Come and knock on their door: Mrs. Ropers romping through Myrtle Beach

The five curly-haired red heads, dressed in colorful caftans, were hard to miss as they flitted around the beach bar Ocean Annie’s, drinks in hand.

The “Helens,” at the Myrtle Beach area bar for a Roper Romp, as they’re called, drew a lot of attention as people of a certain age stopped to take photos with the women.

“We have a papparazzi where we go,” said Mirta Harris, 61, one of the Helens.

Harris is part of the Grand Strand chapter of the International Order of Mrs. Ropers, which pays tribute to the quirky landlady, Helen Roper, on the 1970s TV sitcom “Three’s Company.”

Helen Roper, played by actress Audra Lindley, was on the show from 1977 to 1979, and made a lasting impression with her fashion sense, often sporting brightly colored outfits and bold accessories.

Indeed the Grand Strand Helens have embraced Mrs. Roper’s fashion, donning tacky accessories such as hair clips, eye glasses and jewerly to go along with their caftans. Harris even carries a paddle picturing “her husband” Stanley Roper, complete with Mrs. Roper’s catch phrase, “Oh, Stanley.”

“When you go out, you don’t have to think about what to wear,” Harris, of Little River, said. “You just put on Helen.”

Becoming a Helen

The group, which is part of a large network of organizations spanning all over the country and even in Canada, is open to anyone “who is willing to galivant around the Grand Stand to various events dressed as Helen Roper,” Wendy Fields, the local chapter’s leader, said by email.

However, members are also permitted to dress up as any of the characters from the show, such as Chrissy, Janet, Jack and even Stanley.

The local chapter is going on its second year and currently has 246 members, Fields said.

In fact, Rhonda Cauchois’ husband often appears at the Roper events dressed as Stanley Roper.

The 55-year-old, has been a part of the organization for five years, starting in a California chapter before she moved to the east coast.

Events are often referred to as Roper Romps or Caftan Crawls.

On a high-heat day in July, the group is conducting a crawl to several bars for Christmas in July. Members have visited nursing homes and assisted living facilities, where they delivered Easter baskets; collected school supplies for children; and appear at festivals and parades.

“The hundreds of people we encounter at various festivals and parades love that nostalgic feeling that is stirred by a blast from the past like the iconic character of Helen Roper,” Fields wrote.

While the Helens don’t charge for photos, they do encourage donations for taking pictures with a Helen. Then, at the end of the year, the few dollars collected while posing for pictures are donated to a charity.

Roper Romps becoming a trend

It has been reported that the Mrs. Roper Romps began in 2013 as a parade in New Orleans at the LGBTQ+ celebration Southern Decadence.

Since then, the organization has gained popularity on social media and has become a national trend, with Mrs. Roper romps continuing to pop up all over the country.

And now, more than 40 years after the show ended in 1984, Helen Roper is seeing a revival as thousands of people portray her character, “connecting with people and creating joy,” Fields wrote.

Many of the members grew up watching “Three’s Company,” and enjoy bringing the joy for the show to both kids and adults.

“We loved dressing up as kids,” Kristin Hill, 51, of Little River said, “why not as adults?”