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Mary L​ou Moira Angela Darling Helperman is one of the main characters in Teacher's Pet

History[]

Teacher's Pet[]

On Leonard’s first day of fourth grade, Mrs. Helperman buys him a purple bunny backpack but Leonard angrily turns it down, believing it to be uncool and embarrassing; Spot would user this backpack when he went to school. At school, she meets Scott Leadready II unaware that he's really her dog, Spot in disguise.

In one episode, she was sick and a substitute teacher, Ms. Dewygood, had to take her place; all the students liked her, with the exception of Scott.[1]

Teacher's Pet: The Movie[]

At the end of the school year, Mrs. Helperman becomes a finalist for the National Excellent American Teacher Organization (N.E.A.T.O.) Teacher of the Year award and that the final round will be held in Florida. Principal Strickler lends her his RV to go there, but with one caveat: no pets allowed, so they leave Spot, Pretty Boy, and Jolly at home.

On the road, Mrs. Helperman tries to cheer Leonard up by playing a game, oblivious to the fact that Spot has secretly followed them. They stop at a gas station, where she meets Spot dressed up as Scott Leadready and he convinces her to take him along to Florida (along with his "family").

When they arrive, Mrs. Helperman leaves the boys at the beach to go the first round of the competition. Meanwhile, Spot and Leonard leave the beach and go to Dr. Krank’s lab to make Spot’s dream of becoming a boy a reality.

Back at the RV, Spot (who's now a grown man) and Leonard forget Spot is now a human adult. They easily pass him off as a teacher named, "Scott Manly Manning" and that "Scott Leadready" had to go home and he took him back to his family. She invites human Spot for dinner and falls in love with him. Leonard is worried that Spot will become his stepfather, as he does not want his former dog to be his father. The two have a heated argument, ending with Spot saying he will be out of Leonard's hair forever. As Mrs. Helperman is singing about her "future" with Scott Manly-Manning, the human Spot arrives then tells her that he will never see her again.

The next day, Mrs. Helperman (who appears to have gotten over being dumped) tells Leonard to meet her at the awards ceremony in an hour and assures him that when they get home, Spot and Scott will be right there waiting for him, unaware of where he truly is.

After Spot is turned back into a dog, Leonard goes to the awards ceremony as promised and she has won. Spot, Pretty Boy, and Jolly are outside cheering for her. They still wonder how they’re going to get home without saying what they’re doing all the way in sunny southern Florida. Luckily, Spot has a plan.

That night, Spot dresses up as Scott Leadready and convinces Mrs. Helperman to take him home with them, while Jolly and Pretty Boy are holding onto the RV’s ladder as part of Spot’s plan to get back home.

Appearance[]

Mrs. Helperman has red hair and fair skin. She wears a green jacket, white shirt, red pants, white bra, matching panties and black slip-on shoes. As a child, she wore a green dress with pink polka dots and black Mary Janes.

Personality[]

Mary Lou is Leonard's single mother and 4th grade teacher. She comes up with these crazy ideas for her class and knows how to get her students to listen. She is a beautiful, nice, lovable person who likes to inject humor into the fourth grade class. Leonard is somewhat embarrassed about his mother being the teacher, and Mrs. Helperman sometimes goes a bit overboard in class regarding her love for her son. Normally in a good mood, she only shows anger or hostility when she is stressed out[2] or when one of her students does a heinous act in her classroom.[3]

Family[]

Mary Lou is Leonard's mother, and is also his fourth grade teacher, much to his embarrassment. She loves her son very much, and calls him "Doodlebug" as a nickname.[4] She owns three pets: Spot, Mr. Jolly and Pretty Boy. In the past, she also owned two dogs: Fluffy Bear and Cuddly Buns.[5]

Her mother, Rose, known as Grandma Rose, appears in two episodes: in a flashback sequence as a young woman in "Fresh 'n' Frozey Chocolaccino", where she is voiced by Rupp, and in the present in "The Turkey that Came to Dinner", voiced by Betty White. Also in "Tallulahpalooza", Mary mentions her great-grandparents immigrated to the United States from Dublin, which means Mary and her son are of Irish heritage.

Trivia[]

  • "A Lick is Still a Kiss" reveals Mary Lou wears lip gloss, namely cherry, kiwi, mango, and peach.
  • Her full name is a reference to the Peter Pan character Wendy's middle and last names.
    • It is unknown if Helperman is her married or maiden name. Darling could potentially be her maiden name as well if she did marry.
  • Fans for years have wondered what happened to Leonard's father, assuming Mary Lou ever married or dated a man.
    • Concept art of the Helperman family reveals Mr. Helperman was originally intended to be a fixture for the show, but was removed for unknown reasons. Her design in the same picture also shows her original design to be very different from the final one used.
Image

Concept art of Mary Lou and her family. Mr. Helperman is present, while Mary Lou has a different design than the one used on the show.

Gallery[]

for more images of Mrs. Helperman click here

References[]

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