Betty White reveals why Bea Arthur hated her

[Bonniegirl]

Originally Posted by bandonurse

I believe you, but how odd. Personally, I find depressed, unhappy people much harder to be around than happy, cheerful ones. Who wants to be around a perpetual "downer"?

It's the downer people that get annoyed at cheerfulness! They feel if they aren't happy,why should other people be!

It's best to just steer clear of it, but if it's people you can't keep at a distance ,coworkers, bosses, family members, or long term friends that you feel a loyalty to!

[JamesG]

I figured to mention this tidbit here, Bea Arthur's eldest adopted son, Matthew Saks, recently did a interview with THR:

If one persistent rumor about Arthur still follows her into the afterlife, it’s that she and her "Golden Girls" co-star Betty White, who played the dippy Minnesotan Rose Nylund, had a contentious off-screen relationship.

Saks says it isn’t entirely without merit. “My mom was the real deal,” he explains. “I think she felt she was more of an actress than Betty. Mom came from Broadway. Betty starred on a game show at one point.”

He continues: “When they shot the sitcom, sometimes they had to stop. My mom would stay concentrated, maybe stay backstage, stand in her place there. And sometimes Betty would go out and smile and chat with the audience and literally go and make friends with the audience. Which is a nice thing — a lot of them have come from all over the country and are fans. I think my mom didn’t dig that.

It’s more about being focused or conserving your energy. It’s just not the right time to talk to fans between takes. Betty was able to do it and it didn’t seem to affect her. But it rubbed my mom the wrong way.” Still, Saks adds, “there was no fighting at all. They were friends. At one point they lived close enough that they would drive each other to work.”

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/new...omeless-932269

[bandonurse]

“I think she felt she was more of an actress than Betty. Mom came from Broadway. ”

In other words, she was a colossal snob.

"Betty starred on a game show at one point"? At one point?

Are you freakin' kidding me? Betty White starred in two television shows in the early days of TV. Life With Elizabeth and Date With the Angels. She has done numerous motion pictures. (How many movies was Bea Arthur in?) And she was a FAVORITE guest on so many early television shows even Betty herself probably can't remember them all.

And since when does "coming from Broadway" justify calling someone "the c word" or giving her own son the impression that she was "more of an actress" than she was? Let's face it. She mistreated Betty. She mistreated Estelle Getty, and she mistreated an entire Broadway audience one night just because she got drunk.

Nice try, Matthew. I get it..you loved your mother. But you just provided more proof to the rumor that she was a bee-otch, without meaning to.

[king of comedy]

I guess she deserves to be call that.

[Walter White]

Originally Posted by bandonurse

“I think she felt she was more of an actress than Betty. Mom came from Broadway. ”

In other words, she was a colossal snob.

"Betty starred on a game show at one point"? At one point?

Are you freakin' kidding me? Betty White starred in two television shows in the early days of TV. Life With Elizabeth and Date With the Angels. She has done numerous motion pictures. (How many movies was Bea Arthur in?) And she was a FAVORITE guest on so many early television shows even Betty herself probably can't remember them all.

And since when does "coming from Broadway" justify calling someone "the c word" or giving her own son the impression that she was "more of an actress" than she was? Let's face it. She mistreated Betty. She mistreated Estelle Getty, and she mistreated an entire Broadway audience one night just because she got drunk.

Nice try, Matthew. I get it..you loved your mother. But you just provided more proof to the rumor that she was a bea-otch, without meaning to.

Fixed.

[OH Nuts!]

Originally Posted by bandonurse

“I think she felt she was more of an actress than Betty. Mom came from Broadway. ”

In other words, she was a colossal snob.

"Betty starred on a game show at one point"? At one point?

Are you freakin' kidding me? Betty White starred in two television shows in the early days of TV. Life With Elizabeth and Date With the Angels. She has done numerous motion pictures. (How many movies was Bea Arthur in?) And she was a FAVORITE guest on so many early television shows even Betty herself probably can't remember them all.

And since when does "coming from Broadway" justify calling someone "the c word" or giving her own son the impression that she was "more of an actress" than she was? Let's face it. She mistreated Betty. She mistreated Estelle Getty, and she mistreated an entire Broadway audience one night just because she got drunk.

Nice try, Matthew. I get it..you loved your mother. But you just provided more proof to the rumor that she was a bee-otch, without meaning to.

Although I love Bea, I gotta admit, Betty has a much more impressive background. So maybe it was just plain old jealousy that Betty was possibly more skilled and could multi-task better.

[Superbatboy]

Didn't Bea and Betty eat lunch together everyday on set? At least that's what I've read in the past. Maybe their "feud" wasn't as bad as legend would have it.

