his brother who had been adopted by another family. Beatrice Reed Ventner (Elizabeth Hoffman): Beatrice, the sisters' mother and the family matriarch, was a recovering alcoholic who at the start of the series had been recently widowed. Her husband's long-term affair with his nurse had caused her to seek solace in alcohol; she regretted that Teddy had apparently inherited her alcoholism. In the third season she married retired local judge Truman Ventner, who later suffered from Alzheimer's. Beatrice died in the series finale. Supporting John Whitsig (Garrett M. Brown: seasons 1–5, special guest star in season 6): Georgie's husband John was the most prominently featured of all the sisters' husbands. At the beginning of the series John had been laid off and spent much of his time at home in his bathrobe singing old vocal standards. He recorded an album, "The Sound of Whitsig," but when his son Evan was diagnosed with leukemia, John returned to work as an accountant. Brown received starring status for the first five seasons. During season 5, Georgie and John separated in the wake of her affair with Dr. Caspian, and he did not return as a regular for the final season, though while offscreen John wrote a hit song, "Thank You, Babe, For Leavin' Me," which caused Georgie much consternation. John did return in the series finale, and it appeared that he and Georgie might reconcile. Mitch Margolis (Ed Marinaro: seasons 1–4): Mitch was Teddy's high school sweetheart and first husband. Together they had a daughter, Cat, but eventually Teddy and Mitch divorced. Later he started seeing her younger sister Frankie, which caused tension between the sisters. Mitch and Frankie eventually married and had a son, though they too ultimately divorced. Marinaro received starring status for the first four seasons, but did not make any appearances in seasons 5 and 6, though his character was mentioned on several occasions. Catherine "Cat" Margolis (Heather McAdam: recurring, seasons 1–5; main, season 6): The daughter of Teddy and Mitch, Cat was the most prominently featured of all the sisters' children, appearing frequently throughout all the seasons. Cat was featured in a controversial storyline where she was raped. Eventually, as a result of this experience, she decided to become a cop. While training, she met her partner Billy, who she eventually fell in love with. During the final season McAdam received starring status, something none of the other