Rue McClanahan Movies
Graduating cum laude from the University of Tulsa, Rue McClanahan studied acting with Uta Hagen and at the Perry-Mansfield school. After her professional debut with a Pennsylvania stock company in 1957, McClanahan headed to New York, where between acting gigs she worked as a waitress, took shorthand and sold blouses. Grabbing any opportunity available, she made her TV bow on a 1960 episode of the TV series Malibu Run, then appeared in a handful of exploitation films with come-hither titles like Five Minutes to Love (she played "Poochie, the girl from the shack," a credit she has since dropped from her resumé). She managed to find more prestigious work on the New York stage, starring in such well-received productions as MacBird, Jimmy Shine, Sticks and Bones and California Suite. She also played regular roles on the TV soap operas Another World and Where the Heart Is. A 1972 guest shot on Norman Lear's controversial series All in the Family led to her being cast as Vivian Harmon on Lear's popular sitcom Maude, a role she played until the series' cancellation in 1978. McClanahan's next project was her own starring series, 1978's Apple Pie, which unfortunately bit the dust after three shows. She went on to play the vitriolic Aunt Fran on the network version of Mama's Family (1983-85), then was co-starred with her Maude colleague Bea Arthur in The Golden Girls (1985-92). Her well-rounded portrayal of overly amorous museum worker Blanche Devereaux won her an 1986 Emmy award; she reprised the character in the Golden Girls spin-off Golden Palace (1992-93). The star of several made-for-TV movies, McClanahan co-produced and appeared in a brace of "dramedies," Mother of the Bride (1991) and Baby of the Bride (1992). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1993
Another of several made-for-TV movies based on the best-selling novels of Danielle Steel, this one stars Jenny Robertson as Paxton Andrews, a sheltered Southern belle who falls for law student Peter Wilson (Steven Eckholdt) on the campus of Berkeley in the late '60s. After Peter is drafted and dies in Vietnam, the grief-stricken Paxton becomes the Saigon-based correspondent for a San Francisco newspaper, determined to use her column "Message from 'Nam" to bring comfort and solace to others whose loved ones are mired in the Southeast Asian quagmire. Before the inevitable slam-bang climax during the fall of Saigon, Paxton has not only grown emotionally and spiritually, but she has also enjoyed tender romantic interludes with a hard-bitten Army captain (Nick Mancuso) and a likeable sergeant (Ted Marcoux). Also featuring such formidable personalities as Rue McClanahan, Billy Dee Williams, and Esther Rolle, Danielle Steel's 'Message From Nam' originally aired October 17, 1993, on NBC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Rue McClanahan and Kristy McNichol star in this affectionate family comedy concerning a mother who can't quite accept the fact that her daughter is grown up and getting married. As the elaborate plans suddenly begin to crumble, the family must scramble to ensure that the young girl's marriage gets off to a proper start. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1993
Laughter is a blessed event in this made-for-cable adaptation of the popular off-Broadway revue. Due to an unfortunate accident in the kitchen of the Little Sisters of Hoboken convent, some 52 nuns have gone on to their reward; adding to the unpleasant event, the nunnery's coffers lack the funds to pay for a decent burial for all the sisters, leaving four of them in cold storage. Reverend Mother Mary Regina (Rue McClanahan), however, is determined to raise the cash, and decides she and her fellow nuns will put on a talent show, in which they'll show off their singing and dancing ability, with the proceeds going towards the Little Sisters' funeral fund. First staged in 1986, Nunsense became a sensation off-Broadway and became a wildly popular attraction on the road, spawning four spin-off shows to date. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
With series star Bea Arthur announcing that she did not wish to continue playing fiftysomething teacher Dorothy Zbornak any longer, it was decided that the seventh season of the NBC sitcom Golden Girls would be the last. Perhaps for this reason, the series' ratings plummeted from tenth to 30th place -- though even with a diminished viewership, the series remained one of NBC's most popular and profitable offerings. In the course of this final season, Dorothy's roommate Rose (Rue McClanahan) concludes that her relationship with former Mob accountant Miles Webber (Harold Gould) is not going anywhere, though this hardly means that Miles is completely out of her life. One piquant season-seven episode, "Old Boyfriends, reunites Betty White and Rue McClanahan (as Rose and Dorothy's roomie Blanche) with the actresses' former Mama's Family co-star, Ken Berry. The two-part "The Monkey Show" is built around Dorothy's sister Gloria, played in an earlier season