There's a big article and interview with Betty in yesterday's (5/4/07) edition of "The Wall Street Journal." We get the paper at work, and I just happened to flip through and catch it.
I'll try to get it scanned in this evening (I don't have online access), but there's pictures of her on TGG, Mary Tyler Moore, Boston Legal and an "early" picture (1950s-ish).
Full Version: Betty White In Wsj
And, of course, the scanner doesn't work.
So, here goes. Please excuse any typos:
Friday, May 4th, 2007 -- The Wall Street Journal
Betty White's Sitcom Solution
Veteran Actress's Sharp Words on Dull Shows; The 'Golden Girls Cult
Television isn't very fond of its own history. Ini their never-ending quest to attract younger viewers, broadcasters typically balk at looking to the past for guidance.
Yet the broadcast networks could use some help. They are suffering one of their worst audience declines ever - down 10% this season among viewers aged 18-49, according to Nielsen Media Research. As TV executives sift through more than 100 pilot programs to decide what they will show this fall - and with everybody urgently searching for a smash sitcom - we sought advice from a person whose career embodies the medium's history.
Our oracle: 85year-old Betty White, televisions longest-working actor.
Ms. White landed her first long-term TV job in 1952 with a comedy show called "Life with Elizabeth." ("I was making $25 a week and absolutely thrilled to death," she says.) But her career actually began in 1940 - two decades before the oldest of the current network presidents was born. An early TV investor spotted her in a high-school play and asked her to participate in a test he was conducting at a Packard car dealership in Los Angeles, she says.
"We did a performance of 'The Merry Widow' on the top floor," she says. "The test was to see if the picture would make it to the lobby." (It did.)
These days, Ms. White has recurring parts in two successful network shows: as a criminal on ABC's quirky prime-time drama "Boston Legal" and as a manipulative matriarch on the CBS soap opera "The Bold and the Beautiful," both of which are returning this fall.
Ms. White is primarily known for her portrayls of two strikingly different women in two blockbuster comedies. As the devious sexpot and TV cooking expert Sue Ann Nivens in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," she helped invent televisions's seminal workplace sitcom in the early 1970s. And her turn as ditzy Rose Nylund in "The Golden Girls" helped breathe new life into TV comedy in the 1980s.
Below, Ms. White talks about how the networks could end their sitcom losing streak, what makes modern game shows boring, and why "The Golden Girls" has a cult following among many gay men. ("For starters," she says, "the gays know funny.")
WSJ: You've been working in TV for six decades. How has the process of putting together a series changed?
Ms. White: The biggest change is the industry's drastic expansion. There are now so many channels trying to put on original programs that there aren't enough gifted writers to go around. Anytime something gets so big, the product gets watered down.
The other big change is the audience. When I started in television, it was brand new. It was the miracle over in the corner of your room. Now the audience has seen every story line. People have heard every joke. They can predict the plot almost before a show starts. That's a hard, sophisticated audience to reach.
WSJ: The networks have struggled to launch new comedy hits in particular. What advice would you give them?
Ms. White: So much of the humor on new sitcoms plays to the lowest common denominator. Wit isn't nearly given as much attention as slipping on a banana peel. So much of the writing is so coarse, so obvious that it doesn't provide a shock, never mind a laugh. What makes something funny is alluding to it without laying it tu explicitly. You let the audiences fill in the gaps and that's where the laughs come.
WSJ: Networks in recent seasons have tried to reinvigorate the sitcom genre by doing away with the live audience and the laugh tracks (which often are made by recording the live audience). Now they're going in the opposite direction. Which way is smarter?
Ms. White: Having a live audience makes a world of difference to the acting. It keeps your timing sharp. When something doesn't work, the actor can sense the reaction from the audience and quickly move on. On the other hand, if you get a laugh you pause a second and don't walk into it. It's very subtle but I think it comes through the camera.
WSJ: Are there any modern sitcoms that you like?
