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Well-educated and upper middle class, Maude Findlay is the archetypal feminist of her generation. She lives in suburban Tuckahoe, New York, with her fourth husband, Walter, their divorced daughter, Carol, and grandson Phillip.
“Liberal. Independent. Controversial. Hilarious.”
Bea Arthur
Maude Findlay
Bill Macy
Walter Findlay
Adrienne Barbeau
Carol Traynor
Rue McClanahan
Vivian Harmon
Conrad Bain
Arthur Harmon
1975
Maude's political ambitions, and possible election as Senator, threaten her and Walter's marriage.
Walter moves out of the house and into bachelor digs when Maude persists with her political plans.
Maude and Walter arrive at a party with ""dates"" of their own.
Maude decides the marriage is over and is caught in a ""compromising position.""
It is finally election day, and Maude's political and marital fates hang in the balance.
Viv's dog dies while in Maude's care, and Maude fears she will be blamed for it.
Mrs. Naugatuck is conning everyone, and Maude has to get to the bottom of her scheme.
Vivian's ex-husband comes back into her life.
Maude pours out her innermost feelings, revealing long-hidden secrets and anxieties as well as new insights into her character.
As a joke, Walter poses as a doctor at Arthur's convention. But his ""medical expertise"" is called for in an emergency.
Arthur and Vivian fall out over issues of intimacy and honesty in relationships.
Maude finds Walter's business ethics extremely problematic.
One of Maude's ex-husbands gives himself to her, literally.
Walter is certain his annual party for his employees will be spoiled by Maude's activist houseguest.
Who broke Maude's priceless crystal bowl? There are several conflicting versions of what happened to the punch bowl.
Walter is arrested for lewd behavior on his birthday. But Walter's alibi might prove to be even more embarassing than the accusation.
Maude decides Henry Fonda would make the perfect President of the United States and starts a campaign to get him elected, with or without his approval.
Maude's obsession with Henry Fonda spirals out of control, causing concern about her mental health.
Maude stages a tribute to American women for the Tuckahoe Bicentennial celebration. All the men are convinced it is a money losing proposition.
Mrs. Naugatuck falls ill and is hospitalized just before she is to become an American citizen.
Maude's nephew streches everyone's patience, as his laid back lifestyle is just a cover up for his lack of responsibility.
A literary authority would rather lunch with Vivian than Maude, but Maude simply cannot come to terms with this.
Carol is determined to get promoted at all costs, but Maude does not want her to sacrifice her integrity.
Maude hires an ex-con as her cook, but does not find it easy to live with the knowledge of what he has done.
1976
Vivian's first funeral is an ordeal for everyone.
Maude is stuck in a file closet with an ex-husband.
Mrs. Naugatuck's wedding plans run into problems, and Maude makes a bad situation worse.
Business and financial problems may ruin Walter's life.
Maude's attempts to help Walter in his crisis push him over the edge.
Walter's emotional problems are compounded by physical ones, which may keep him from returning home.
The eve of the national election offers more than political worries for Maude as she meets Carol's latest boyfriend.
Maude and Vivian appear on a game show, and Maude's attempts to keep Vivian from making a fool of herself backfire.
Walter has a very strange dream involving Arthur.
Mrs. Naugatuck's last-minute demand could jeapordize her wedding.
Will an evening with friends involve mate-swapping? Visitors to Maude's house have more in mind for an evening's entertainment than polite conversation.
Maude's home is robbed, but she does not want her friends and neighbors to resort to guns to protect their homes.
A generous gift from Arthur casts a pall on holiday celebrations.
The presence of a cousin throws Maude's work and life into a tizzy.
Maude has lunch with a handsome, newly divorced ""friend,"" much against Walter's wishes.
An operation Arthur performs proves quite memorable, as the patient turns out to be someone from his past.
Maude feels her life is in danger from an oversexed housepainter, and reacts hysterically.
Maude heads for the bottle when she sees an old friend in a wheelchair.
Maude learns more than she would like to know about Vivian, when she tries to figure out why Vivian is behaving so strangely.
Maude's free spirited aunt takes an interest in Mrs. Naugatuck's husband.
Walter is jealous of Arthur's new friendship, and his sense of loneliness and betrayal makes Maude in turn feel bad.
Arthur's split personality makes Vivian distraught.
Maude fires Mrs. Naugatuck, but panics when she finds out she will never see Mrs. Naugatuck again.
