A Television First

Thanks to Mental Floss Blog for letting us know a bunch of TV firsts. Here is the story of the first use if the D-Word...

The first prime time sitcom curse word was not uttered by Archie Bunker or Al Bundy, but by Doris Packer. You may not recognize the name, but you probably know her face — whether as school principal Mrs. Rayburn on Leave It to Beaver or the Widow Fenwick on The Beverly Hillbillies. Packer played the role of a society matron with an accent that made Thurston Howell III sound like a Bronx street vendor. Among other roles, Packer portrayed Tim O’Hara’s former teacher Miss Pringle on My Favorite Martian. On March 28, 1965, an episode aired in which the imperturbable Miss Pringle received an award as Teacher of the Year. In an attempt to mask her emotions as she accepted a gold watch, she quipped: “Damn thing probably doesn’t even keep time.” It was later revealed that this line was an ad-lib, but it nevertheless made television history as being the first time the so-called “D” word was said on a prime time sitcom.

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