Mrs. Carlson

Lillian Carlson is a fictional character on the series WKRP in Cincinnati. She is often referred to as "Mom" or "Mama" by her son Arthur (Gordon Jump), but in the final season of the show, her first name is revealed to be Lillian. The role was first played in the pilot episode by Sylvia Sidney, who agreed reluctantly to the role, with Carol Bruce cast as her replacement in all subsequent episode.

Mrs. Carlson is a strong-willed, resilient female industrialist, ahead of the time of her own male-dominated generation. This is evidenced in an episode where she confesses to Andy (Gary Sandy) and Jennifer (Loni Anderson) that Arthur reminds her of her late husband (Arthur's father) Hank. They learn that Mrs. Carlson managed to wrestle control of Carlson Industries away from her husband because she felt he was too weak for business, and that Hank, having lost the respect of his wife, later died, presumably of a broken heart.

Prior to her marriage, Mrs. Carlson enjoyed a brief career as a showgirl and a singer, the latter talent she displays one episode where the Flimm building is without heat and the staff is consuming liquor to stay warm. Mrs. Carlson's perception of those around her may have been clouded by her unconventional earlier vocation, likely making her more determined to be successful in business.

Her son Arthur is presumed to be her only child, as no other children are mentioned in future episodes. Though she's hard on her son by often berating him in front of his subordinates, she still maintains a deep-seated desire to protect him, largely out of guilt from her early years of pushing and bullying, in hopes of making him hard and strong like her. She confides this to Andy Travis that her plan had backfired, making him soft and weak. Andy, one of the few staffers who dares to disagree with her, says it's not so, that her son is strong and assertive...when he truly has to be.

This is evidenced when Arthur's wife Carmen becomes pregnant, despite the couple's advancing years. Mrs. Carlson, who cares deeply about Carmen and the position she could find herself in as a middle-aged mother, recommends to Arthur that she have an abortion. Though Arthur doesn't take a stand at the time, he ultimately stands up to his mother.

Mrs. Carlson, though hard and strong, is prone to giving in, when she agrees to the format change in the pilot episode after Arthur stands up to her, and when she agrees not to change the format, after Dr. Johnny Fever (Howard Hessman) learns that Mrs. Carlson wants WKRP to fail so it can continue as a tax shelter for Carlson Industries. Mrs. Carlson gives in only after Johnny threatens to tell Arthur the real motivation behind her plan.

Mrs. Carlson's real match is Hirsch (Ian Wolfe), her ascerbic butler who has been in her employ for more than four decades. She summons him (notably by yelling his last name) for the most mundane of tasks, like fetching her the phone that's sitting right next to her, which he will simply abruptly turn around to face her. He'll also take his time in getting the door...to the point where she'll call after him again.

Though Mrs. Carlson sees Andy Travis as a subordinate, she takes a liking to him because of his strikingly good looks. After Andy courts her to persuade her to buy a new transmitter, she's wise enough to use the situation to her own advantage...recapture her youth by being seen with an attractive younger man. Wise to each other's motives, this is further exploited when Andy cuts a deal with her after the staff considers unionization. Andy agrees to keep the union out if she'll agree to pour more money into the station. She agrees to his terms, and Arthur and the staff never learn the truth.