Maude is furious when her wallet disappears on the subway. She is even more angry when the ""thief"" shows up at her house.
1972
Carol's odd behavior leads Maude to believe she's having an affair. When Maude learns Carol is really seeing a psychiatrist, she is determined to get to the bottom of the situation and find out why her daughter needs therapy. Maude promptly makes an enexpected visit to Carol's psychiatrist but soon finds herself being analyzed.
Carol and Maude thinks it's cute when they discover a curious Phillip playing doctor with Arthur's equally curious granddaughter. However, the prudish Arthur insists that Phillip be severely punished which leads to a debate between Maude, Cariol and Arthur over morals.
Maude hires a new housekeeper, Florida Evans, and from the moment she walks through the front door, Maude is determind to make her feel like an equal. However, her attempts lead Florida to decide to quit. Meanwhile, Walter is a bit disturbed to find Philip swearing into a tape recorder.
Carol is dating Russell Asher, a dashing writer, who just happens to have once dated and later jilted Maude. This leads Maude to do her best to warn Carol of Russell's egotistical ways. However, Carol refuses to heed Maude's warnings and continues to date him, even spending the night with him which turns into a disaster.
Maude throws a fund raising party for a black militant leader and invites rich white liberals but doesn't tell them it is a fund raising party. Meanwhile, Maude does her best to get a black couple to attend the party but must settle for a disguised Florida. Arthur doesn't help the situation either after prescribing tranquilers to Maude who during the party mixes them with alcohol.
Returning home from shopping, Maude gets pulled over for speeding 34 miles in a 30 mph zone, but adamantly refuses to believe she was speeding at all. Later, during the trial, Maude tries all attempts to get out of paying the fine and prove her innocence.
Tired of living with her mother and stepfather and wanting a father figure for Phillip, Carol decides to propose marriage to a man she doesn't love. Meanwhile, married life doesn't seem to be all what it's cracked up to be for Maude and Walter who's argument leads to destruction in the kitchen.
While waiting for the electoral results for Election 1972, Maude and Walter recall Election 1968. Carol had just gotten a divorce and moved in with Maude. Meanwhile, Walter and Maude's relationship had reached a pivotal moment; should they marry or live together.
Maude and Walter are scheduled to play cards one evening with some friends but Maude is anything but in a card playing mood. Especially since, she just came back from a doctor's appointment with some shocking news. At 47 years old, Maude has become pregnant. Now the hard part, breaking the news to Walter.
After Carol suggests an abortion, Maude begins heavy debating over the pros and cons of having a baby at her age. Walter's ""what-ever-you-want"" attitude has Maude having a problem deciding wheather or not to keep the baby. Ultimately, Maude takes into consideration everyone's opinion and makes a final decision, she decides not to have the baby.
Maude pulls out all her high school memorabilia as she awaits the arrival of an old school friend, Phyllis Nash, who was nicknamed both ""Bunny"" because of an overbite and ""Mousie"" because of her looks. However, Maude is stunned and becomes envious when she discovers Phyllis is now a beauty with a career to match.
As a 19-year-old faces a lengthy prison sentence for marijuana possession, Maude and a group of middle-aged housewives plan a protest at a police station. The plan is to get arrested for possession and Maude is supposed to provide the pot. However, trying to get her hands on some, proves to be problematic.
Maude is stunned to discover a black man picketing in front of her home. It isn't until later that she discovers that Walter and her have unwittingly become the owners of a rundown apartment building and they are now being labeled ""slumlords"".
Walter and Maude go to Massachusetts for an appliance seller's convention. When their reservations at a upscale hotel are botched, they must share a shabby motel. This is when a squabble ensues when Maude tries to confide in Walter the angst she has over not having any meaning in her life and the troubles she's been having trying to find a job because she's a woman.
Maude plans a surprise 50th birthday bash for Walter that does not go as well as she planned since Walter is too depressed to have any fun. However, Maude hopes an old friend will be the cure for Walter's gloominess, but she is dead wrong when he drops dead before Walter's eyes.
Walter and Maude are planning on taking a second honeymoon to Italy, however, the day their plane leaves, Maude gets a tetnus shot which results in a rash. She immediatley hotfoots it down to the doctors office where she encounters a busy preoccupied doctor who perscribes her medication but doesn't advise her on how to take it, resulting in an overdose, cancellation of the honeymoon and a possible malpractice suit.