Ms. White: I love "The Office" on NBC. I want every season of it on DVD. That's a show that risks getting too artsy. I hope they avoid that trap. But right now I think the writing is very witty.
WSJ: You helped popularize game shows by regularly appearing on classics such as "Password," "The $10,000 Pyramid," and "Match Game." Recently, networks have reintroduced game shows to prime time with mixed success. What's the trick to making a successful one?
Ms. White: Today's game shows are too scripted. The great game shows were true games and the celebrity guests were responsible for making up their answers on the fly. That created a sense of excitement and unpredictability. [Now] on the commerical breaks they tell you what's coming up. They hold up cue cards with things you're supposed to say. That's not a game.
WSJ: Reruns of "The Golden Girls" continue to attract strong ratings on cable. Why do you think the series still resonates?
Ms. White: One reason people still love the show may have to do with the age of the ladies in the cast. It was unusual at the time to see a whole cast of older people, and it's still unusual. Most of the time older actors just walk through and say something outrageous and then they disappear. What "Golden Girls" tells us is that older casts don't turn off younger viewers. The networks forget that. They think young people only want to see young people on the screen.
WSJ: A network executive recently remarked that "The Golden Girls" has become a cult phenomenon among gay men. What do you think that is?
Ms. White: There has always been a huge cult following for the show in the gay community. When the show was originally airing, the gay bars on Saturday night would shut off their music at 9:00, put on the show, and then start up the music and start dancing again afterwards. We always got such a kick out of that.
WSJ: What interested you about working on a soap opera like "The Bold and the Beautiful." It seems like a verry different type of acting.
Ms. White: That came out of left field. They called and asked. I had never done a soap opera in my life, but they wrote a nice story line and once in awhile I go back. It's always lovely to get invited to the party.
WSJ: Do you have any other projects in the pipeline?
Ms. White: My optimism runs eternal. You can't can't get rid of me, you know.
So, here goes. Please excuse any typos:
Friday, May 4th, 2007 -- The Wall Street Journal
Betty White's Sitcom Solution
Veteran Actress's Sharp Words on Dull Shows; The 'Golden Girls Cult
Television isn't very fond of its own history. Ini their never-ending quest to attract younger viewers, broadcasters typically balk at looking to the past for guidance.
Yet the broadcast networks could use some help. They are suffering one of their worst audience declines ever - down 10% this season among viewers aged 18-49, according to Nielsen Media Research. As TV executives sift through more than 100 pilot programs to decide what they will show this fall - and with everybody urgently searching for a smash sitcom - we sought advice from a person whose career embodies the medium's history.
Our oracle: 85year-old Betty White, televisions longest-working actor.
Ms. White landed her first long-term TV job in 1952 with a comedy show called "Life with Elizabeth." ("I was making $25 a week and absolutely thrilled to death," she says.) But her career actually began in 1940 - two decades before the oldest of the current network presidents was born. An early TV investor spotted her in a high-school play and asked her to participate in a test he was conducting at a Packard car dealership in Los Angeles, she says.
"We did a performance of 'The Merry Widow' on the top floor," she says. "The test was to see if the picture would make it to the lobby." (It did.)
These days, Ms. White has recurring parts in two successful network shows: as a criminal on ABC's quirky prime-time drama "Boston Legal" and as a manipulative matriarch on the CBS soap opera "The Bold and the Beautiful," both of which are returning this fall.
Ms. White is primarily known for her portrayls of two strikingly different women in two blockbuster comedies. As the devious sexpot and TV cooking expert Sue Ann Nivens in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," she helped invent televisions's seminal workplace sitcom in the early 1970s. And her turn as ditzy Rose Nylund in "The Golden Girls" helped breathe new life into TV comedy in the 1980s.
Below, Ms. White talks about how the networks could end their sitcom losing streak, what makes modern game shows boring, and why "The Golden Girls" has a cult following among many gay men. ("For starters," she says, "the gays know funny.")
