1950...
played jolly Sister Jacqueline, whose voice also served as set-up narration for the episodes; Shelley Morrison
Shelley Morrison
Shelley Morrison is an American actress. Early in her career, she was sometimes credited as Rachel Domínguez. Morrison has been a theater and television actress since the early 1960s, predominantly as a character actress in ethnic roles...
played Sister Sixto, whose first language was Spanish and who repeatedly mangled English idioms; Linda Dangcil
Linda Dangcil
Linda Dangcil was an American actress and dancer best known for her roles as Sister Ana in the ABC television series The Flying Nun and Carmen 'Raya' Alonso in the animated series Jem....
played Sister Ana; Vito Scotti
Vito Scotti
Vito Scotti was a veteran character actor who played many roles, primarily from the late-1940s to the mid-1990s. He was known as a man of a thousand faces, for his ability to assume so many divergent roles in more than 200 screen roles, in a nearly 50 year career. He was known for his resourceful...
played Captain Gaspar Fomento, the local police officer around San Tanco. Alejandro Rey
Alejandro Rey
Alejandro Rey was an Argentine actor. He immigrated to the United States in 1960, later became a U.S. citizen and gained his widest acclaim there.-Career:...
played local playboy and casino owner Carlos Ramirez. Ramirez had been an orphan raised by the nuns at San Tanco and maintained his gratitude to them at all times, despite constantly letting Sister Bertrille draft him into her schemes, something she did with alarming frequency.
Reception
The unusual premise caught the attention of the public and the program was a success, yet the story lines were limited, and by the end of the show's run, the writers were struggling to create new situations that would allow the heroine to take flight. Critics, with the notable exception of Cleveland AmoryCleveland Amory
Cleveland Amory was an American author who devoted his life to promoting animal rights. He was perhaps best known for his books about his cat, named Polar Bear, whom he saved from the Manhattan streets on Christmas Eve 1977...
, never responded favorably to the show, and credited most of its success to the appeal of Sally Field.
The show was also commended by several Roman Catholic orders in the late 1960s for humanizing nuns and their work. It also offered a difficult typecasting
Typecasting (acting)
In TV, film, and theatre, typecasting is the process by which a particular actor becomes strongly identified with a specific character; one or more particular roles; or, characters having the same traits or coming from the same social or ethnic groups...
obstacle for star Sally Field to overcome.
Production notes
The San Juan convent courtyard exterior was actually the rear area of a house facade at the Warner Brothers Ranch's suburban street/backlot in Burbank, CaliforniaBurbank, California
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
, along Hollywood Way north of West Oak Street.
A soundtrack LP featuring songs from the series sung by Sally Field was released by Colgems in 1967.
Field spoke on a DVD featurette for season 1, and talked of taking the role after her stepfather Jock Mahoney
Jock Mahoney
Jock Mahoney was an American actor and stuntman of Irish, French, and Cherokee ancestry. Born Jacques O'Mahoney, he was credited variously as Jock Mahoney, Jack O'Mahoney or Jock O'Mahoney. He starred in two television series, both westerns...
scared her by saying she should not refuse the role as she might not work again in show business. She finally accepted the role and Screen Gems fired their second choice lead Ronne Troup
Ronne Troup
Ronne Troup is an American actress best known for her 1970–72 role as "Polly Williams Douglas" on the long-running sitcom My Three Sons.-Biography:Ronne is the daughter of musician/actor Bobby Troup, and his first wife, Cynthia Hare...
who had begun filming the pilot. Field recalled hanging from a crane and being humiliated by a parade of episodic TV directors, one of whom actually grabbed her shoulders and moved her into position as if she were a prop. She credits co-star Madeleine Sherwood for mentoring her to enroll in acting classes during her evenings and weekends.
Another problem the show's producers had to contend with was the fact that at the beginning of the filming schedule of The Flying Nun's third (and final) season, Sally Field was noticeably pregnant with her first child. This was a logistical nightmare for a series in which Field's character was supposed to be a religious celibate, and skinny enough to fly away in the wind. The show solved the problem by using props and scenery to block view of Field's body below the chest, and using long shots of Field's stunt double for the flying sequences.
Awards
Despite the show being unpopular with critics, Marge RedmondMarge Redmond
Marge Redmond is an American actress.-Background/Family:Margery Redmond was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1924. She was the first wife of the late actor Jack Weston, with whom she developed her acting craft at the Cleveland Play House after they married in 1950...
was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series as Sister Jacqueline role during the 1967-68 season. She lost to Marion Lorne
Marion Lorne
Marion Lorne MacDougall was an American actress. After a career in theatre in New York and London, Lorne made her first film in 1951, and for the remainder of her life, played small roles in films and television...
, who won posthumously for her role as "Aunt Clara" on Bewitched
Bewitched
Bewitched is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York and Dick Sargent , Agnes Moorehead, and David White. The show is about a witch who marries a mortal and tries to lead the life of a typical suburban...
.
DVD releases
Sony Pictures Home EntertainmentSony Pictures Home Entertainment
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is the home video distribution arm of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation. It was established in November 1979 as Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment, releasing 20 titles: The Anderson Tapes, Bell, Book and Candle, Born Free, Breakout,...
has released the first two seasons of The Flying Nun on DVD in Region 1. The third and final season has yet to be released.
| DVD name | Ep # | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| The Complete 1st Season | 31 | March 21, 2006 |
| The Complete 2nd Season | 26 | August 15, 2006 |
| The Complete 3rd Season | 26 | TBA |