Betty White Appreciation Thread

[ClassyCo]

Betty White had a wonderful way of making those St. Olaf stories come off so naturally, and even the most outlandish ones, she made believable. For a long time, I underestimated White's performance as Rose Nylund, and I was quite dismissive of it, and I hate to admit that it took her passing for me to reexamine what joy and layers she brought to such a lovable character.

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[Alexis]

I am watching season 5 of The Golden Girls now and Rose has me cracking up.

 

[ClassyCo]

I am watching season 5 of The Golden Girls now and Rose has me cracking up.

One of my favorite Rose-centric episodes of Season 5 is "Dancing in the Dark". That's the episode where Rose meets and subsequently falls for college professor Miles Webber (Harold Gould), and the two share some very sweet moments in their first episode together. Miles was retained as a recurring character during the final seasons of the show, and I like the romantic angle that the show played up with the pair.

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[Jimmy Todd]

Betty White had a wonderful way of making those St. Olaf stories come off so naturally, and even the most outlandish ones, she made believable. For a long time, I underestimated White's performance as Rose Nylund, and I was quite dismissive of it, and I hate to admit that it took her passing for me to reexamine what joy and layers she brought to such a lovable character.

View attachment 33774​

I recall that initially I thought the St. Olaf stories were too absurd and just stupid. However, the way Betty White played the character and the way she told those stories made them hilarious.

 

[cws]

I recall that initially I thought the St. Olaf stories were too absurd and just stupid. However, the way Betty White played the character and the way she told those stories made them hilarious.

I really think only Betty could have played Rose. She was naive, not stupid.

 

[DallasFanForever]

I really think only Betty could have played Rose. She was naive, not stupid.

The only other one I can picture playing Rose perhaps is Rue. I think she had a natural knack for pulling off the naive stuff when she had to and she too was a great storyteller. But ultimately I think they got it right. Rue was a natural Blanche and Betty was the best choice as Rose.

 

[cws]

The only other one I can picture playing Rose perhaps is Rue. I think she had a natural knack for pulling off the naive stuff when she had to and she too was a great storyteller. But ultimately I think they got it right. Rue was a natural Blanche and Betty was the best choice as Rose.

Originally Rue was cast to play Rose and Betty as Blanche. They decided to switch it because Blanche was so much like Sue Ann from the Mary Tyler Moore show, which Betty had played.

 

[ClassyCo]

My first exposure to Betty White and Rue McClanahan came with GOLDEN GIRLS reruns. As young as I was at the time, I hadn't any idea the two of them had starred on other successful sitcoms beforehand. Once I found out, however, I naturally had to do some digging into those other shows.

When I first starting watching MARY TYLER MOORE, it was the episodes before Betty White had come on. Once I finally started seeing her episodes as Sue Ann Nivens, the "happy homemaker" over at WJM, I was a little shook. Sue Ann was certainly brassier and sexier than Rose ever dared to be. And because of Betty's delicious portrayal of Sue Ann, it's easy to see why producers had originally wanted her to play Blanche on GOLDEN GIRLS a good eight years after MARY TYLER MOORE had concluded its run. But Betty does a superb job with Rose, and she does it right from the beginning too, which testifies to her abilities as an actress to create a character right off the top of her head (she had been told about the switch in casting during a casual script reading with Rue).



I must admit that I was a little more shook when I first saw Rue play scatterbrained Vivian Harmon on MAUDE, a very liberal-minded show starring Bea Arthur in the title role. With MAUDE being so liberally left, I am not always a fan of their message-orientated episodes, but I can appreciate the casting and quality scripts and performances. Rue, in particular, is a standout in the series as Maude's ditzy next-door-neighbor, and the two often pair up for goofy antics reminiscent of Lucy and Ethel from I LOVE LUCY. In saying that, I can see what director Jay Sandrich said he saw in Rue: He didn't see an innocent bone in her body, and one believes that assessment. Rue, while good as Vivian, seems to have played Blanche far more naturally, which is why I am personally thankful Sandrich, a very insightful TV director, decided to switch Betty and Rue around before filming on THE GOLDEN GIRLS commenced.

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[Jimmy Todd]

My first exposure to Betty White and Rue McClanahan came with GOLDEN GIRLS reruns. As young as I was at the time, I hadn't any idea the two of them had starred on other successful sitcoms beforehand. Once I found out, however, I naturally had to do some digging into those other shows.