After a fire breaks out in his home, Arthur moves in with the Findlays and immediately works over Maude's nerves. Not only does Arthur keep Walter up all night playing card games, but he gives Florida work to do and insists Maude prepare his food in a certain way. Pretty soon, Maude insists that Walter throw him out.
Florida is backed into a corner by her chauvinistic husband, Henry, who has picked up a second job and orders her to quit her housekeeping job at the Findlays home. Soon it begins to cause problems for Maude and Walter as Walter takes Henry's side and Maude takes Florida's.
Carol walks into a cocktail lounge and catches a glimpse of Walter having drinks in a cozy corner with a woman who once worked for him. When Maude finds out, she immediately jumps to the conclusion that Walter is having an affair and promptly packs up his things and orders him out of the house.
An old friend of Maude's comes for a visit with news of a feud between herself and her daughter. This leads Maude to go all out and try to reconcile the two but a generation gap and financial matters are working against her attempts. Meanwhile, at the same time, Maude tries to matchmake her friend up with Arthur.
Maude is convinced that her best friend, Vivian has the ""perfect marriage"" so she is completely stunned when Vivian announces plans for a divorce. This leads Maude to analyze her supposed ""perfect marriage"".
Maude and Walter prepare for a dinner party at Cliff and Joanna Naylor's home. However, while they are getting ready, they discuss and bicker about Cliff's apparent crush on Maude and how she is flattered by him, that is until Walter breaks the news that Cliff is having an affair with someone else at the country club.
1973
After a wild evening of drinking, Maude, Walter and Arthur awake to discover some oddities. First, Maude and Arthur shared a bed, second the guys trashed the living room and third, Walter made an obscene phone call to Maude's mother. Carol suggests that perhaps Walter has a drinking problem but he refuses to face that fact. Maude and Walter later get into a big argument while they are both drunk and Walter slaps her.
After giving Maude a black eye, Walter continues to drink. Later, Arthur sends over a recovering alcoholic to talk some sense into Walter who adamantly refuses help. When Walter discovers Maude got rid of all the alcohol, he goes ballistic and she locks him in the closet. That's when Carol makes an announcement, she's taking Phillip and is moving out
Walter declares the day ""National I Love You Day"" and gives gifts to one and all and plans to spend a romantic day with Maude. However, when a weepy, newly-divorced Vivian comes over for consolation from Maude, Walter's romantic plans get pushed aside and he takes refuge at the gym with Arthur.
At age 47 and recently divorced, Vivian begins her single career (a.k.a. husband search) by getting a face-lift; her new face receives plenty of cheers from Carol and Walter, but only jeers from Maude. This leads Vivian to state the obvious, Maude is jealous and would like a face-lift herself. Maude finally decides to have one and intends to keep it a secret from Walter until she has it done.
Carol does her best to try to keep Walter in the house as anticipation mounts for Maude's return from a 3-week stay in Boston. For which, following Vivian's lead, Maude too got a face-lift. There is only one problem: Walter doesn't notice the difference! As usual, all hell breaks loose and Walter and Maude have yet another argument.
The lazy furnace repairman, Whitnauer, has been showing an interest in Florida and she doesn't quite know what to do about his advances. This situation ultimately causes marital problems between Florida and her husband, Henry, when he catches her dancing with the man. Meanwhile, Maude and Walter are finding it hard to get Whitnauer to hurry it up on the furnace.
Maude is sky high now that she has a part-time job as a real estate agent. However, things on the home-front are not so happy as Walter, a self proclaimed old fashioned man, is not used to coming home and not having Maude to cook for him and tell his problems too. Thus, he orders her to quit her job.
Carol and her boyfriend, Chris return from a camping trip and Maude voices her old fashioned morals to Carol when he stays over and the question becomes where should he sleep, in Carol's room or in the guest room. Later, Carol and Chris make an exciting announcement, they're engaged.
Maude's constant matchmaking for Vivian has her fed up, especially since all the men have one thing on their mind. This leads Vivian to give up on men and settle for a 70-year old retired general. However, when Maude learns this, she becomes determined to show Vivian that she can do better and fixes her up with Arthur.
Maude is putting together a charity musical to raise money for a library. The musical is set to be in the style of burlesque, however, Arthur is having a problem with almost every sketch that is planned, accusing them of being distasteful and in some cases pornographic. Maude is quickly faced with an ultimatum, Arthur's way or no musical.
A major argument erupts on the day that Maude and Walter are to accept a husband and wife of the year award. The reason: Maude discovers that Walter has appointed a trustee in his will and of all people, the trustee is Arthur; Maude promptly refuses to go to the banquet to accept the award.
