Betty White is hot. Hot in Cleveland, to be sure, but really Hot in LA. In her new book, If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won’t), Betty tells us something remarkable: that she came to the Mary Tyler Moore Show for a one-time appearance, in the fourth season. She ended up staying for the duration of the run, for three additional seasons. But in most seasons in which she appeared, Betty turned up in only five or six episodes. Her impact on the show, though, was so great that we can’t possibly reflect on the genius of The Mary Tyler Moore Show without thinking of her as part of its enduring essence. Betty’s other iconic role, as alongside Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan, and Estelle Getty, was as Rose on The Golden Girls. Both The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Golden Girls earned distinction of being among the best American television shows of all time. And we haven’t even gotten to Carl Reiner yet! We at Writers Bloc can’t do the math to add up the total number of Emmy nominations and awards that Betty’s and Carl’s shows have racked up.
Betty White is now 89, and just last year hosted Saturday Night Live for the first time. Not that she hadn’t received earlier offers to host—she just politely declined. Perhaps she was too young. But it proved too difficult to decline an invitation that well over 500,000 people on Facebook wanted her to accept. And last year, at 88, Betty took on a leading role in Hot in Cleveland, another award-winning sitcom that has been renewed for another twenty two episodes.
Every television comedy since the 60’s owes an enormous debt to Carl Reiner, who created The Dick Van Dyke Show, still considered to be one of the best comedies in television history. He directed The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming, as well as such classics as The Jerk, All of Me, and Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid. Let’s not forget his long collaboration with Mel Brooks— we owe the two of them for The 2000 Year Old Man. Carl is also the author of many books, including My Anecdotal Life, NNNNN, and Just Desserts, A Novellelah. Watch for Carl on television on Hot in Cleveland.
Join Writers Bloc on May 12 as Betty reflects on subjects dear to her heart such as poker, television, hair color, growing older, missing her husband, flirting with Robert Redford, and much more. At the Writers Guild Theater, 135 South Doheny Drive, Beverly Hills. Tickets, $20 cash or check only please. Please pay at the door.
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