The Flying Nun, which premiered on September 7, 1967, will celebrate its 55th anniversary
later this year.
But one person who won’t be looking back very fondly on the show is Sally Field, the
actress who played the series’ title character, Sister Bertille.
Field reportedly hated being in The Flying Nun, despite the fact that the silly yet sweet
show made her a household name.
The Flying Nun originally ran on ABC from 1967 to 1970, airing 82 episodes over three
seasons.
The series was developed by Bernard Slade and centered around the whimsical adventures
of a community of nuns who resided at Convent San Tanco in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The show's lead, Sister Bertrille, was a young, idealistic fledgling nun who suddenly discovered
that she had the ability to fly.
This unique gift was attributed to the fact that she weighed under 90 pounds and wore
a heavily starched cornette headpiece that was perfectly shaped to catch the winds at
the convent, which sat high on the ocean bluffs.
As Sister Bertille explained it, “when lift plus thrust is greater than load plus drag,
anything can fly’.
Throughout the show, Sister Betrille could solve just about any problem that came her
way by simply catching a passing breeze and flying off to save the day.
Whenever it would rain, however, and her cornette would lose its shape, she was unable to take
flight.
Most people look back at The Flying Nun and remember it as being a ridiculously premised
but otherwise lighthearted and overall enjoyable show.
Sally Field, however, has a very different take.
She apparently suffered from severe depression during the show's production.
Keep watching to find out why she hated the role and how she was able to overcome it and
go on to bigger and better things.
From Gidget To The Convent
Sally Field was born on the 6th of November, 1946, in Pasadena, California.
Her mother, Margaret Field, was an actress best known for her roles in films like 1951s
The Man From Planet X and 1952s Captive Women.
Field's father, Richard Dryden Field, served in the Army during the Second World War.
In 1950, Field's parents divorced, and her mother married actor and notable Hollywood
stuntman Jock Mahoney.
Years later in Field's 2018 autobiography, she revealed that she had been sexually abused
by Mahoney as a child.
As a teenager, Field attended Birmingham High School in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los
Angeles.
Around this time, she discovered that she wanted to be an actress.
Field landed her first acting gig in the starring role of the 1965 television series Gidget
after she was spotted by a casting agent at an acting workshop.
Gidget only aired for one season, but the experience proved to be a wonderful experience
for the aspiring young actress.
Field told O magazine in 2008 that she spent the entire time on the set of Gidget learning
as much as she could.
She went on to say that she loved every last minute of the experience and even likened
it to being in heaven.
For the next few years, Field appeared in a handful of relatively minor television roles
before being offered the title role in The Flying Nun.
Apparently, she attempted to turn down the role, but ultimately she couldn't bring herself
to refuse work.
At the time, she was 19 and was simply trying to figure out who she was.
All she knew was she wasn't a flying nun.
So, initially, she said no, but then her controlling stepfather told her that she needed to 'come
down from her high horse', and that if she didn't take the part, she might not ever work
again.
The Flying Nun premiered in 1967.
The show’s cast included Madeline Sherwood in the role of Reverend Mother Placido.
Marge Redmond as Sister Jacqueline, Shelley Morrison as Sister Sixton, Alejandro Rey as
casino owner Carlos Ramirez, and Vito Scotti as police officer Captain Gaspar Pomento.
While The Flying Nun was initially a hit with audiences, the series' ratings steadily declined
over the course of its run, leading to ABC canceling it after three years.
While three seasons is a fairly respectable run for a show, that was three years too long
for Sally Field, who desperately wanted to be seen as a more serious actress.
Sally would later say that during the show's production she was suffering badly from depression.
The last thing she wanted as a 19-year-old actress was to be playing a character called
the Flying Nun.
She hated coming into work every day dressed up as a nun, and really, can you blame her?
Things only got harder for Field during the final season of The Flying Nun's production.
By then she had gotten married and was pregnant with her first child.
Speaking of what it looked like to see a pregnant woman dressed up as the flying nun, Field
would later say she felt like she was a 'walking sight gag'.
The producers of the series did their best to conceal the fact that Field’s belly was
steadily growing in size.
