Aviva Kempner, director of "Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg"

Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg

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Rated No Rating

Length: 90 minutes

Released: July 10, 2009 NY

Cast: Norman Lear, Roberta Wallach, Sara Chase, Margaret Nagle, Gertrude Berg

Director: Aviva Kempner
Producer: Aviva Kempner
Genre: Documentary
Distributor: IFC Films

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Any discussion of television pioneers would bring up such icons as Milton Berle and Lucille Ball. Documentary filmmaker Aviva Kempner is adamant that another name - Gertrude Berg - be given its due.

Berg started in radio in the late 1920s. She wrote and starred in "The Rise of the Goldbergs," which evolved into the second-longest-running radio show, after "Amos & Andy," of the radio era. When the medium was nudged out of the way by television, she parlayed the goodwill she'd earned in 17 years on radio into a family sitcom called simply "The Goldbergs," which debuted in 1949.

And with that, she earned the first-ever Best Actress Emmy.

Kempner's latest film, "Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg," which opens today at Downtown West, seeks to re-introduce Berg to the public consciousness and cement recognition for the talented and prolific actress, writer and producer, whose ancillary activities - including product endorsements, an advice column and clothing line - call to mind the success of Oprah Winfrey many decades later.

Kempner, 62, has only "vague memories" of "The Goldbergs" on air. But once the documentarian, whose mandate is to make "films about under-known Jewish heroes," got a glimpse into Berg's world, she quickly chose to do a film on the subject.

"I went to the Jewish Museum in New York and saw the incredible re-creation of the (TV show's) living room, and that's how I knew that I had to make it," says Kempner, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor and a U.S. soldier who met in Europe at the end of World War II.

"Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg" includes clips from the show and interviews with Berg's relatives, friends and fans, who range from Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to TV super-producer Norman Lear. The memories and anecdotes paint a colorful picture of Berg, but perhaps the most engaging footage comes from a segment featuring Berg on Edward R. Murrow's show "Person to Person."

"Without Murrow, I don't have her at all," says Kempner by phone from her office in Washington, D.C. "As a producer I'm very grateful to him."

The 1950s blacklisting of artists who were suspected of having Communist ties led to Berg's decline as a media mogul. Her battle to keep co-star Philip Loeb, a blacklist target, on her show took "The Goldbergs" off the air for a time as sponsors grew scared of being associated with Loeb and his defender. The hiatus allowed a new lovable female, Lucille Ball, to capture the public's attention.

"Lucille Ball would come to the set and observe and I think got her ideas from there," says Kempner. But she doesn't blame the famous redhead for usurping Berg's position.

"Lucille Ball wasn't the enemy; it was the McCarthy era. The irony is, these companies would withdraw their sponsorships, and she sold their products better than anyone."

During her heyday, Berg was the second most popular woman in the country, behind Eleanor Roosevelt. In lists of the top female wage-earners, Berg was No. 1 and Roosevelt No. 2. She was loved by celebrities and regular folks alike.

"She and (Frank) Sinatra hung out some," says Kempner. "Anyone who was anyone in TV and theater, she was friendly with."

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel
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