Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg (1:30) 2009

What do Steve McQueen and Anne Bancroft have in common? They both got their start appearing on a 1950s sitcom The Goldbergs. This documentary follows Gertrude Berg's career on the radio, Broadway, and television. She brought the character of Molly Goldberg to life. Gertrude also created the Goldberg family by writing all the radio and television scripts. Gertrude paved the way for Lucille Ball and her show I Love Lucy. The Goldbergs was a top rated show in the early 50s. Molly's television husband was played by Phillip Loeb. Loeb was very active in creating unions for radio workers and involved in  social justice causes. He was blacklisted during the McCarthy era and eventually committed suicide. Gertrude, loyal to her long time radio/television husband, remained loyal to him. After her show was canceled ( supposedly due to economics), I Love Lucy moved into The Goldbergs time slot. The documentary features interviews from Gertrude's family, friends and coworkers.  My daughter and I watched Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg. I knew that this was an early show about a New York City family who were Jewish but don't remember any of the episodes. My daughter had never heard of the Goldbergs. We both were fascinated with the workings of radio shows and later early television. The section dealing with blacklisting and his disastrous effects on actors' careers and lives should be seen by all Americans. That dark part of our history should never be repeated.