[bandonurse]

Originally Posted by Superbatboy

Didn't Bea and Betty eat lunch together everyday on set? At least that's what I've read in the past. Maybe their "feud" wasn't as bad as legend would have it.

Shouldn't really speak for the deceased I guess, especially since I never even met Bea, but my guess would be that she actually loved Betty, but resented her. I mean, really....how could you not like Betty White?

But liking someone and being jealous of them are two different things. No doubt Betty made delightful company, so why wouldn't Bea want to have lunch with her? Plus refusing to would make her look pretty petty.

As I've said before, my impression is that Bea resented the fact that Betty was everything she wasn't.... Feminine, big blue eyes, beautiful facial bone structure, and a gorgeous sweet smile. Normal female voice. Normal female height. Cheerful, sweet disposition.

To top it off, Betty's husband (as far as we know) was loving and faithful to her till his death. Bea's.....sadly, not. Just saying this is what appears obvious to me. Not pretending to know this for sure.

[king of comedy]

Originally Posted by bandonurse

Shouldn't really speak for the deceased I guess, especially since I never even met Bea, but my guess would be that she actually loved Betty, but resented her. I mean, really....how could you not like Betty White?

But liking someone and being jealous of them are two different things. No doubt Betty made delightful company, so why wouldn't Bea want to have lunch with her? Plus refusing to would make her look pretty petty.

As I've said before, my impression is that Bea resented the fact that Betty was everything she wasn't.... Feminine, big blue eyes, beautiful facial bone structure, and a gorgeous sweet smile. Normal female voice. Normal female height. Cheerful, sweet disposition.

To top it off, Betty's husband (as far as we know) was loving and faithful to her till his death. Bea's.....sadly, not. Just saying this is what appears obvious to me. Not pretending to know this for sure.

Well spoken!

[Wildchats]

She's just a cheerful person. Even if too cheerful, Bea shouldn't have been like that towards her. That's how I'd be as I work in TV here and there and I make friends with the visiting audiences going way back to my days working at The Price Is Right to current sitcoms. A lot of people don't really do that but it's something I love to do. That's great Betty did that with the audience.

[ThomasE]

Originally Posted by OH Nuts!

Although I love Bea, I gotta admit, Betty has a much more impressive background. So maybe it was just plain old jealousy that Betty was possibly more skilled and could multi-task better.

You may have a point there.

[Heenan Fan]

I love Dorothy, but Bea Arthur was a toad. Pretty much common knowledge in Hollywood at the time.

[KatieAnn]

Originally Posted by bandonurse

Shouldn't really speak for the deceased I guess, especially since I never even met Bea, but my guess would be that she actually loved Betty, but resented her. I mean, really....how could you not like Betty White?

But liking someone and being jealous of them are two different things. No doubt Betty made delightful company, so why wouldn't Bea want to have lunch with her? Plus refusing to would make her look pretty petty.

As I've said before, my impression is that Bea resented the fact that Betty was everything she wasn't.... Feminine, big blue eyes, beautiful facial bone structure, and a gorgeous sweet smile. Normal female voice. Normal female height. Cheerful, sweet disposition.

To top it off, Betty's husband (as far as we know) was loving and faithful to her till his death. Bea's.....sadly, not. Just saying this is what appears obvious to me. Not pretending to know this for sure.

That's a fair guess, but I would think that by the time Bea was in her 40s or 50s she would have come to accept who she was and use it, which seems to be exactly what she did. She wasn't the cute one, she was the tough one. You give a really nice description of Betty White, but really they were all 4 older women whose looks weren't really important at that point, it was their character that was the most important factor at that point.

It sounds like Bea needed to be focused and concentrate on her work at all times while working while Betty is one of those lucky people who takes things lightly while still being on when it's necessary and can slip in and out of work (and character) with great ease.

[bandonurse]

"Betty is one of those lucky people who takes things lightly while still being on when it's necessary and can slip in and out of work (and character) with great ease."

My guess is you're spot on, KatieAnne. In her autobiography, Rue made the statement that Betty White was so unbelievably great at memorizing her lines of dialogue that they used to joke that the only thing they could conclude was that "she must be a witch."

Being a "Betty watcher" for decades now, (she's always been my very favorite actress) I'm sure she has a very high IQ. (Not that Bea was a slouch)

[TMC]

Originally Posted by Superbatboy

Didn't Bea and Betty eat lunch together everyday on set? At least that's what I've read in the past. Maybe their "feud" wasn't as bad as legend would have it.

It seems like Bea and Betty had a complicated relationship - as much as you hear of Bea's hatred of Betty, she would only go to lunch with the cast of Betty went too.