WSJ: You've been working in TV for six decades. How has the process of putting together a series changed?
Ms. White: The biggest change is the industry's drastic expansion. There are now so many channels trying to put on original programs that there aren't enough gifted writers to go around. Anytime something gets so big, the product gets watered down.
The other big change is the audience. When I started in television, it was brand new. It was the miracle over in the corner of your room. Now the audience has seen every story line. People have heard every joke. They can predict the plot almost before a show starts. That's a hard, sophisticated audience to reach.
WSJ: The networks have struggled to launch new comedy hits in particular. What advice would you give them?
Ms. White: So much of the humor on new sitcoms plays to the lowest common denominator. Wit isn't nearly given as much attention as slipping on a banana peel. So much of the writing is so coarse, so obvious that it doesn't provide a shock, never mind a laugh. What makes something funny is alluding to it without laying it tu explicitly. You let the audiences fill in the gaps and that's where the laughs come.
WSJ: Networks in recent seasons have tried to reinvigorate the sitcom genre by doing away with the live audience and the laugh tracks (which often are made by recording the live audience). Now they're going in the opposite direction. Which way is smarter?
Ms. White: Having a live audience makes a world of difference to the acting. It keeps your timing sharp. When something doesn't work, the actor can sense the reaction from the audience and quickly move on. On the other hand, if you get a laugh you pause a second and don't walk into it. It's very subtle but I think it comes through the camera.
WSJ: Are there any modern sitcoms that you like?
Ms. White: I love "The Office" on NBC. I want every season of it on DVD. That's a show that risks getting too artsy. I hope they avoid that trap. But right now I think the writing is very witty.
WSJ: You helped popularize game shows by regularly appearing on classics such as "Password," "The $10,000 Pyramid," and "Match Game." Recently, networks have reintroduced game shows to prime time with mixed success. What's the trick to making a successful one?
Ms. White: Today's game shows are too scripted. The great game shows were true games and the celebrity guests were responsible for making up their answers on the fly. That created a sense of excitement and unpredictability. [Now] on the commerical breaks they tell you what's coming up. They hold up cue cards with things you're supposed to say. That's not a game.
WSJ: Reruns of "The Golden Girls" continue to attract strong ratings on cable. Why do you think the series still resonates?
Ms. White: One reason people still love the show may have to do with the age of the ladies in the cast. It was unusual at the time to see a whole cast of older people, and it's still unusual. Most of the time older actors just walk through and say something outrageous and then they disappear. What "Golden Girls" tells us is that older casts don't turn off younger viewers. The networks forget that. They think young people only want to see young people on the screen.
WSJ: A network executive recently remarked that "The Golden Girls" has become a cult phenomenon among gay men. What do you think that is?
Ms. White: There has always been a huge cult following for the show in the gay community. When the show was originally airing, the gay bars on Saturday night would shut off their music at 9:00, put on the show, and then start up the music and start dancing again afterwards. We always got such a kick out of that.
WSJ: What interested you about working on a soap opera like "The Bold and the Beautiful." It seems like a verry different type of acting.
Ms. White: That came out of left field. They called and asked. I had never done a soap opera in my life, but they wrote a nice story line and once in awhile I go back. It's always lovely to get invited to the party.
WSJ: Do you have any other projects in the pipeline?
Ms. White: My optimism runs eternal. You can't can't get rid of me, you know.
What a wonderful interview! Thank you for posting!
Her last response is a great quote. I think it sums up her career and personality quite well.
Her last response is a great quote. I think it sums up her career and personality quite well.
Thanks for posting, Jayman! Betty seems like such a sweet person.
Betty seems like such a sweet person.
Fascinating interview, Jim. Betty is so wonderfully insightful and much more than just a sharp-minded comedian.
Excellent point. When my family and I watch a show, we'll spend about 80% of the time not enjoying what we see and instead hypothesising over what the likely outcome of a mystery will be. And usually we figure it out. TV execs and writers can think of any possible avenue to take but they can be assured it won't have the shock value it could have had 30 years ago.
