The Flying Nun

Lore & Background

The series follows Sister Bertrille, a young idealistic novice who discovers she can fly due to her weight under 90 pounds, high winds, and her large starched cornette. She explains her ability by stating, 'When lift plus thrust is greater than load plus drag, anything can fly.' Her flying often helps the convent's work with underprivileged children and the poor, though it sometimes causes problems in typical sitcom fashion. Unlike other fantasy comedies of the era, the series generally treated her gift openly, with secrecy only needed to avoid exploitation or ridicule.

Reader's Guide

The Flying Nun was developed after the cancellation of Sally Field's previous series, Gidget. Field initially refused the role, finding the concept ridiculous, but accepted after her stepfather warned she might not work again. The series was advised by the National Catholic Office for Radio and Television to avoid religious criticism, and it was generally favorably received by Catholic authorities. Field later expressed affection for her co-stars but confirmed she did not enjoy her time on the show due to ridicule from comedians and negative press. The series remains a notable example of 1960s television fantasy and a early career milestone for Field.

Did You Know?

• Sally Field's character, Sister Bertrille, weighs under 90 pounds, which allows her to fly when the wind catches her cornette.
• The series was based on the 1965 book The Fifteenth Pelican by Tere Ríos.
• The National Catholic Office for Radio and Television served as a series adviser.
• One episode featured only two actors, Sally Field and Henry Jaglom, trapped in a cave; it included a laugh track (canned laughter), though it was filmed without a studio audience.

A Convent Above the Clouds — Premise and Setting

The Flying Nun anchored its story in the Convent San Tanco in San Juan, Puerto Rico, a locale that was notably uncommon for American network television in the late 1960s. The order there served underprivileged and orphaned children while also assisting the broader poor of the local community. At the heart of the series was Sister Bertrille, a young idealistic novice who discovered she could take to the air whenever a passing breeze caught her large, heavily starched cornette. The show aired on ABC from September 7, 1967, through April 3, 1970, delivering 82 episodes including a one-hour pilot, all produced by Screen Gems. Developed by Bernard Slade and adapted from Tere Ríos's 1965 novel The Fifteenth Pelican, the series wove its Puerto Rican setting into the fabric of every plot, making the local community, its struggles, and its people integral to the comedy rather than mere backdrop.

Sally Field and the Making of Sister Bertrille

Sally Field's casting in The Flying Nun was partly a business decision: after ABC cancelled Gidget, producers wanted to retain Field on the air, making this her second sitcom lead. She played Elsie Ethrington, a Chicago native who arrived in San Juan from New York following an arrest connected to a free-speech protest, then assumed the name Sister Bertrille. In the episode "My Sister, The Sister," the audience learned she came from a family of physicians and was the sole member who rejected that path, instead breaking up with her toy-salesman boyfriend and joining the convent after being moved by her aunt's missionary work. Weighing under 90 pounds, Bertrille's flight was attributed to her light frame, the strong winds off the ocean bluffs, and the enormous starched cornette atop her head. She famously explained her aerodynamics with the line, "When lift plus thrust is greater than load plus drag, anything can fly." Her gift had limits, though: heavy rain could soften the cornette, an inner-ear infection could ruin her balance, and certain garments could keep her firmly grounded.

A Different Kind of Fantasy Comedy

While Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, and My Favorite Martian built their plots around frantic attempts to conceal a character's supernatural abilities, The Flying Nun took a markedly more grounded approach to its premise. Sister Bertrille and her fellow nuns routinely acknowledged her ability to fly openly, simply asking bystanders for discretion so that attention would not be drawn away from the convent's charitable work. Secrecy became a comedic necessity only when dealing with characters who might exploit, ridicule, or otherwise disrupt the situation. The show also treated the mechanics of flight with a surprising internal logic: in "Young Man with a Cornette," Bertrille told a young boy that her weight was distributed differently from his and that many other factors made her flight possible. One standout episode, performed without a laugh track, paired Field with actor-director Henry Jaglom in a cave, delivering a bitter, realistic exchange in which his worldview shifts not through miracle but through believable human connection.

The Convent's Eccentric Community

Beyond Sister Bertrille, the series built its comedy around a rich ensemble. Madeleine Sherwood played Reverend Mother Placido, the somber yet gentle head of the convent, while Marge Redmond portrayed Sister Jacqueline, a witty friend whose voice also served as the show's tongue-in-cheek narrator. Shelley Morrison brought humor as Sister Sixto, a Puerto Rican nun who perpetually misread English slang, and Linda Dangcil played young novice Sister Ana. On the secular side, Alejandro Rey starred as Carlos Ramirez, a casino-owning playboy who, after witnessing Bertrille fly alongside his plane, called it a religious experience and donated his land for a new school. Vito Scotti played Captain Gaspar Fomento, the local police officer who remained the only regular who never learned of her flying. Other recurring figures included Rich Little as disaster-prone Brother Paul, Elinor Donahue as Bertrille's pediatrician sister Jennifer, and Don Diamond, who appeared in dual roles as both the convent's physician and Fomento's exasperated superior.