To celebrate National Boss’s Day, frequent guest blogger and Back In the Day pundit The Old School Kid, aka Val Boaten, shares with us her list of 5 Old School TV Bosses Who We Love. What better way than to spread love to upper management by listing several TV bosses who made our television viewing entertaining? Check out her list below:
Maddie Hayes, Moonlighting
Remember Maddie? She was a former rich and successful fashion model who owned some businesses for tax right offs. She learned that her accountant was stealing from her and left her bankrupt. In order to survive, she went to work to take over one of her tax shelter businesses, named City of Angels Detective Agency. When she was a hands off boss, her employee, David Addison (Bruce Willis) was goofing off and not bringing in revenue. When her life depended on the revenue of the business, she became a more hands on boss.
I love how Maddie (Cybill Shepard) used her networking skills to bring in new clients. She rebranded the company by renaming it Blue Moon Detective Agency. She and David turned the agency around with all of the twists and turns along the way of rebuilding a struggling business. As a result she was able to have 3 other employees on the payroll and managed a lucrative business until personal issues got in the way. Lesson learned from Maddie Hayes; don’t mix business with pleasure.
Lou Grant, Mary Tyler Moore
While scruffy and tough on the outside, Lou Grant (Edward Asner) was the boss who was a softie. If you did a good job and proved yourself in your work, Lou would stick by you no matter what. I love that Lou Grant was not a boss that will throw you under the bus. When it came time to defend his fellow reporters to the higher ups, Lou was always there. To Lou, his employees were his family. Those kind of bosses are hard to find.
Khadijah James, Living Single
Remember the young 20 something Khadijah James who was the founder and editor of Flavor magazine? I love how Khadijah (Queen Latifah) remained true to her passion of the vision of her company, especially when she had conflicts with Russell Montego, Flavor’s Music Editor. As a women who served as CEO of her company, she was not afraid to take the lead and totally “Lean In”. In the world of publishing Khadijah paved the way for herself and her employees in a somewhat male dominated profession and empowered her employees to greatness.
Captain Barney Miller, Barney Miller
Captain Barney Miller was always in place to shield his fellow detectives in his precinct from all of the bureaucratic heartache of working in government. As a fellow detective, he juggled handling cases as well as all of the paper work and budget cuts that came along the way. Barney (Hal Linden) knew his entire team. He recognized their strengths and weaknesses. He had an open door policy and was always available to lend a helping hand. And while it seemed like his employees were getting over on Barney, they actually would go to bat for him at a moments notice. This is a boss that we love. Not a micromanager, but one who lets you do your job and gives you the support you need to be successful.
Angela Bower, Who’s the Boss?
Angela was a boss who had her professional life in order but recognized she needed help on the home front. She was not one to dismiss a potential employee based on gender, Angela (Judith Light) saw the strengths of having Tony (maid, errand boy, babysitter, et al) as an employee to compliment her home life. This partnership allowed her to pursue building her advertising business. I love Angela’s drive and ambition to succeed with the use of her brain. However, Angela proved that we all need an emotional support system. By hiring Tony (Tony Danza) and having him around, she managed a work life balance that worked for her and her family.
No matter if you have a boss, or you are one, you can appreciate these old school TV bosses who, at one times, ruled the airwaves. What do you like of our list? And what are some of your favorite Old School TV bosses?
I hope you enjoyed our trip down memory lane. Happy Boss’s Day!
More about our Guest Blogger, Val:
Val Boaten is a lover of all things nostalgia. A true child of the 70s and 80s. You can find her reminiscing on her blog Children Of The Old School and on Twitter @theoldschoolkid . She also has a passion for social media and talks about it on her other site The KaiCon Group. she is also a wife and working mom/chauffeur of three boys (two tweens a very busy preschooler).
*Photos Fair Use, Wikipedia.
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