Michele Gendelman is a comedy writer, with credits on "Newhart, " "Facts of Life, " and "Ghost Stories, " among many other shows. A part-time professor of screenwriting and film history at Los Angeles City College, she also writes animated series for Cartoon Network and PBS, and is married to writer/producer Andrew Guerdat. Her crowning achievement is having instilled a strong sense of humor in her children, Marc and Abby, and, above all, teaching them to laugh at themselves.
Marc and Abby, however, prefer to laugh at their mother. And as far as they're concerned, her greatest accomplishment is her mashed potatoes.
Ilene Graff is an actress and singer, best known for the six seasons she spent as the mom in the ABC-TV comedy, "Mr. Belvedere." Her Broadway stage work includes "Promises, Promises, " "Grease, " and "I Love My Wife." She co-starred with Glenn Close in a film version of "South Pacific, " and has appeared in mini-series and feature films; her CD, "Baby's Broadway Lullabies, " was nominated for a Grammy.
Married to composer Ben Lanzarone, her finest production is their daughter Nikka, who is a musical theater performer in New York. Ilene is shocked but grateful to suddenly be one of the "other mothers."
Donna Rosenstein is a television casting director in Los Angeles, currently working on "The Ghost Whisperer, " starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, and numerous other television and film projects. As a Senior Vice-President at ABC Television for many years, she oversaw the casting of such hits as "NYPD Blue, " "Roseanne, " "thirtysomething, " "The Practice, " and "Twin Peaks." She has worked with Sylvester Stallone, Oprah Winfrey, and the Muppets, but her most successful project to date is her 16-year old daughter, Georgi.
A single mom, Donna has juggled full-time work and hands-on parenting; never missed a teacher conference, recital, or buying a pair of pointe shoes; and lived to tell the tale due largely to an entire village of "other mothers." She is thrilled to be able to pass along their sound, loving advice.
