Joyce Bulifant

• Birth Name — Joyce Collins Bulifant • Name — Joyce Bulifant • Image Upright — 0.9 • Born — 16 December 1937 • Birthplace — Newport News, Virginia, U.S. • Education — American Academy of Dramatic Arts • Awards — Palm Springs Walk of Stars • Known for — * The Mary Tyler Moore Show • The Happiest Millionaire • Airplane! • Occupation — Actress • Years Active — 1959–present • Children — 3, including John Mallory Asher Joyce Collins Bulifant (born December 16, 1937) is an American actress and author. In addition to recurring roles on television, including The Mary Tyler Moore Show as Marie Slaughter, Bulifant is recognized for film roles in The Happiest Millionaire and Airplane! and as a frequent panelist on game shows, including Chain Reaction, Match Game, and Password Plus.

Bulifant was born in Newport News, Virginia. She attended Solebury School in New Hope, Pennsylvania, graduating in 1956 in the same class as her first husband, James MacArthur, son of Helen Hayes and Charles MacArthur. She then studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Bulifant's Broadway credits include Tall Story (1958) and The Paisley Convertible (1966). She also appeared onstage in Glad Tidings, Auntie Mame, Gentlemen, The Queens!, and Under the Yum-Yum Tree. She has written and performed autobiographical shows, Life Upon the Wicked Stage and Remembering Helen Hayes with Love, about her former mother-in-law, Helen Hayes, as well as Lillian Gish.

One of Bulifant's earliest roles on television was as a dancer on Arthur Murray's Dance Party (1950–1960). She played Timmie Barnes in Too Young to Go Steady (1959), Mary Gentry in Tom, Dick and Mary (1964–1965), Marie Slaughter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970–1977), Peggy Wilson on Love Thy Neighbor (1973), Lois on It's a Man's World (1962–1963), Marsha Patterson on The Bill Cosby Show (1969–1971), and Marjorie Martin on Big John, Little John (1976–1977). She was heard as the voice of Queen Vanda on the syndicated cartoon series Sport Billy (1982). She was also a regular on CBS’s Flo, as Flo’s best friend Miriam Willoughby from 1980 to 1981.

Bulifant guest-starred as Jessica in Tales of Wells Fargo, episode "Fraud," in 1961, in addition to episodes of Channing; Empire; The Virginian; Bonanza; Gunsmoke; Wagon Train; Destry Rides Again; The Real McCoys; McHale's Navy; Dr. Kildare; Naked City; Police Woman; My Three Sons; Love, American Style; The Facts of Life; Harper Valley PTA; The Bad News Bears; Alice; Three's Company; The Joey Bishop Show; and The Donald O'Connor Show. She played an intended murder victim in a 1961 episode of Boris Karloff's Thriller (episode: "An Attractive Family"). She starred opposite her future husband, Roger Perry, in a 1962 pilot for General Electric Theater called "The First Hundred Years" and with Eva Le Galliene in The Play of the Week Thérèse Raquin. She played Jenny Logan, the incorruptible wife of Tom Logan, played by Frank Aletter, both of whom were being tempted by Mr. Lucifer, played by Fred Astaire, and Mr. Lucifer's assistant, Iris Hecate, played by Elizabeth Montgomery, in "Mr. Lucifer", a 1962 episode of Alcoa Presents. She played innocent defendant Nancy Banks in the Perry Mason 1964 episode "The Case of the Ice-Cold Hands", the second of two appearances on that show. She played Miriam Willoughby on Flo and David Spade's mother on Just Shoot Me! From 1994 to 1997, she played Emily Wallace, the mother of her real-life son John Asher's character in Weird Science.

Bulifant appeared in Hanging by a Thread, Better Late Than Never, Little Women, Charley's Aunt, and The Shining.

Bulifant appeared as a frequent guest on game shows including Name That Tune, Password, Match Game, Crosswits, Tattletales, To Tell the Truth, $25,000 Pyramid, and Decisions Decisions, along with David Letterman.

Bulifant was the original choice for the role of Carol Brady on ABC's The Brady Bunch, but the part ultimately went to Florence Henderson.

Bulifant received a Theatre World Award for 1961–1962 for her performance in Whisper to Me. In 2014, she and her husband Roger Perry were honored with a Golden Palm Star on the Walk of Stars in Palm Springs, California.

