Erma B: Portrait of a Humorist Quiz

Answer: February 21, 1927

At that time the family lived in a working class area home that included Erma's elder half-sister, Thelma. Cassius Fiste died when Erma was nine. Two years later, her mother married a man named Albert Harris.

Answer: Dayton, Ohio

A midwesterner from birth until 1971, Erma originally attended Ohio University at Athens, but left after one semester due to lack of funds. She later enrolled in the University of Dayton, a Roman Catholic school. She converted to Catholicism in 1949. The University of Dayton now holds annual writers' workshops in Erma's name.

Answer: At Wit's End

Erma was initially paid three dollars for each column she contributed to The Kettering-Oakwood Times, a newspaper which served two suburbs of Dayton, Ohio. "At Wit's End", the book, was a collection of many of those columns. It was published in 1967.

Answer: The Grass is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank

This book about life in the suburbs struck a chord not just with women, but with thousands of readers all over America. The pages were brimming with witty tales of picture windows, home parties, school functions, neighborhood nomads, perfect housewives, and not-so-perfect vacations.

The TV movie was intended to serve as a pilot for a series that never materialized (due to the movie's low viewership).

Answer: Good Morning America

Erma did some humorous commentary, gag segments, interviews with interesting people, and occasionally touched on more serious matters with prominent subjects. Her tenure on the show was from 1975 to 1986, with varying frequency.

Not only was Erma at the height of her popularity during this time, but so was "Good Morning America". The years it was hosted by David Hartman garnered the highest ratings, which continued to increase when Joan Lunden joined the show in 1980.

Answer: Please Don't Eat the Daisies

Published in 1957, "Please Don't Eat the Daisies" was written by Jean Kerr. It was made into a feature film, and later a television series. Erma often cited Kerr as an influence on her style, since her subject matter often focused on family matters.

Answer: Maggie

"Maggie" lasted for eight episodes before before its inevitable cancellation due to lack of viewership. It starred Miriam Flynn (only 29 at the time), who would later be known as Cousin Catherine in the "Vacation" movies, and the voice of Maa, The Very Old Ewe in the 1995 film "Babe". Also in the cast was Doris Roberts, who would go on to win four Emmys as an overbearing mother on "Everybody Loves Raymond".

Despite the ratings, CBS was pleased with the series and asked Erma to try again, but she didn't want another series to tie her to Los Angeles and keep her away from her family in Arizona. She turned down the offer.

Answer: The Equal Rights Amendment

In 1978, Erma was involved in the Presidential Advisory Committee for Women. She traveled the country lecturing on the importance of the amendment, which proposed equal opportunity and treatment of Americans regardless of gender. Critics of the ERA claimed that if passed, women would be drafted for military service in the event of war, and would not be exempt from even the heaviest physical labor in employment.

Although she had always kept politics out of her columns and books, some booksellers removed Erma's books in protest at her stance.

Answer: A Marriage Made in Heaven...or Too Tired for an Affair

The other three selections are titles of books by Irene Kampen, another of Erma's witty predecessors whose 1961 book, "Life Without George" was the basis for "The Lucy Show".

Unlike most of her previous work, "A Marriage Made in Heaven..." contained some serious wisdom along with Erma's usual humor. She shared a story of how she and husband Bill dealt with the untimely death of a young friend, their financial struggles in the early days, and their son's wedding. It was a welcome glimpse into the life a famous couple whose union had lasted over 40 years.

Answer: Forever, Erma

The subtitle, "Best-Loved Writing From America's Favorite Humorist", summed it up perfectly. Editors Donna Martin and Alan McDermott completed this tribute one year after Erma passed away from complications following a kidney transplant April 22, 1996. She was 69.

Erma's husband Bill was later remarried, to a woman named Carol who had coincidentally lost two sons to kidney disease as well. One of Erma's sons, Andrew, would also undergo a transplant a decade after her unsuccessful surgery, with his wife as the kidney donor. And in addition to the writers' workshops in Dayton, there is now a dialysis unit at the Phoenix Children's hospital in Erma's name (made possible by a substantial donation from Bill and Carol Bombeck), and an Organ Donor Awareness Project as well. The phrase, "gone but not forgotten", certainly applies. Thanks for playing!