On a Saturday morning earlier this month in Fort Myers Beach (FMB), Fla., a truly unusual sight unfolded along the city’s main downtown drag: a colorful procession of people in flowing caftans, curly red wigs and chunky costume jewelry, all strolling with purpose. It looked like something straight out of an alternate universe.
“Hello, Helens!” one group cheerfully waved to another, as they made their way to FMB’s harbor, where popular watering holes such as Snug Harbor and Nervous Nellie’s were bracing for an invasion of these very Helens.
At first, we thought we’d stumbled upon a drag queen convention — until the truth hit us like a caftan in the face: It was the second annual Mrs. Roper’s Romp: Back to the Beach.
Yes, you read that right. More than 500 people all gathered to celebrate none other than an ancillary character from “Three’s Company,” that classic ABC sitcom from almost 50 years ago.
From 1977 through 1979, Audra Lindley played Helen Roper, the caftan-clad, curly-haired, perpetually starved-for-sex wife of perpetually grumpy landlord Stanley (Norman Fell, who was Jewish). They lived downstairs from Chrissy (Suzanne Somers), Janet (Joyce DeWitt) and Jack (John Ritter), a trio of roommates who, in the great ’70s sitcom tradition, were doing their best to live together despite a multitude of humorous misunderstandings, not the least of which was Stanley mistakenly assuming Jack was gay.
But it was Helen’s sharp zingers and her constant, endearing bickering with Stanley that made the Ropers the true heart of the show. So beloved were they, in fact, that they even got their own spinoff, “The Ropers,” which ran for two seasons. And now, nearly a half century later, their caftans and quips are still being honored — and not just in Fort Myers Beach.
In dozens of cities across America, including St. Louis, as I later came to learn, Mrs. Roper’s Romps or some variation on this theme have been happening since 2013. According to several sources, they were begun by Bud Moore in New Orleans when he enlisted 50 friends to march as Mrs. Roper as part of a LBGTQ celebration known as Southern Decadence.
Today, the New Orleans area Mrs. Roper’s Romp Facebook group boasts more than 37,000 members, and similar groups are in more than 100 cities, from Denton, Texas, to Yuma, Ariz., and from Des Moines, Iowa, to Staten Island, N.Y.
Diane Smith of Collinsville can’t recall which of these Facebook groups first introduced her to Mrs. Roper’s Romp, but she does remember one important detail: the moment she realized St. Louis was missing out.
“I shared on Facebook, ‘Why doesn’t St. Louis have this?’ I thought, I know how to throw an event, why can’t I do this?” Smith said. “So, I talked to my partner, we chose a date and I did a Facebook page.”
For the inaugural Mrs. Roper’s Romp in 2023, Smith chose to hold it at the Roper’s Regal Beagle in Godfrey, Ill. What could be more perfect, she figured, when you consider that was the name of Chrissy, Janet and Jack’s favorite bar?
The event was a hit in concept. Attendees were encouraged to channel their inner Mrs. Roper (or any “Three’s Company” character). Drinks including Mr. Roper’s Sidecar, Jack Tripper’s Zipper and the Tipsy Helen were served. And Smith made sure to have themed swag for sale. A $5 cover charge went to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, in honor of Lindley, who passed away from leukemia in 1997.
“It wasn’t a huge turnout because, you know, St. Louisans don’t like to come over to Illinois, and Alton and Godfrey are destinations, they are out there,” Smith chuckled, explaining that only about 25 people attended. “But I knew that I wanted to take it into St. Louis (city), specifically the Grove neighborhood.”
And that’s exactly what Smith did. Last year, she held the second annual romp at Just John, a gay nightclub in the Grove (though, obviously, it was open to all orientations — this is about the cause). More than 80 people showed up that third Saturday in August, and now she’s gearing up to host it there again this year on Aug. 16. (Check out the Facebook group Mrs. Roper’s March St. Louis for details.)
Back in Fort Myers Beach, the second annual Mrs. Roper’s Romp: Back to the Beach made quite a splash, raising more than $10,000 for FMB Strong, a nonprofit formed after Hurricane Ian in 2022 to help rebuild the community. Heidi Jungwirth, general manager of FMB Strong, couldn’t believe how much bigger the event had gotten.
“It nearly doubled in size from last year,” she said.
More than 500 participants paid $20 to join the crawl, getting their tickets stamped at nine participating bars. Anyone who collected all nine stamps earned a medal — and it turns out most people really wanted that medal. Almost all of them were handed out.
Nan Williams, 62, was fully decked out in Mrs. Roper’s regalia, having snagged seven stamps during the event. This marked her second year in a row participating, along with her husband, Jeff. She reminisced about watching “Three’s Company” as a kid but still can’t quite explain why these romps have become such a phenomenon.
“We do it because it’s just so much fun,” said Williams, who began visiting FMB regularly from Cincinnati in 2016 before permanently moving there in 2020. “Since we’ve been here, we’ve really gotten involved in local causes, especially after Ian. That hurricane hit so many people so hard. The work FMB Strong has done has been amazing.”
Williams also mentioned that the event brings people from all over the country, many of whom make it a point to come to FMB just for the romp.
“It’s such a fun thing,” she said. “You can’t help but have a good time.”