Bulifant has been married five times: • Her first husband was actor James MacArthur. They married on November 2, 1958, had two children together, Mary MacArthur and Charles MacArthur, and divorced in 1967. • Her second husband was Days of Our Lives star Edward Mallory. They married on September 19, 1969, and had one child, John Mallory Asher. They divorced in 1974. • Her third husband was TV director William Asher. He adopted her son John, giving him the last name of Asher. She and Asher married August 28, 1976, and divorced in 1993. • Her fourth marriage was to Glade Bruce Hansen; they married in 2000 and divorced the next year. • Her fifth husband was actor Roger Perry. They married in 2002 after he divorced his wife of many years, Jo Anne Worley, and remained wed until Perry's death on July 12, 2018. Bulifant has a grandson, Evan Joseph Asher, from her son John's marriage to Jenny McCarthy.

Bulifant discovered she had dyslexia in her 40s and has served as a longtime advocate for dyslexia research, including writing two musicals on the subject, Gifts of Greatness and Different Heroes, Different Dreams. Recipients of the Hans Christian Andersen Award, which Bulifant founded to recognize dyslexics who've made a positive contribution to society, include Stephen J. Cannell and Whoopi Goldberg. Bulifant herself is a recipient of the 2015 Broken Glass Award from The Dyslexia Foundation. She has for many years been actively involved with the child abuse prevention nonprofit Childhelp, including serving as a Celebrity Ambassador and as a vice-president on the National Board of Directors. She also advocates for autism research. Her memoir, My Four Hollywood Husbands, details the alcoholism of four of her spouses and her recovery from codependent relationships.

• Year — Title — Character — Notes — ref • 1959 — Tall Story — Nancy — * Written by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse * Suggested by the novel The Homecoming Game by Howard Nemerov * Featuring songs by Joe Hornsby, Ben G. Allen, and Jerry Teifer * Music arranged by Edward Thomas • 1967 — The Paisley Convertible — Amy Rodgers — Understudies: Richard Hoffman (Charlie Rodgers, Ralph Keppleman), Jen Nelson (Meg Tynan) and Mary Rausch (Amy Rodgers, Sylvia Greer)