Instead of incorporating Field’s pregnancy into the show’s already nonsensical plot,
they used props and scenery to obscure the view of Field’s body from the chest down.
Before we tell you how Sally Field managed to move on from her role as the flying nun
and have a rich and fulfilling acting career, take a moment to show us a little support
by giving this video a like and subscribing to the Facts Verse channel.
Field Finally Got Her Wish
After her time at the fictional convent had ended in 1970, Field finally got what she
wanted and left the role behind.
She went on to embark on a long and storied acting career appearing in numerous critically
acclaimed TV shows and films.
Some of her most notable credits include 1976s Sybil, 1981s Absence of Malice, 1989s Steel
Magnolias, 1994s Forrest Gump, 2000s Where the Heart Is, and 2012s Lincoln.
Field has received Academy Awards for her roles in 1979s Norma Rae and 1984s Places
in the Heart.
In 2006, she won an Emmy for her powerful performance in the television program Brothers
& Sisters.
Field has also appeared in box-office hits such as 1977s Smokey and the Bandit, 1993s
Mrs. Doubtfire, and 2012s The Amazing Spider-Man.
On television, Field had a recurring role in the NBC medical drama series ER in the
early 2000s.
For her performance in that series, she won a Primetime Emmy for Oustanding Guest Actress
in a Drama Series in 2001.
The following year, she made her stage debut with Edward Albee’s The Goat or Who Is Sylvia?
Fifteen years later, in 2017, Field returned to the stage, appearing in a revival of The
Glass Menagerie.
For her role in that production, she ended up being nominated for the Tony Award for
Best Actress in a Play.
In 2014, Field was presented with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Five years later, she received the prestigious Kennedy Center Honor.
In 2018, Field returned to television, starring in the Netflix original miniseries Maniac.
She followed that up by starring in the 2020 AMC series Dispatches from Elsewhere.
In 2022, Field announced that she would be co-starring in an upcoming comedy film entitled
80 for Brady, in which she'll be sharing the screen with NFL quarterback Tom Brady as well
as actresses Lily Tomlin, Rita Moreno, and Jane Fonda.
Field’s Personal Life Helped Shaped Her
Sally Field has been married twice.
She exchanged vows with her first husband Steven Craig in 1968.
The couple ended up having two children, sons Peter and Eli, before divorcing in 1975.
Field married her second husband, Alan Greisman, in 1984.
After having a son named Samuel, Field and Greisman divorced in 1993.
Field then had a three-year relationship with Burt Reynolds, although they never ended up
getting married.
Field attributes the self-confidence issues and depression she experienced while working
on The Flying Nun to difficulties stemming back to her mother, Margaret, and her abusive
stepfather, Jock Mahoney.
Not only did Mahoney allegedly sexually abuse Field, but he was also prone to volatile and,
at times, violent outbursts.
While her time as the Flying Nun was a bit of an obstacle in her career, Field would
also say that the experience helped her mature both as an actress and as a woman.
In that 2008 O magazine interview referenced previously, Field stated that sometime during
her time on the set of The Flying Nun, something inside her awakened and she started to take
care of herself in ways that she hadn't been able to do so previously.
Sally further said that during this transformative period, she started to grow, heal and move
out of the fog.
Looking back on the experience objectively, Field admits that the experience of being
on the show gave her tremendous strength.
It motivated her to want to become a real actor, no matter how hard she would have to
work to get there.
So, while it might not have been the role that she wanted, it proved to be the one that
she needed.
Don't you love hearing stories like Sally Field's?
It's always inspiring to hear about stars that were able to overcome adversity and obstacles
and eventually obtain the dreams that they always hoped for.
In Sally's case, not only did she have to contend with a role that she felt didn't put
her talent to good use, but she also had to persevere through depression and past trauma.
In the end, all of her hard work and dedication paid off.
Even today, well into her 70s, Sally Field is still an active and revered member of the
Hollywood community.
Now that you've heard what we have to say, we'd love to hear from you!
Did you grow up watching The Flying Nun, or were you among those that couldn't get over
the show's absurd premise?
Let us know in the comments.
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