I never tire of hearing her say that TV execs think people only want young actors on TV. I was looking at the overnight ratings yesterday and the provider (Marc Berman) said that Close to Home might be axed because it has an older audience and CBS doesn't care for that, despite the show receiving over 10 million viewers a week. It's an unfortunate situation where that huge portion of the audience are still being ignored.
And her opinion on game-shows is dead-on, in my opinion.
Thank you so, so much for transcribing the article, Jim. It was a great pleasure to read.
QUOTE
The other big change is the audience. When I started in television, it was brand new. It was the miracle over in the corner of your room. Now the audience has seen every story line. People have heard every joke. They can predict the plot almost before a show starts. That's a hard, sophisticated audience to reach.
Excellent point. When my family and I watch a show, we'll spend about 80% of the time not enjoying what we see and instead hypothesising over what the likely outcome of a mystery will be. And usually we figure it out. TV execs and writers can think of any possible avenue to take but they can be assured it won't have the shock value it could have had 30 years ago.
I never tire of hearing her say that TV execs think people only want young actors on TV. I was looking at the overnight ratings yesterday and the provider (Marc Berman) said that Close to Home might be axed because it has an older audience and CBS doesn't care for that, despite the show receiving over 10 million viewers a week. It's an unfortunate situation where that huge portion of the audience are still being ignored.
And her opinion on game-shows is dead-on, in my opinion.
Thank you so, so much for transcribing the article, Jim. It was a great pleasure to read.
Thanks for taking the time to write that out for us, Jim. Very interesting as always. I think interviewers must jump up and do a cartwheel when they're told they'll be interviewing Betty White. I bet she's the easiest person in the world to talk to. Very interesting points/insights she makes 
Sam
Sam
Thanks Jim. That was a really interesting read.
Sam, you're right. Betty seems like one of the easiest people to talk to. Although Rose isn't my favourite character, Betty is my favourite of the four actresses. She is always so committed to the show, evident in all the interviews she has done over the years as well as supporting events connected with the show and the DVDs. This morning I watched a 30 minute interview with Betty from 1997 which I found on Google Video. She was so lovely, as always, and provided a lot of insight into the making and popularity of the show.
Sam, you're right. Betty seems like one of the easiest people to talk to. Although Rose isn't my favourite character, Betty is my favourite of the four actresses. She is always so committed to the show, evident in all the interviews she has done over the years as well as supporting events connected with the show and the DVDs. This morning I watched a 30 minute interview with Betty from 1997 which I found on Google Video. She was so lovely, as always, and provided a lot of insight into the making and popularity of the show.
Glad everyone enjoyed it. It's always nice to see our ladies in the news...
I went to a high school graduation open house yesterday, and my great-aunt and great-uncle are in their mid-70s. They were jumping around, laughing, acting full-of-life. I imagine Betty is like that as well.
As for the interview, it's good to see Betty's thoughts about the current state of television. The interview was right... she is probably the longest-acting television star today.
God Bless Betty White!!!
I went to a high school graduation open house yesterday, and my great-aunt and great-uncle are in their mid-70s. They were jumping around, laughing, acting full-of-life. I imagine Betty is like that as well.
As for the interview, it's good to see Betty's thoughts about the current state of television. The interview was right... she is probably the longest-acting television star today.
God Bless Betty White!!!
Jim - awesome! Thanks for taking the time to type it (sorry your scanner wasn't working... 
) When it is, can you put up the pics too? You're great! 
Love Ms White's responses - and spot on! She's great too!
) When it is, can you put up the pics too? You're great! Love Ms White's responses - and spot on! She's great too!
Finally had the time to read it, and I thank you very much for typing it in, Jim. It was a delight! It's funny, because when I read her answers, I could easily hear her voice in my head, just like when I read a piece of Rue's book.
Online version, although not as complete.
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