"Designing Women"

Running from 1986 to 1993, “Designing Women” centered around four women who worked at a design firm in Atlanta. Original series characters were feminist Julia Sugarbaker (played by Dixie Carter), her sister, a former beauty queen (played by Delta Burke); Mary Jo, a divorced mother, portrayed by the wonderful Annie Potts; and country girl Charlene (Jean Smart).

Carter and Burke had previously worked together on the television comedy, “Filthy Rich.”

Meshach Taylor starred as Anthony, an ex-con who performed deliveries. Former “Bewitched” staple Alice Ghostley starred as Bernice Clifton.

Towards the end of the show’s first season, the series was canceled, but viewer demand revived “Designing Women.”

There would be cast changes in 1991, when both Delta Burke and Jean Smart left the series. Burke was fired after a much-publicized weight gain and strained relationships on the set. Julia Duffy (from “Newhart”) and Jan Hooks were brought on. Duffy left in 1992, and Judith Ivey was hired.

For more details on “Designing Women,” go to imdb.com:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090418/

And try CrazyAboutTV.com:
http://crazyabouttv.com/designingwomen.html

For more information on Delta Burke, go to wikipedia.org:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_Burke

Here are the opening credits from YouTube.com from an early season of “Designing Women”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7A_91wVU0w

Here’s a clip from YouTube.com featuring the original four actresses (and Meshach Taylor and Shavar Ross) from “Designing Women”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVjOZ8MwyCk