Show Toppers: The Betty White Show (1977)

'The Betty White Show,' TV title, 1977

‘The Betty White Show,’ TV title, 1977

Pretty much everyone loves watching Betty White on TV and she’s still successful and going strong at age 91. Most of us know White best from her roles as Sue Ann on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Rose on The Golden Girls, but how many remember her short-lived 70s sitcom The Betty White Show?

The Betty White Show ran for a paltry 14 episodes, Monday evenings on CBS from September, 1977 to January, 1978. White starred as aging actress, Joyce Whitman whose career is in decline. Out of desperation, she takes a gig fronting a cop show called Undercover Woman (a take on Police Woman). Fellow Mary Tyler Moore alum, Georgia Engel, co-starred as White’s pal, Mitzi. John Hillerman played White’s stuffy ex-husband, John, who also happened to be the director of Undercover Woman.

John Hillerman and Betty White ('The Betty White Show,' 1977)

John Hillerman and Betty White (‘The Betty White Show,’ 1977)

The Betty White Show couldn’t stand up to ratings competition in the same time slot from Monday Night Football and The NBC Monday Movie and soon suffered the axe. This was, in fact, the comedienne’s second attempt at a series entitled The Betty White Show. Her variety show in 1958 also suffered the same fate, lasting only two months.

The Betty White Show TV Intro, 1977

The Betty White Show Wiki, IMDb

Previously, on Show Toppers: Adam-12

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