by Polly Holliday and herein enacted by Dena Dietrich; this episode also features Dinah Manoff, playing her Carol Weston character from the Golden Girls spin-off series Empty Nest. In another Golden Girls/Empty Nest crossover, David Leisure (as Charlie Dietz) appears in "Questions and Answers," the centerpiece of which is a takeoff of the game show Jeopardy, featuring that series' host Alex Trebek and producer Merv Griffin. And the two-parter "Home Again, Rose" marks the one and only appearance of Blanche's daughter Janet, played by Jessica Lundy. In the hour-long season finale, Dorothy marries Blanche's uncle Lucas (Leslie Nielsen), thereby launching a set of circumstances that would ultimately lead Rose, Blanche, and Sophia into another Golden Girls spin-off series, The Golden Palace, in the fall of 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bea Arthur, Betty White, (more)
This made-for-TV domestic drama is a follow-up to 1990's Children of the Bride. Rue McClanahan plays a 53-year-old newlywed, the wife of much-younger Ted Shackelford (replacing the earlier film's Patrick Duffy) It's bad enough when McClanahan unexpectedly becomes pregnant. It gets worse when the same thing happens to her unwed teenaged daughter Kristy McNichol. Directed by actor Bill Bixby, Baby of the Bride first aired December 22, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
This sentimentalized biography of Oz creator L. Frank Baum (1856-1919) stars John Ritter in the title role. Richard Matheson's teleplay accurately depicts Baum as a business failure with the singular gift of being able to communicate with children. In keeping with Matheson's grounding in fantasy and the supernatural, Baum's characters occasionally come to life to palaver with the author and bring him inspiration. Annette O'Toole co-stars as Mrs. Baum, while Charles Haid is seen in the dual role of "Badham" and the Cowardly Lion. Also on hand as a Munchkin is Jerry Maren, who played one of the Lollipop Guild in the 1939 Hollywood adaptation of The Wizard of Oz. Made for television, Dreamer of Oz: The L. Frank Baum Story debuted December 10, 1990. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
America's four favorite senior citizens, Dorothy (Bea Arthur), Rose (Betty White), Blanche (Rue McClanahan), and Sophia (Estelle Getty), are still residing in the same cozy Miami household as The Golden Girls launches its sixth season. This year's opener is "Blanche Delivers," as Blanche nervously prepares for the birth of her daughter Rebecca's baby -- and wonders if the fact that the kid was conceived by artificial insemination will be the source of public embarrassment. In the next episode, "Once, in St. Olaf," Don Ameche guest stars as a kindly priest -- who turns out to be Rose's long-lost father! "Wham, Bam, Thank You, Mammy" spotlights Ruby Dee as Blanche's childhood nanny. The two-part "There Goes the Bride" finds Dorothy considering remarriage to her no-good former hubby, Stan (Herb Edelman), thereby allowing Debbie Reynolds to contribute a hilarious performance as the girls' temporary roommate Judy. And in "Mrs. George Devereaux," George Grizzard appears as Blanche's husband, George -- much to her astonishment, since George is supposed to be dead! Harold Gould continues to make sporadic appearances as Rose's mild-mannered boyfriend Miles Webber, whose "secret life" as a Mob accountant catches up to him big-time in the episodes "Miles to Go" and "Witness," the latter episode also featuring Kristy McNichol in a crossover appearance from the Golden Girls spin-off series Empty Nest. And near the end of the season, the two-part "Never Yell Fire in a Crowded Room" revolves around a deathbed confession that gets Dorothy's octogenarian mother, Sophia, thrown in jail on an arson rap! While ratings for The Golden Girls faltered a bit during season six, the series still finished at a respectable tenth place. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bea Arthur, Betty White, (more)
- 1990
A welcome exception to the slasher-stalker-kidnapper films usually seen on the USA cable network, After the Shock is a tribute to the courage and heroism of Bay Area residents following the San Francisco earthquake of October 17, 1989. Director Gary A. Sherman opts for a "cinema verite" approach, utilizing a hand-held camera to recreate the style of the original on-the-spot TV reporting. The cast includes Scott Valentine, Rue McClanahan, Yaphet Kotto, Jack Scalia and Richard Anthony Crenna as various firefighters, paramedics, law officials and private citizens. One of the best performances is offered by Nick Zaninovich, a real-life quake survivor who spent seven hours trapped in his car, which was buried under a collapsed stretch of the Nimitz freeway. After the Shock debuted September 12, 1990. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