When I first starting watching MARY TYLER MOORE, it was the episodes before Betty White had come on. Once I finally started seeing her episodes as Sue Ann Nivens, the "happy homemaker" over at WJM, I was a little shook. Sue Ann was certainly brassier and sexier than Rose ever dared to be. And because of Betty's delicious portrayal of Sue Ann, it's easy to see why producers had originally wanted her to play Blanche on GOLDEN GIRLS a good eight years after MARY TYLER MOORE had concluded its run. But Betty does a superb job with Rose, and she does it right from the beginning too, which testifies to her abilities as an actress to create a character right off the top of her head (she had been told about the switch in casting during a casual script reading with Rue).

View attachment 33827

I must admit that I was a little more shook when I first saw Rue play scatterbrained Vivian Harmon on MAUDE, a very liberal-minded show starring Bea Arthur in the title role. With MAUDE being so liberally left, I am not always a fan of their message-orientated episodes, but I can appreciate the casting and quality scripts and performances. Rue, in particular, is a standout in the series as Maude's ditzy next-door-neighbor, and the two often pair up for goofy antics reminiscent of Lucy and Ethel from I LOVE LUCY. In saying that, I can see what director Jay Sandrich said he saw in Rue: He didn't see an innocent bone in her body, and one believes that assessment. Rue, while good as Vivian, seems to have played Blanche far more naturally, which is why I am personally thankful Sandrich, a very insightful TV director, decided to switch Betty and Rue around before filming on THE GOLDEN GIRLS commenced.

View attachment 33826​

The once quipped that she and Blanche weren't exactly alike. She(Rue) wasn't from the South.

 

[ClassyCo]

Betty White's Best Moments as Ellen on 'Mama's Family'

Betty White portrayed Ellen Harper on 'Mama's Family' from 1983 to 1984, in honor of the late star here's her memorable moments from the show.

www.cheatsheet.com

 

[DallasFanForever]

Originally Rue was cast to play Rose and Betty as Blanche. They decided to switch it because Blanche was so much like Sue Ann from the Mary Tyler Moore show, which Betty had played.

And I’m glad they did. It ended up working out perfectly imo

 

[cws]

And I’m glad they did. It ended up working out perfectly imo

So true...I can't imagine it any other way!!

 

[Crimson]

There's an account on TikTok that takes vintage celebrities and gives them more modern makeup & hairstyles.

Some thoughts: those 50s hairstyles really made even young, pretty women look matronly, and if she had been born a half century later, Betty White would have been a supermodel.

 

[ClassyCo]

There's an account on TikTok that takes vintage celebrities and gives them more modern makeup & hairstyles.

Some thoughts: those 50s hairstyles really made even young, pretty women look matronly, and if she had been born a half century later, Betty White would have been a supermodel.


View attachment 33910 View attachment 33911

Yeah, that short, bobbed off hair has Betty White reminding me of Jane Wyatt from FATHER KNOWS BEST.

 

[Crimson]

The Centennial.

 

[Richard Channing]

 

[ClassyCo]

Some hilarity from everyone's favorite Scandinavian nitwit Rose Nylund.

 

[DallasFanForever]

Some hilarity from everyone's favorite Scandinavian nitwit Rose Nylund.

Watching those clips there’s no doubt in my mind that she was the perfect Rose. I just can’t see anyone else pulling that off the way she did

 

[ClassyCo]

All my time as a GOLDEN GIRLS fan and I'm just finding out that this St. Olaf story was ad-libbed by Betty White.

Betty White's Hilariously Unscripted "Great Herring War" Improv on Golden Girls

Remember the famous "Great Herring War" episode of 'The Golden Girls'?

twistedsifter.com

 

[DallasFanForever]

All my time as a GOLDEN GIRLS fan and I'm just finding out that this St. Olaf story was ad-libbed by Betty White.

Betty White's Hilariously Unscripted "Great Herring War" Improv on Golden Girls

Remember the famous "Great Herring War" episode of 'The Golden Girls'?

twistedsifter.com

I never knew this either. And I wonder how many more of those St. Olaf stories might’ve been ad-libbed? I’ve thought about this quite often over the years. I always got the feeling she was making them up as she went.