• Year — Title — Character — Notes — ref • 1961 — The Play of the Week — Episode: "Therese Raquin" (S 2:Ep 24) • Naked City — Connie Hacker — Episode: "Take and Put" (S 2:Ep 32) • 1962 — Thriller — Jinny Willis — Episode: "An Attractive Family" (S 2: Ep15) • General Electric Theater — Connie Duncan — Episode: "The First Hundred Years" (S 10:Ep 34) • Alcoa Premiere — Jenny Logan — Episode: "Mr. Lucifer" (S 2:Ep 5) • Gunsmoke — Ellie — Episode: "Uncle Sunday" (S 8:Ep 14) • 1963 — My Three Sons — Rebecca Holly — Episode: "Flashback" (S 3:Ep 19) • Empire — Betty Wormser — Episode: "The Tiger Inside" (S 1:Ep 20) • Perry Mason — Hollis Wilburn — Episode: "The Case of the Surplus Suitor" (S 6:ep 19) • The Real McCoys — Barbara — Episode: "The Peacemakers" (S 6:Ep 36) • McHale's Navy — Lt. Georgianna Comstock — Episode: "Today I Am a Man!" (S 2:Ep 7) • 1964 — The Virginian — Nancy Mayhew — Episode: "Roar from the Mountain" (S 2:Ep 16) • Perry Mason — Nancy Banks — Episode: "The Case of the Ice-Cold Hands" (S 7:Ep 16) • Arrest and Trial — Alice — Episode: "A Roll of the Dice" (S 1:Ep 22) • Destry — Sheba Hannibal — Episode: "Go Away, Little Sheba" (S 1:Ep 7) • Wagon Train — Julie — Episode: "The Michael Malone Story" (S 7:Ep 16) • 1964–65 — Tom, Dick and Mary — Mary Gentry — Part of the umbrella title of a short-lived NBC experiment comprising three situation comedies set in a Southern California apartment complex located at the 90 Bristol Court address. • 1966 — Dr. Kildare — Judy Cannon • 1968 — The Woody Woodbury Show — Herself — Episodes: * "February 20, 1968" (S 1:Ep 127) * "July 2, 1968" (S 1:Ep 223) • 1969 — Lancer — Cassie — Episode: "Angel Day And Her Sunshine Girls" (S 1:Ep 19) • 1969–71 — The Bill Cosby Show — Mrs. Patterson — Main cast • 1970 — Bonanza — Bonnie — Episode: "Return Engagement" (S 11:Ep 22) • 1971–77 — The Mary Tyler Moore Show — Marie Slaughter • 1973 — Love Thy Neighbor — Peggy Wilson — * Main cast * American remake of the British sitcom Love Thy Neighbour on the ABC Network. • Love, American Style — Episode: "Love and the Awkward Age" {S 5:Ep 49) • 1973–82 — Match Game — Herself — Semi-regular panelist • 1974 — Tattletales — Herself — Episode: "March 18, 1974" (S 1:Ep 5) • The Michele Lee Show — Gladys Gooch — * Pilot (S 1:Ep 1) * Only the pilot episode was aired and the series did not proceed on CBS. • Sierra — Shirley — Episode: "Taking Cody Winslow" (S 1:Ep 3) • Police Woman — Peggy Lakes — Episode: "Warning: All Wives..." (S 1:Ep 3) • 1975–77 — Match Game PM — Herself — Semi-Regular Panelist • 1976 — Police Story — Katie Pardnales — Episode: "Monster Manor" (S 4:Ep 8) • 1976 — Big John, Little John — Marjorie Martin — Recurring • 1977 — $20,000 Pyramid — Herself — Episode: "Joyce Bulifant & David Doyle" (S 6:Ep 11) • Three's Company — Mrs. Cross — Episode: "Chrissy's Date" (S 2:Ep 5) • 1978 — $20,000 Pyramid — Herself — Episode: "Joyce Bulifant & Ron Glass" (S 6:Ep 26) • Alice — Connie Raymond — Episode: "Who Ordered the Hot Turkey?" (S 3:Ep 9) • 1979 — Turnabout — 9-months-expectant mother — Episode: "We're a Little Late, Folks" (S 1:Ep 3) • The Bad News Bears — Alice — Episodes:* "Three's a Crowd" (S 1:Ep 9) * "Wedding Bells, part 1" (S 2: Ep 2) • The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo — Episode: "Disco Fever Comes To Orly" (S 1:Ep 4) • 1979–81 — Password Plus — Herself • 1980 — Chain Reaction — Herself — Celebrity guest • 1980–81 — Flo — Miriam Willoughby — Spin-off of Alice. • 1982 — Harper Valley PTA — Episode: "The Return Of Charlie's Chow Palace" (S 2:Ep 16} • 1980–81 — Sport Billy — Sport Lilly/Queen Vanda • 1985 — The Facts of Life — Margaret — Episode: "Teacher, Teacher" (S 7:Ep 4) • 1987 — American Playhouse — Miss Delahay — Episode: "Charley's Aunt" (S 6:Ep 14) • 1994–97 — Weird Science — Emily Wallace • 1999 — E! True Hollywood Story — Herself — Episode: "The Brady Bunch" (S 3:Ep 21) • 2001 — Just Shoot Me! — Fantasia 'Fanny' Olivia Finch — Episode: "Fanny Finch" (S 5:Ep19)

Bulifant's most popular film roles were as Rosemary in the Disney live-action feature The Happiest Millionaire, in which she sang "Bye-Yum Pum Pum," and in the 1980 comedy Airplane! In Airplane!, Bulifant played the mother of a daughter in need of a heart transplant, played by Jill Whelan, in a nod to characters from Airport 1975. This was fitting, since Whelan had already begun playing Vicki Stubing on The Love Boat, the daughter of the Love Boat captain, played by Gavin MacLeod. MacLeod and Bulifant played a married couple on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Airplane thus tied MacLeod's two TV families together. She has twice been directed by her son, John Asher, in Diamonds and Tooken, and appeared in a comedic short, The Haircut, opposite John Cassavetes.

• Year — Title — Character — Notes — ref • 1967 — The Happiest Millionaire — Rosemary — Musical film starring Fred MacMurray and based upon the true story of Philadelphia millionaire Anthony J. Drexel Biddle. • 1980 — Airplane! — Mrs. Davis — Titled as Flying High! in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Japan and the Philippines • 1999 — Diamonds — June — American comedy film directed by her son, Asher and written by Allan Aaron Katz. • 2005 — Dirty Love — Mary — Written by and starring Jenny McCarthy and directed by her son, Asher. • 2010 — Wreckage — Deputy Priest • 2015 — Tooken — Edna Millers • 2019 — I Hate Kids — Betty Bartlett