Life with Elizabeth

Life with Elizabeth is an American sitcom starring Betty White as Elizabeth and Del Moore as her husband Alvin; Jack Narz is the on-camera announcer and narrator. The series aired in syndication from October 7, 1953 to September 1, 1955. The show was the first of numerous sitcoms for Betty White across the decades and was based on sketches involving the Elizabeth character that she had performed on her earlier talk show Hollywood on Television.

Life with Elizabeth
GenreSitcom
Created byGeorge Tibbles

Betty White

Don Fedderson
Written byMilt Kahn
George Tibbles
Directed byDuke Goldstone
StarringBetty White
Del Moore
Narrated byJack Narz
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes65
Production
ProducersBetty White
Don Fedderson
Cal Reed
George Tibbles
CinematographyMack Stengler
EditorRobert Oberbeck
Running time24–25 minutes
Production companiesBandy Productions
Don Fedderson
DistributorGuild Films
Release
Original networkSyndication
Picture formatBlack-and-white
Audio formatMonaural
Original releaseOctober 7, 1953 (1953-10-07) –
September 1, 1955 (1955-09-01)

The low-budget comedy was produced by and filmed at a local Los Angeles TV station where White and Moore were on the staff (the series was originally a live production on KLAC-TV in 1951).[1] Betty White received her first Primetime Emmy Award nomination for her work on this series.[2]

Premise

Elizabeth and Alvin are an ordinary suburban couple, but inevitably get into predicaments. In the end, Alvin, in variable degrees of frustration, would say, "I shall leave you at this point, Elizabeth" and would walk out of sight. The announcer would say, "Elizabeth, aren't you ashamed?" She would slowly nod, but then, with a slightly devilish grin, would vigorously shake her head to indicate she wasn't.

The series was divided into three eight- to ten-minute comic shorts — referred to as "incidents". Sometimes an entire incident might just consist of the two main characters talking to each other. The minimal theme music was played by a solo harpist who was partially visible on the opening title screen.

Production

The series was created by George Tibbles who also served as a writer. The series was produced by Bandy Productions, a production company formed by Betty White and George Tibbles, in association with executive producer Don Fedderson.[3]

Nina Bara appeared in several episodes.[4]

Cancellation

After 65 episodes, the series' production company, Guild Films, chose to cancel the series. While the series was still popular with audiences, Guild Films decided that too many new episodes of Life with Elizabeth would over saturate secondary markets thus making the series less profitable in second-run syndication.[5]

Episodes
1 Moosie in the Kitchen; Jungle in the Living Room; Underhills for Dinner
2 Balance Check Book; Late for a Party; Piano Tuner
3 Bad Mood; First Kiss; Ex-Flame
4 Ping Pong; Leaking Roof; Vacuum Cleaner Salesman
5 The Psychic; Car Repair for Dummies; Bird Bath
6 Oak Tree; TV Repair; Drive-In
7 Mam's Letter; Lodge Dinner; Richard Gets Fired
8 Nursery Rhymes; First Business Trip; Lake Allergies
9 Learning to Drive; Day They Moved In; Alvin Asks Boss Home
10 Car is Stolen; Fence Needs Painting; Real Estate Deal
11 Bonus Check; House Cleaning; Richard's Moustache
12 Black Eye; Momma for Breakfast; Missing Receptionist
13 Article On Carpentry; Hypnotism; Home Movies
14 Mam's Visit; Bicycle Picnic; Nosey Neighborhood
15 Photographer; Of the Honeymoon; Numb, Deaf and Blind
16 Phone Calls to Work; Girl Scout Trip; Census Taker
17 Collection Agency; Monster With Green Eyes; Good Neighbor Policy
18 Detective Stories; Writing a Speech; Moosie on the Patio
19 Scared Silly; Neighborhood Slingshot; Elmer's Garage
20 Everything Goes Wrong; Tenderhearted With Animals; Babysitting Eddie Miller

Broadcast and syndication

The series was exported to Australia during the late-1950s.[6] Life with Elizabeth aired in syndication on America One, on the HOT (History of Television) Network in New York (WKOB 42.4) & Dallas (K31GL 31.3), and on Lost TV[7] and The Decades Binge on the Decades Network.

Home media

Because the show was formatted as separate eight-minute sketches, a number of used 16mm prints of the films were cut into individual segments and sold on the "home movies" market by the Superior Bulk Film Co. of Chicago, a mail-order movie equipment dealer, in the late 1960s and 1970s. Since the series entered the public domain, it has been released in volumes of budget DVD releases.

References
  1. Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows - 1946-Present (9 ed.). Ballantine Books (New York). p. 791. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4. Retrieved 2018-09-03.
  2. Newcomb, Horace, ed. (2001). Encyclopedia of television: A-C, Volume 1 (2 ed.). CRC Press. p. 2533. ISBN 1-579-58411-X.
  3. White, Betty (2010). Here We Go Again: My Life In Television. Simon and Schuster. pp. 73–74. ISBN 978-1-451-61426-8.
  4. Staff, “Space Girl ‘Tonga’ to Appear At White-Barne Grand Opening,” The San Bernardino Daily Sun, San Bernardino, California, Wednesday 17 November 1954, Volume LXI, Number 67, page 8.
  5. Tucker, David C. (2007). The Women Who Made Television Funny: Ten Stars of 1950s Sitcoms. McFarland. p. 164. ISBN 978-0-786-48732-5.
  6. "Monday Television". The Age. December 5, 1957. p. 9. Retrieved June 18, 2013.
  7. "5 fast facts about 'Life with Elizabeth'" (January 2, 2018). Decades.com. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
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