Made for television, To My Daughter stars Rue McClanahan as a well-to-do matron whose oldest daughter (Michelle Greene) dies. The girl was always McClanahan's favorite; the remaining children (Samantha Mathis and Ty Miller), though not unaffected by the loss, hope that now their mother will pay some attention to them. Instead, McClanahan's grief threatens to shatter her already shaky relationship with her younger offspring. She virtually shuts the kids out of her life in order to finish her older daughter's uncompleted book. To My Daughter was unofficially based on the career of real-life writer Nancy Lynn Schwartz, who did indeed die before completing her history of the Screen Actors' Guild, obliging her mother to finish the job. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
- R
While working as a publicist, an average guy (Robby Benson) meets a girl (Karla DeVito, Robby's real-life wife), ends up marrying her and has a child (Lyric Benson, Robby's real daughter). Problems soon arise as the harried husband and father begins to crack under the pressure. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robby Benson, Karla de Vito, (more)
In this film a middle-aged woman tries to get married to her younger fiance but is hindered by her four grown children who come bearing grudges. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
The Golden Girls begins its fifth season minus several of its longtime writers, but with the basic cast intact: Bea Arthur as Dorothy, Betty White as Rose, Rue McClanahan as Blanche, and Estelle Getty as Dorothy's mom, Sophia, four very mature ladies living under the same roof in a small Miami neighborhood. The season opens with the two-part "Sick and Tired," another crossover episode featuring characters from the Golden Girls spin-off series Empty Nest, in this case Richard Mulligan as Dr. Harry Weston and Park Overall as Laverne Todd. The later episode "Not Another Monday" marks the second appearance of Blanche's daughter Rebecca, here played by Debra Engle, replacing the previous season's Shawn Schepps. "Dancing in the Dark" introduces Harold Gould in the recurring role of Rose's boyfriend Miles Webber, a shy, retiring type who will later turn out to have a most turbulent "secret life." In "Ebb Tide," Sheree North makes the second of two appearances as Blanche's spoiled younger sister Virginia. And in the two-part finale, the girls somewhat incredibly prepare for a visit from the first President George Bush -- who, of course, does not appear on-camera, but is represented by an offscreen voice provided by master mimic Harry Shearer. As in its fourth season, Golden Girls ranked as America's sixth most popular series throughout its fifth year on the air. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bea Arthur, Betty White, (more)
- 1989
Based on a 1924 mystery novel by Agatha Christie, The Man in the Brown Suit was the eighth of Warner Bros. Television's Christie-inspired TV movies. Stephanie Zimbalist stars as an American tourist in Cairo (with Spain standing in for Egypt). She runs across a mysterious murder, and an odd encounter with a stranger; all this occurs even before she sets foot on a luxury liner with an all-suspect passenger manifest. It is established that the murderer, who is after a cache of valuable diamonds, is an internationally notorious criminal--but which one of the passengers is he (or she)? Maybe the villain romantic lead Simon Dutton, the "man in the brown suit" of the title...but don't discount such special guest suspects as Rue McClanahan and Tony Randall. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
Owning a pet -- especially a dog -- is a huge responsibility. People want to own a dog for a multitude of reasons, for protection, for companionship, for the pure joy to have a living creature be part of one's life. Actress Rue McClanahan hosts this program targeted for dog owners and would-be dog owners; this video is designed to help the viewer select a dog best suited for them, how to train the dog effectively, grooming tips and techniques, tending to a dog's medical need, the proper diet suited for a dog, conversations and spaying and neutering the dog and many more valuable and helpful tips and ideas. ~ Forrest Spencer, All Movie Guide
- 1988
Rue McClanahan, perhaps best known for her role in TV's Golden Girls, plays her favorite role as a lifelong animal lover in this informative and humorous video about caring for your cat. With a warmth that is telling of her enthusiasm for her subject, McClanahan tells pet owners all they need to know to create a happy and harmonious life for their cat. And for those wishing to provide top care for man's best friend, McClanahan continues her pet care series with Rue McClanahan: The Dog Care Video Guide. ~ Kathryn Tamms, All Movie Guide
