One weird fact connects Halloween (1978) and Mama's Family
You might not expect it, but Mama's Family, the Vicki Lawrence '80s sitcom, is forever tied to horror history. And no, it's not the fact that Mama's Family has an episode titled "Child's Play," the same name that launched killer doll Chucky into our nightmares forever.
No, the bigger connection is a residency. Specifically, we're taking a close look at 1027 Montrose Avenue, South Pasadena, CA. From 1983 to 1990, the location was famous for its prominence in the opening credits of Mama's Family. It was the Harper family home, supposedly located in Raytown, Missouri, a suburb of Kansas City.
But Mama's Family wasn't the first time Pasadena was passed off as the Midwest.
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Horror historians will recognize right away that Pasadena was used as a substitute for suburban Illinois in John Carpenter and Debra Hill's 1978 masterpiece Halloween. The production spent lots of time and effort turning sunny California into the slightly less sunny Haddonfield, home to Jamie Lee Curtis' Laurie Strode and her friends. The movie was filmed in May. Spring in California looks considerably different from autumn in the Midwest, and so the crew hand-painted artificial and recycled leaves to better resemble fall in Illinois.
One of Laurie Strode's friends, Lynda, lives in a familiar-looking house. That's because that same Montrose Avenue address appeared in Halloween five years before it was in Mama's Family.
Lynda's house in Halloween and Mama's house in Mama's Family are the same house!
So, next time you relax into the comforts of a funny, familiar episode of Mama's Family, just make sure Michael Myers isn't lurking behind the Harpers' couch, ready to slash!
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