MovieChat Forums > Mary Tyler Moore (1970) Discussion > Questions about Phyllis and Mary.

Questions about Phyllis and Mary.

posted 8 years ago by jobie123
3 replies | jump to latest

In the first episode Phyllis, when speaking to her daughter, refers to Mary as Aunt Mary. Were they sisters? Also, I had thought Phyllis owned the building but she mentions calling the building owners when Rhoda says the apartment is hers. Was this just in the pilot and they tweaked a few things once the series was picked up? Or am I just not remembering correctly - after all (pun not intended), it's been a number of years since I've seen it.

[–] catloveranderson84 8 years ago

I think that Mary and Phyllis were old friends and Mary was an "honorary aunt." Not biologically related, but a deep friendship.

[–] Jupiter555555 8 years ago

They're not sisters. Mary explains to Bess that she and Phyllis had known each other for many years. I don't recall a storyline about how they met, there seems to be an age difference so I'm not sure.
A few years in, it is revealed that Phyllis and her husband own the building. She had kept it a secret from Rhoda and Mary because she didn't want to be bothered by maintenance demands.

[–] CarolTheDabbler (575) 2 years ago

A few years in, it is revealed that Phyllis and her husband own the building. She had kept it a secret from Rhoda and Mary because she didn't want to be bothered by maintenance demands.

Thank you for explaining that! I thought I remembered Phyllis being the landlady, but so far (early second season) she's just Mary's old friend (and therefore Bess's honorary aunt). I wonder if they originally meant for Phyllis to be just another tenant, then decided to make her the landlady -- in any case, they picked a very true-to-character explanation. She probably had Mary and Rhoda sending their rent checks to a PO Box.