Roommates Dorothy (Betty White), Blanche (Rue McClanahan), Rose (Betty White), and Sophia (Estelle Getty) continue to prove that there is still plenty of life (among other pleasurable things!) after age 50 in the fourth season of the NBC sitcom The Golden Girls. The opening episode, "Yokel Hero," marks the first of several crossover appearances by Richard Mulligan as Dr. Harry Weston, the character he played on the Golden Girls spin-off series Empty Nest. Jack Gilford, who previous co-starred with Rue McClanahan on the very short-lived sitcom Apple Pie, is cast as Max Weinstock, the fiancé of Dorothy's octogenarian mother, Sophia, in the two-part "Sophia's Wedding" (the marriage comes off, but the couple separates -- and even though there's no talk of a divorce, Max is never seen again). "Scared Straight" marks the first of two appearances by Monte Markham as Blanche's gay brother Clayton. In "The Little Sister," Inga Swenson makes her one and only appearance as Rose's younger sister Holly. And in "You Gotta Have Hope," Bob Hope guest stars as -- who else? -- Bob Hope. The season ends with the two-parter "We're Outta Here," in which the girls face the possibility of breaking up when Blanche considers selling their house -- thus sparking a flow of reminiscences via excerpts from previous episodes of Golden Girls, which in its fourth season on the air was America's sixth most popular TV series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bea Arthur, Betty White, (more)
- 1988
In this comedy, a widow who works as a newspaper columnist tries to marry off her four strong-willed daughters. The widow is assisted by a good friend. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1988
- PG
One of two "dueling" TV biopics of 1988, Liberace stars Andrew Robinson (who'd once played the giggling killer in Dirty Harry!) as the titular flamboyant entertainer. The film recounts Liberace's rise to fame thanks to TV exposure during the 1950s, but does so with distressing disregard of the facts: at one point, Liberace manages to mispronounce the name of his Wisconsin home town! A thin veneer of authenticity is maintained by the use of Liberace's actual piano-shaped swimming pool and his real jewelry and wardrobe. The AIDS angle is barely touched upon in the final scenes, thanks to the intervention of the entertainer's family and lawyers. Of the two Liberace films, Liberace runs a distant second to Liberace: Behind the Music (telecast the following October week of 1988 by a rival network), though Robinson does rather well in the leading role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The third season of The Golden Girls continues to chronicle the adventures of four over-50 ladies who lived under the same Miami roof: widows Blanche Devereaux (Rue McClanahan) and Rose Nylund (Betty White), divorcée Dorothy Zbornak (Bea Arthur), and Dorothy's shamelessly outspoken mother, Sophia Petrillo (Estelle Getty). Season three opens with one of the series' many flashback episodes, "One for the Money," featuring Lynnie Greene in her recurring role as young Dorothy. The later episode "Blanche's Little Girl" marks the first series appearance of Blanche's daughter Rebecca, played this season by Shawn Schepps; "My Father, My Brother" finds comedian Bill Dana in the role of Sophia's brother Angelo, a priest; in "Mixed Blessing," Dorothy's son Michael (Scott Jacoby) announces his engagement to a black woman -- which wouldn't bother Dorothy so much were it not for the fact that the woman is 20 years Michael's senior; and in another flashback show, "Mother's Day," viewers are given their one and only glimpse at Blanche's late mother, Margaret, played by Helen Kleeb. In other episodes, Rose does her part for world peace by writing letters to Reagan and Gorbachev (and guess which one of the two world leaders responds!); and McLean Stevenson guest stars as Ted Zbornak, brother of Dorothy's redoubtable ex-husband, Stan (Herb Edelman). Rated the fourth most popular TV series in America during its third season, The Golden Girls also did all right by itself at Emmy award time, with Bea Arthur and Estelle Getty both winning statuettes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bea Arthur, Betty White, (more)
- 1987
Keshia Knight-Pulliam stars as the title character, an orphaned waif of the 1920s who helps instill the Christmas spirit into a contentious New England family. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
Having emerged from its first season as the seventh highest-rated program in America -- and one of four NBC sitcoms in the Top Ten -- The Golden Girls waltzed into its second season on NBC's Saturday-night lineup with the greatest of ease. Virtually no changes were made with the basic cast and format: the setting was still the Miami home of flirtatious fiftysomething widow Blanche Devereaux (Rue McClanahan) and her housemate contemporaries, outspoken substitute teacher Dorothy Zbornak (Bea Arthur) and naïve, timid widow Rose Nylund (Betty White). Also sharing the girls' home was Dorothy's peppery mother, Sophia Petrillo (Estelle Getty), whose lack of "tact cells" (the result of a stroke) had given her carte blanche to say the most outrageous and embarrassing things imaginable. Also carried over from season one were the girls' efforts to make ends meet on their pooled incomes, and to find true romance with a steady stream of eligible middle-aged bachelors. Additionally, Dorothy's