Although Betty White had been on television for a quarter-century by the early '70s, many consider her role on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" to be her breakout. The series, which revolved around Mary Richards (Moore) — a young unmarried woman focused on her career in the big city — was a huge hit and a feminist turning point, arriving as the women's movements of the 1970s were taking shape and women all over the country were bucking trends and yearning for more.
White shined as Sue Ann Nivens, the antithesis of Mary. Sue Ann was the host of a show within the show called "The Happy Homemaker," where she pretended to be a constantly perky, sweet, happy housewife who cooked, cleaned and served her husband. But behind the scenes, Sue Ann was foul-mouthed, competitive, and man-hungry.
Discussing the role that made her a household name, : "I loved Sue Ann. She was so rotten. The neighborhood nymphomaniac." Sue Ann was meant to be a single episode guest appearance, but White ended up staying with the show for 46 episodes and too many classic TV moments to count.
Let's face it: It was going to be hard for Disney to top the excellence that was "Toy Story 3." The third film in the series found Andy all grown up and headed off to college. The toys experienced existential crises, faced obsolescence and danger, and finally found a new owner in the adorable Bonnie. That film was an emotional roller coaster of nostalgia, tears, and yearning; a fitting way to end the series. But then "Toy Story 4" came along in 2019. The fourth film was a fine little adventure with Bonnie, though it didn't pack the emotional heft of "Toy Story 3.
" The best part was the addition of new characters such as the spork Forky, voiced by Tony Hale.
Betty White voiced another new character, a tiger teething toy named Bitey White. One of Bonnie's baby toys left behind, Bitey was joined by other iconic actors with decades-long careers, including Mel Brooks as Melephant Brooks, Carol Burnett as a chair named Chairol Burnett, and Carl Reiner as Carl Reineroceros. Either Bonnie watched a lot of old TV shows, or one of her parents definitely helped with those names.
"Mama's Family" was a sitcom starring Vicki Lawrence as a woman named Thelma Harper, AKA "Mama." The series was a spinoff of a sketch called "The Family" featured on "The Carol Burnett Show" and "Carol Burnett and Company."
True comfort food, the series began in 1983 and followed Mama (a 65-year-old wise cracking, gray-haired widow) and her family in a southern suburb. In some ways, she was Madea about twenty years before Tyler Perry put on a dress. The series was a bit of a hit or miss and was abruptly cancelled in 1984 — but it then became a trailblazer of first-run syndication, rising again in 1986 and becoming an afternoon staple on local channels nationwide.
White was a recurring character during the show's sketch beginning, as well as its first incarnation. She played Mama's eldest daughter Mary Ellen Harper, the snobby one of the bunch, who always thought herself too good for the Harpers' podunk attitudes and rural influences. Married to an unseen character named Bruce Jackson, Mary Ellen had two unseen daughters named Mary Beth and Debbie.
Though White has often played dimwitted characters during her career, Mary Ellen was a smart, posh socialite. The "favorite" of Thelma's daughters, her conflict with her Mama stemmed from their major differences in lifestyle, attitude, and outlook.
White's natural sweetness here was turned high society and a bit uppity, showcasing her range.
Betty White actually had multiple shows named for her; the first was a radio show she had in the 1940s. The first television version of "The Betty White Show," however, ran from February through December in 1954, with the format of a daytime talk/variety show. Before the word "reboot" was invented, that show gave rise to one in 1958, this time airing in primetime and running for another 14 episodes.
But White had significant career momentum in 1977, coming of the beloved "Mary Tyler Moore Show," when she did another "Betty White Show," only this time a sitcom.
"The Betty White show" ran on CBS for one season, starring White as a woman named Joyce Whitman. Joyce was an actress who had landed the lead role in a police drama, only to learn that the director of the show was to be her ex-husband. Co-starring John Hillerman ("Magnum, P.I.") and Georgia Engel ("Everybody Loves Raymond"), the series struggled to find an audience, outgunned on rival networks by football and Monday night movies — but it did remind audiences of White's ability to lead a series, something she had been doing off and on for about 25 years at that point.
A popular crime procedural with elements of drama and light comedy, "" starred Emily Deschanel and David Boreanez and ran on FOX from 2005 to 2017. It was loosely based on the life of a forensic anthropologist who turned her experiences into fictional novels — but no book could come up with a character quite like White created in a pair of memorable performances.
White only got to guest star in two episodes of "Bones," but her appearance was memorable — as elderly forensic anthropologist Dr.
Beth Mayer, she was charming, witty, and had a story for just about everything.
Dr. Mayer had been married six times, and often spoke of her former relationships and sexual experiences. When figuring out that another character had erectile dysfunction, for example, she commented that she'd seen a lot of that at her age. Dr. Mayer made an appearance in Season 11 of "Bones," then returned for a second cameo in the show's 12th and final season. While her contribution to "Bones" may have been small, Betty White ranks among the most memorable guest stars the series ever had.
