Cathy McConnell is a recurring character who from Season 2 on is Mindy McConnell's stepmother and Fred McConnell's second wife. She appears in three episodes of Mork and Mindy. The part of Cathy is played by longtime sitcom star Shelley Fabares.
Character Summary[]
Cathy is Fred's second wife, who he meets when embarking on leading the touring symphony orchestra after selling the Music Store. Cathy was a flautist in the woodwind section, and for the first six months that is all there was to their relationship until they began to notice how well they got on/perfect for each other they were.
A red head with grey eyes, and 15 years younger than Fred, she in no way resembles Mindy's late mother, Elizabeth 'Beth' McConnell, who, as Mindy describes, was like herself, a brunette with blue eyes.
Cathy is introduced to Mindy and Mork on Fred's return to Boulder in S2's A Mommy for Mindy. Having received a telegram from Fred to prep two extra places for dinner, and expecting Cora with him, both Mork & Mindy are surprised at Fred's arrival with a beautiful red head. And even more surprised when after introductions are made, Fred announces that he and Cathy have just been married, and are stopping off on their way to their honeymoon in Acapulco. While Mork is overjoyed at a 'Mom' to go along with 'Pops', Mindy is far more reticent in her enthusiasm, something that Cathy immediately recognizes, and understands, but not Fred or Mork. Both men are keen to have Mindy embrace Cathy as a new mother, as she works through her issues with this sudden turn of events. But in the end it is Cathy who tells them both that Mindy in no way has to look on her as a mother, telling Fred firmly before they leave, that she cannot and has no intention of replacing her mother, but she hopes that she can be a good friend to her new step-daughter.
And that is what they become, Cathy bemoaning that, due to her touring with her own group, she doesn't have more time for 'their wicked little mother-step daughter talks', both women confiding in each other during their time together. Especially when Fred's behavior starts to become odd and it transpires that he is feeling insecure about his looks given that Cathy is 15 years younger than he is, and feeling she could go off him the older he gets.(Mork's New Look) A notion she firmly disabuses him of when she discovers what he's thinking, telling him if he wants to change for his own sake/well being, she is fine with that, but he should make no effort to change for her, she loves him as he is.
No doubt because she is away travelling so much, and much like Cora, Cathy is not immediately let into the truth about her son-in-law, and once Mindy breaks the news to Fred (or rather Mork lets the cat out of the bag) that she is going to marry Mork, she cannot fathom why Fred takes so badly against it. (The Wedding) Bewildered, she can only point out that its obvious Mork & Mindy are in love, so why is he so against it? With Fred unable to tell her the truth, he tries to get her to trust him on their being from 'different worlds.' Nodding, Cathy says he needs to talk to Mindy privately that's clear, and she'll abide by whatever decision they come to, before telling Mindy she's throwing her a shower that coming Saturday, throwing her weight foursquare behind the couple and come the wedding day she is Mindy's Matron of Honor.
Personality[]
Cathy is a kind and insightful person who immediately recognizes the awkward position Mindy has been placed in and the adaptation she has to make, given Fred did not inform her about his intention to re-marry, nor forewarn her of their arrival. She is secure enough in herself and her new relationship to contradict Fred straight out in his assertion that Mindy should think of her as her mother, and puts no pressure on her to be more than friends.
With a good, and wicked sense of humor she finds Mork's strange foibles and behavior, amusing and takes him in her stride.
Relationships[]
Fred - Cathy is very much in love with her husband, and appears to be both a calming and energizing influence on him, able to speak with firm quiet confidence to him, with even her arguments with him, done with a smile, simply circumnavigating some of his more extreme/dogmatic pronouncements.
Mindy - After a rocky start, which Cathy probably understood better than most, Cathy and her step-daughter ended up as good friends, with Cathy acting as Mindy's Matron of Honor on her wedding day.
Mork - Having been forewarned by Fred about Mork, Cathy is mostly amused by Mork, though she can never tell when he's serious. She is also highly supportive of having him as her stepson-in law, clearly able to see that the pair are in love.
Appearances[]
External links[]
- Cathy McConnell article at Wikipedia