unreliable ex-husband, Stan (Herb Edelman), continued in his efforts to re-insinuate himself in his former wife's life. Some of the recurring characters introduced in the first season -- Dorothy's daughter, Kate, Blanche's flamboyant father, "Big Daddy" -- returned to the series, though not played by the same actors as in season one (this season they were played by Deena Freeman and David Wayne, respectively). Of the newer semi-regulars, the foremost was Sophia's estranged sister, Angela, a role that earned an Emmy nomination for guest actress Nancy Walker. Moving up from seventh to fifth place in the ratings (and joining three other popular NBC sitcoms in the Top Five), The Golden Girls also added to its ever-growing list of Emmy awards with honors for Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Directing (Terry Hughes), and Outstanding Lead Actress (Rue McClanahan, winning an award that had gone the previous season to her co-star Betty White). As bonus, the final episode of The Golden Girls' second season performed double duty as the pilot for the soon-to-be equally popular sitcom Empty Nest -- though by the time that series made its official debut in 1988, the entire cast had been changed and the format considerably altered. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bea Arthur, Betty White, (more)
- 1985
In one of the series' best episodes, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) and Sheriff Tupper (Tom Bosley) are taking a bus trip from Cabot Cove to Portland, Maine, when the vehicle makes a stopover at a roadside inn. Before long, one of the other passengers--a bank robber recently released from prison--turns up murdered. As it happens, practically everyone on the bus except Jessica and Tupper had a powerful motivation...and this may well be one of those rare instances in which the Most Likely Suspect turns out to be the guilty party after all! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Legend has it that The Golden Girls, created by Susan Harris of Soap fame, was introduced to NBC's Saturday-evening lineup in the fall of 1986 to counter criticism that the network was ignoring its older viewers (that is, those over the age of 34) in favor of younger fans. Whatever the case, not one of the leading characters in The Golden Girls was under the age of 50 -- and none of them ever acted as if they were any older than 30. Sharing the same home in a placid Miami neighborhood were outspoken divorcée and substitute teacher Dorothy Zbornak (Bea Arthur), timid, naïve widow Rose Nylund (Betty White), and another widow, the earthy, man-chasing Southern belle Blanche Devereaux (Rue McClanahan), who owned the house. (The series waited until the last episode of season one to explain how these three extremely disparate personalities ended up under the same roof; without revealing too much, the key to the girls' strong bond was as simple as cheesecake.) In the opening episode, Blanche's eightysomething mother, Sophia Petrillo (Estelle Getty), moved in with the "girls" when her retirement home burned down. Having suffered a stroke which destroyed the "tact cells" in her brain, Sophia blithely said anything and everything that came into her mind, much to the embarrassment of her daughter, but to the great amusement of the viewers. During season one, several recurring characters were introduced. The most prominent of these was Dorothy's ex-husband, Stanley (Herb Edelman), who, despite having ditched Dorothy for a much younger woman, never tired of his efforts to worm his way back into her life. Also making their earliest appearances were Dorothy and Stanley's daughter, Kate (Lisa Jane Persky), and son-in-law, Dennis (Dennis Drake); Blanche's bombastic father, "Big Daddy" (Murray Hamilton), and her selfish younger sister, Virginia (Sheree North); Dorothy's wealthy kid sister, Gloria (Doris Belack); and Rose's fiercely independent (and recently blinded) sibling, Lily (Polly Holliday). Some of these characters would make repeat visits in future seasons, though not always played by the same actors. An unqualified hit from its first appearance onward (the series was tied for seventh place in the ratings with Dynasty during its inaugural season), The Golden Girls also garnered enthusiastic praise from the critics and earned four Emmys, for Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Writing, Outstanding Technical Direction, and Best Lead Actress (Betty White). ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bea Arthur, Betty White, (more)
- 1984
Enterprising Mel (Vic Tayback) purchases a nursery school for the purpose of bulldozing the property and erecting a parking lot for his diner. This scheme causes the school's faculty and students, not to mention the diner staff, to regard Mel as a super-villain--and in fine "sitcom retribution" fashion, it is Mel himself who suffers most from the situation. Future Designing Women regular Rue McClanahan is cast in the unlikely role of Mother Goose!
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
