Betty White Movies

Three L.A. women Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, and Wendie Malick) move to Ohio after their Paris-bound plane makes an emergency landing in Cleveland, where they meet the elderly caretaker (Betty White) of the house they decide to rent. ~ Joe Friedrich, Rovi

Star Trek star William Shatner settles into the celebrity hot seat, opening the floodgates for a series of relentless barbs by eager friends and colleagues in this installment of the popular Comedy Central Roast series. The tranya flows, the band rocks, and the insults fly as a series of celebrities including Clint Howard, George Takei, Jason Alexander, Jeffrey Ross, Nichelle Nichols, Fred Willard, Betty White, and Kevin Pollak all line up to take a shot at the man who would boldly lead television viewers to realms where no man, or woman for that matter, had gone before. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Organized by New York's Museum of Television and Radio, this impressively assembled tribute to the funny women boasts a stellar all-female cast, drawn from half a century's worth of video entertainment. Hosted by Megan Mullally (Will & Grace), the special uses rare film clips and interviews to pay homage to such iconic figures as Mary Tyler Moore, Carol Burnett, Bea Arthur, and especially the woman who started it all, Lucille Ball. A number of veteran comediennes are in attendance, along with the newer crop of "girls." Amidst the hilarity, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss (Seinfeld) offers a poignant paean to the late Gilda Radner. Great Women of Television and Comedy was originally broadcast by NBC -- which may explain the preponderance of guest stars from that network's then-current sitcom manifest. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Retrievers stars Bettie White, Robert Hays, and Robert Wagner in the kid-friendly tale of a family who discovers a dog and her newborn litter of puppies. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

This video features some highlights from the golden era of American television in the 1950s, with live clips and personal recollections of the stars. In this volume, Betty White and Bill Williams star in Date With the Angels. Ozzie and Harriet Nelson then appear in The New Chairs. ~ Rose of Sharon Winter, Rovi

In this romance, a widowed businesswoman, believing she has an incurable disease begins a series of romantic encounters only to discover that she has been misdiagnosed. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This medical instructional video is produced by the American Red Cross. Taking the viewer first through a twenty-question test on proper procedures for life-threatening medical emergencies, with an included test score card, the video then shows the recommended medical procedures for each depicted Emergency. ~ Tana Hobart, Rovi

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, Rovi

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. ~ Rovi

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). ~ Rovi