# That Was Life, The One You Get...Sure Hope You Had A Ball - Bonnie Franklin RIP **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 1, 2013, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-life-the-one-you-get-sure-hope-you-had-a-ball-bonnie-franklin-rip/651749 "2013-03-01T18:51:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-life-the-one-you-get-sure-hope-you-had-a-ball-bonnie-franklin-rip/651749/1 "2013-03-01T18:51:29Z")
So it seems Mrs. Romano has gotten up on her wings, and somewhere there’s (harp) music playing. [Bonnie Franklin dies of pancreatic cancer](http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-cm-bonnie-franklin-dies-at-69-20130301,0,6152971.story). ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-life-the-one-you-get-sure-hope-you-had-a-ball-bonnie-franklin-rip/651749/2 "2013-03-01T18:53:06Z")
That is truly sad news. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-life-the-one-you-get-sure-hope-you-had-a-ball-bonnie-franklin-rip/651749/3 "2013-03-01T19:08:08Z")
69 is too young for one of the good guys. I wish they’d had more reunions of that show; I remember it as being really good (though I haven’t seen reruns in a while), but it’s largely forgotten now other than for spawning Valerie Bertinelli and for the troubles with Mackenzie Phillips. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-life-the-one-you-get-sure-hope-you-had-a-ball-bonnie-franklin-rip/651749/4 "2013-03-01T19:21:28Z")
RIP, Bonnie. You were likely my first redhead crush. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-life-the-one-you-get-sure-hope-you-had-a-ball-bonnie-franklin-rip/651749/5 "2013-03-01T19:23:08Z")
[Not the best photo of her](http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/01/showbiz/obit-bonnie-franklin/index.html?hpt=hp_t3) - does she have a jawbreaker or is she hiding a wad of tobacky in her cheek? Oh, yeah - pancreatic cancer, 69 is too young, \*ODAAT \*was part of my childhood, etc. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-life-the-one-you-get-sure-hope-you-had-a-ball-bonnie-franklin-rip/651749/6 "2013-03-01T19:24:24Z")
Merged duplicate threads. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-life-the-one-you-get-sure-hope-you-had-a-ball-bonnie-franklin-rip/651749/7 "2013-03-01T20:27:21Z")
Loved loved loved that show, but haven’t thought about it in years. I think if re-runs were shown today, it wouldn’t have aged well at all, with the wimmens lib thing…too bad, RIP, Bonnie. You were so cute, wish you had been my mom! ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-life-the-one-you-get-sure-hope-you-had-a-ball-bonnie-franklin-rip/651749/8 "2013-03-01T20:33:42Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > Loved loved loved that show, but haven’t thought about it in years. I think if re-runs were shown today, it wouldn’t have aged well at all, with the wimmens lib thing…too bad, RIP, Bonnie. You were so cute, wish you had been my mom! It is interesting how controversial the show was, having its main character be a divorced woman. Norman Lear, of course…probably the gutsiest man in the TV business in the 70s. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-life-the-one-you-get-sure-hope-you-had-a-ball-bonnie-franklin-rip/651749/9 "2013-03-01T20:51:38Z")
Oh my goodness… how very sad. So young. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-life-the-one-you-get-sure-hope-you-had-a-ball-bonnie-franklin-rip/651749/10 "2013-03-01T20:54:32Z")
Womens Lib and no bra is what I remember from One Day at a Time. 😉 Bonnie made quite the impression on me in junior high. She was good in that show. I always hoped she would get a new series. R.I.P. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-life-the-one-you-get-sure-hope-you-had-a-ball-bonnie-franklin-rip/651749/11 "2013-03-01T20:55:10Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > It is interesting how controversial the show was, having its main character be a divorced woman. Dumb question - at the age I was when it aired, it never occurred to me that the title could be a reference to an AA platitude. Was Ann Romano also supposed to be alcoholic? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-life-the-one-you-get-sure-hope-you-had-a-ball-bonnie-franklin-rip/651749/12 "2013-03-01T21:02:45Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Dumb question - at the age I was when it aired, it never occurred to me that the title could be a reference to an AA platitude. > > Was Ann Romano also supposed to be alcoholic? Not that I remember. It was touched on, as were many other social issues, in the plots, but I don’t remember Ann having a problem. Of course, Mackenzie Phillips wasn’t so lucky… ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-life-the-one-you-get-sure-hope-you-had-a-ball-bonnie-franklin-rip/651749/13 "2013-03-01T21:32:26Z")
I grew up watching _One Day At A Time_. Might not have been my first choice of shows to watch at the time, but I had two older sisters who loved it and Valerie Bertinelli became one of my first TV crushes. Some of the serious issues the show dealt with made an impression on me. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-life-the-one-you-get-sure-hope-you-had-a-ball-bonnie-franklin-rip/651749/14 "2013-03-01T23:47:01Z")
Never saw the show much, but IMHO it had one of the all-time best TV theme songs. (And was written by the guy who also wrote the theme to “The Jeffersons” and the Archies’ “Sugar Sugar”). And speaking of matters musical, [here’s](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89DzMDC6gws) Bonnie Franklin singing in “Applause.” RIP. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-life-the-one-you-get-sure-hope-you-had-a-ball-bonnie-franklin-rip/651749/15 "2013-03-01T23:50:03Z")
☹ Cancer sucks. RIP, Bonnie! ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2013, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-life-the-one-you-get-sure-hope-you-had-a-ball-bonnie-franklin-rip/651749/16 "2013-03-02T00:58:21Z")
Yeah, I too grew up on that show. And while I mostly lusted after Valerie, I though the mom was cuter that her eldest (sorry Mackenzie). Not to put her down or anything, but for me she completely disappeared after this show ended. I’ve read she concentrated on live theater, but did she ever appear \*anywhere \*on TV or film after ODaaT? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2013, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-life-the-one-you-get-sure-hope-you-had-a-ball-bonnie-franklin-rip/651749/17 "2013-03-02T01:08:02Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Yeah, I too grew up on that show. And while I mostly lusted after Valerie, I though the mom was cuter that her eldest (sorry Mackenzie). Not to put her down or anything, but for me she completely disappeared after this show ended. I’ve read she concentrated on live theater, but did she ever appear \*anywhere \*on TV or film after ODaaT? [Her IMDB page](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0291364/). Looks like she mostly did guest-starring roles and not many of them. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2013, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-life-the-one-you-get-sure-hope-you-had-a-ball-bonnie-franklin-rip/651749/18 "2013-03-02T01:09:40Z")
I still remember a scene with Valerie counting while stirring the brownie mix and she gets distracted by the phone, so she goes over the 50 strokes the directions say to do, then she stirs it backwards for a few strokes to get back to 50. I don’t know why that scene cracked me up. Anyway, it was a fun show and I liked Bonnie Franklin a lot. RIP Bonnie. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2013, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-life-the-one-you-get-sure-hope-you-had-a-ball-bonnie-franklin-rip/651749/19 "2013-03-02T01:15:40Z")
Oh man! That sucks. 69? Really? Wait, let me do the math. . … Damn! The last image I have of her is short red hair and large red gums. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2013, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-life-the-one-you-get-sure-hope-you-had-a-ball-bonnie-franklin-rip/651749/20 "2013-03-02T02:21:01Z")
That breaks my heart. ~VOW