As their impending nuptials draw near, Maude decides to give Carol and Chris their wedding gift early. They are both certainly surprised to find out that Maude has put a down payment on a house for them but the even bigger surprise is that the house is located right across the street. Immediately this sparks family tension between mother and daughter and future husband and wife.
For their 5th wedding anniversary, Maude makes a big mistake in giving Walter an electric organ as a gift. He's driving everyone up the wall with his constant playing. Maude soon confronts him and they end up a huge argument, leading to Walter storming out and crashing his car into a tree.
An office party on Christmas Eve at the Findlays home sets the stage for Walter's employees to break the news that they are planning to be unionized. When Walter learns this he decides to fire all of them, however, there is yet another issue at hand, Maude is on there side.
Arthur and Vivian have been dating regularly and Vivian has had it with Arthur's constant mentioning of his late wife, Agnes. This leads to yet another argument between Maude and Walter over her late husband, Albert. However, by the end of the evening, Vivian makes an exciting announcement, Arthur and her are engaged.
Maude is all excited to have a young black girl from the ghetto stay with the Findlays for awhile. She soon discovers that that the girl is actually a feisty teenager who is not thrilled to be staying in a white, guilt ridden, liberals' home and quickly starts driving everyone up the wall.
Maude finds a wallet on the street that belongs to a man, known for his infidelities. After Walter declares a wallet is a place of privacy for all men, she snoops into his wallet. This triggers a series of mistaken identities when she confronts a woman, Norma, whom she thinks is carrying on an affair with Walter.
Walter throws Maude a surprise birthday party and she truly is surprised but unhappy about turning another year older. Tired of the men going off by themselves and the women going off by themselves, Maude makes Walter promise to not leave her side the entire evening. However, he soon breaks his promise and Maude goes into her bedroom and refuses to come out.
Maude suggests a romantic winter wedding for Arthur and Vivian, so they all head to Vermont. However, Arthur and Vivian's wedding plans run into trouble as the wedding party gets stranded at a train station during a blizzard. Once there, Maude confronts Arthur about the cold feet he has over marrying Vivian.
After Henry, Florida's husband, gets a job promotion, she must tell Maude she's leaving to become a full-time housewife. Maude is heartbroken and is reluctant to hire anyone new but as applicants for the new job come in, Maude finds something wrong with each one. Finally, at the end of the day, Maude must say goodbye to Florida.
Walter is a nervous wreck as the Findlays get a tax audit but the tax auditor, Harvey Clarke, turns out to be a man who tried to rape Maude 31 years ago in Boston, Massachusetts. When she tells Walter he doesn't want to do anything about it, but Maude can't let it go and decides to refresh his memory.
Arthur gives Walter a stock tip which causes Walter to lose $3,700. Walter, angry at Arthur, insists on being angry with Arthur for saying it was a sure thing. Later, when Walter finds out Arthur didn't invest in the stock himself, questions arise about his financial situation, which leads to a huge blowup between Walter, Maude, Vivian and Arthur.
Maude's grandson Phillip has been behaving horribly lately and Carol does not know what to do with him. Walter quickly suggests giving him a good old fashioned spanking, but Maude is vehemently against it. However, she begins to change her mind when Carol and Chris leave for a weekend getaway.
Francie Potter, the teenage house-guest from the ghetto returns again, this time asking for money to run away from home. In a plot with her boyfriend, Francie worms her way into Maude's wallet using a bogus story about her drunken father who abuses her and she now want to escape to become a rock and roll star.
1974
As part of a publicity tour for a new movie, John Wayne makes a stop in Tuckahoe, to visit Arthur, his number one fan. However, when the ceiling caves in at the Harmons, Arthur talks Maude into hosting the party. Maude decides to have a verbal shootout with the Duke about woman's lib but finds her tongue tied when she actually meets him.
Maude becomes concerned when Walter begins smoking a pipe and wearing high heeled shoes. She suggests that perhaps he's going through male menopause. However, what really concerns both her and Arthur is when they catch Vivian and Walter sharing a kiss. This obviously leads to yet more marital strife between the Findlays and the Harmons.
Walter is late for a special dinner with Maude because he is trying to stop his book keeper from committing suicide. However, while he is there, Walter has a heart attack and he ends up having much more than his health to worry about, when Maude discovers where he was.
