Why Mrs. Roper?

Mrs. Roper, bottom left, with her much less interesting co-stars on Three’s Company.

Helen Roper, played by the effervescent Audra Lindley, was the eye-rolling, free-spirited wife to the character played by Norman Fell on the sitcom, which ran from 1977-1984. As you may remember with a groan, the premise was that Mr. Roper only allowed Jack (John Ritter) to share an apartment with Chrissy and Janet because he thought he was gay. The plot doesn’t hold up today, but his wife does.

She illustrated for Janet and Chrissy how an older woman could have sexual agency.

A recent New York Times article describes Mrs. Roper as the show’s “progressive Pole Star: Freethinking and voluptuary, she pooh-poohed her husband’s anti-gay slights and illustrated for Janet and Chrissy how an older woman could have sexual agency.”

In the same article, Matt Baume, the author of the new book “Honey, I’m Homo!: Sitcoms, Specials and the Queering of American Culture,” chalked up Mrs. Roper’s popularity to the character’s “strangely aspirational” combination of glamorous drag queen and mother-protector. “The way that she is constantly needling Mr. Roper is a takedown of the patriarchy,” Baume said. “Her subtle undermining of masculine power is very fun and pleasurable to women and to gay men.”

What Happens at a Romp?

Photos from various Mrs. Roper Romps. Looks like fun, huh?

The Mrs. Roper Romps began as a group of 50 in New Orleans ten years ago when they walked in the Southern Decadence parade.

Any good romp is built on the joy of seeing all the variations of Mrs. Roper.

But any good romp is built on the joy of seeing all the variations of Mrs. Roper, which always seems to include some mustached men.”We love ALL the characters in the show, don’t you? But here’s the deal—this is a Mrs. Roper romp, and that means you need to dress up as Mrs. Roper, and Mrs. Roper ONLY (well, if any Chrissy, Janets, Larrys, or Mr. Furleys show up we won’t kick them out, we promise). Don’t know what that entails? Go to YouTube and type in Mrs. Roper—there’s a million episodes to watch and get great costume ideas from.”

Joss Richard, the host of a podcast about re-watching Three’s Company (we know, we know!), believes Lindley, who died in 1997 at age 79, would love her legacy.

“Her character wasn’t considered super iconic when it aired,” Richard said by phone. “But she would want to hang out with gay guys and other women and do limbo contests and have a cocktail.” Who wouldn’t?

Read More: Cass Elliot’s Daughter Talks About the Star’s Bravery

Top photo from the Mrs. Roper Romp in Providence, R.I.