synopsis

Before Oprah, and before Lucy, there was the beloved Gertrude Berg, the entertainment genius who wrote, starred in and produced the first successful American sitcom and charmed a beleaguered nation. Animated through a dazzling collage of vintage clips and interviews, behind-the-scenes footage and intimate conversations with friends, colleagues and family members, the box-office smash-hit YOO-HOO, MRS. GOLDBERG traces Berg’s rise to stardom from her childhood in New York to her early radio days in “The Rise of the Goldbergs” (1929-46) to her enormously influential sitcom, "The Goldbergs" (1949-56), which brought Berg the first Best Actress Emmy® in history. Berg’s passion and incredible productivity paved the way for a wide variety of causes—women in entertainment, Jewish-American identity and actors’ rights, to name a few—but she is most celebrated for singlehandedly proving that the American family transcends social, religious and economic divisions. Aviva Kempner’s critically acclaimed YOO-HOO, MRS. GOLDBERG offers a humorous, captivating tribute to one of the most successful and innovative women in American broadcasting history.