With Florida gone, Maude has finally decided to hire a new housekeeper. She is excited with the fact that the new one, Mrs. Naugatuck is British but quickly the two of them clash over gender roles, as Mrs. Naugatuck insists on calling Walter the master of the house and begins to pamper his every need.
Walter and Arthur go away for the weekend on a camping trip. Maude is upset with Walter's plans but she soon forgets it, when Vivian and her go on a non-stop eating binge. However, Walter and Arthur's trip goes awry as they become victims of a speed trap and land in jail.
Maude and Vivian go out for drinks one evening, while Arthur and Walter go away for a golfing weekend. The two girls soon compare notes and discover that an old flame who once dated both of them has sent them each a post card saying he'll be in town. The two girls quickly get drunk while debating over who he finds more attractive.
Walter and Arthur return from an outing in Canada with a batch of fresh fish and a lack of interest in their eager wives. However, Walter has one very important interest, to move the family to the Canadian wilderness. Maude is dead set against the notion, but her reverse psychology fails and Walter ends up trying to sell his business.
Maude is having a restless night, she can't sleep because she has something very important on her mind and wants to tell Walter about it, but he's too busy worrying about the blizzard outside and his end of the summer sale scheduled for the next day. So she decides to just drop the bomb, her doctor has told her that she should have a hysterectomy.
Someone in Maude's household seems to be having a nighttime visitor.
Vivian is throwing a party and she is a nervous wreck, luckily she has Maude to help her. Things get worse when her maid refuses to serve during the event so, Maude extends a hand and gets Mrs. Naugatuck to help out. However, after all that, Maude is in for a shock, Walter and her are not invited to the party.
At a new job, Maude manages three men who find it hard to work for a woman.
Maude is spending much of her time with a best-selling author and Walter resents her new-found friendship.
The burden of alimony might finally be off Walter's back when Walter's ex-wife remarries.
Maude is determined to make her New Year's Eve party something to remember.
A famed psychic tells Maude she will marry for a fifth time. Maude begins to worry about this possibility when the psychic's other predictions start coming true.
Maude is left organizing a telethon without a cause, when the charity for which Maude has put in a lot of work withdraws at the last moment.
Maude learns that Carol's ""intended"" already has a wife.
Maude recruits Vivian into women's liberation, which may threaten Vivian's marriage.
Mrs. Naugatuck's strange behavior and wedding announcement surprise everyone.
Walter would rather go bankrupt than allow Maude to mortgage the house that is in her name.
Walter's sudden passion for religion has an ulterior motive.
Maude plans a romantic weekend with Walter to rekindle her marriage, but the situation turns out to be less than ideal.
Maude's mother comes to visit and brings out all of Maude's insecurities.
1977
Maude extends an invitation to an annoying aunt out of guilt, but suffers for it.
Maude invites Phillip and his male ""friend"" to spend the night, which puts her liberalism to the test.
Maude sees a UFO but no one will believe her.
Maude sides with a ""liberated"" young girl against her father.
One of Walter's female employees wants not just a raise but Walter himself.
Maude chaperones Philip birthday party, and finds herself in the middle of ""sex, drugs and rock and roll.""
Arthur starts a doctor's strike, but will he treat his friends when they fall ill?
Maude's sexual fantasies about a handsome ecologist and her intense involvement in his project make Walter jealous.
Maude attacks Walter's bigotry when a gay bar opens in the neighborhood and Arthur tries to shut it down.
Maude and Walter compete against each other for the title of ""Businessperson of the Year.""
Maude's plans for the holiday do not turn out as expected.
Maude finds herself caught in between a Mother Superior and a mob boss.
Maude receives a series of crank calls. She is in for a bigger shock when she finds out who the caller is.
Maude raises money for what turns out to be a questionable charity.
A fire breaks out at a restaurant, and Walter must face what kind of person he is.
Maude's Ethiopian foster child turns out to be something different from what she expected.
Vivian decides after a thirty-year college reunion that she wants to be single again.
Carol's ex-husband shows up, and has ulterior motives.
A grandfather learns a lesson about life from his grandson.
Victoria Butterfield's father returns to take her away, and is confronted with secrets from his past.
Phillip is devastated when he finds out why an older woman has been showing interest in him.
Maude mourns the moving of her dearest friends till a death has a profound effect on her.
Maude's plans for a dinner party for a friend, a U.S. Congresswoman, changes her life in ways she could never have forseen.
Maude arrives in Washington as a newly elected Congresswoman and has to learn to do things differently.
