The role of Mama Carlson was played by Sylvia Sidney in the pilot of "WKRP," but Ms. Bruce essayed the role thereafter. Scenes involving the haughty grand dame typically involved her nervous, weak-kneed son Arthur pleading for more money for the station, with serene, sarcastic butler Hirsch (Ian Wolfe) acting as a comic foil to some of Mama Carlson's more lofty comments. (A typical exchange — Mama Carlson: "Hirsch, where have you been?!" Hirsch: "Mardi Gras, Madame.")