With her dimpled smile and perfect comedic timing, Betty White has always been one of my favorite television actresses. It is fantastic to see her having another career revival following her appearance in last year’s The Proposal, her hilarious superbowl commercial and now an upcoming hosting appearance on Saturday Night Live.
As a woman who works in the film industry, one of the aspects of her career that I have always admired was her work on the 1950s television show Life with Elizabeth. At the time she was one of the only women in television to have full creative control in front of and behind the camera, by not only starring in the show but also creating and producing it. In 1952 the show earned Betty her first Emmy Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series.
The show follows Elizabeth and Alvin (played by Del Moore), a married couple who live an ordinary suburban life. Each episode is divided into three short stories or “incidents” as they are refered to on the show. The following clip is one of my favorite, where Alvin is trying to catch the paper boy tossing their paper into the birdbath.
If you like the show, be sure to catch more clips on YouTube and at archive.org. Here is the first part of the first episodes, with links below for more. Enjoy!
Episode One – Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four
Episode Two – Part One, Part Two, Part Three
Episode Three
Episode Four
Episode Six
