Betty White

[mmarcuswarren]

Originally Posted by mmarcuswarren

[Note: Came across the rest of the series except for the elusive 16th episode from a different source than those already posted. So here are another eleven episodes within these next two posts.]

Posted to Marie Osmond's thread.

[tsunamiSD]

Note - not my clip, I found it on the 'web.
'Betty White Stencils'

[cuzzyman927]

Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show
Adam and Eve skit -- Feb 8, 1979




Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show
Tarzan & The Apes skit - Aug 1981

[cuzzyman927]

Originally Posted by BET

Here's a set I found a couple years ago. The woman does look like Betty, but the small size of the pictures makes it difficult to tell for certain.
If anyone has larger versions PLEASE! post them!

Thanks to poster.
Larger sizes as poster requested.
(Also replaces 2 dead images)

[cuzzyman927]

[Findcandor]

.

Betty supposedly claimed this 2010 photo
shoot for Entertainment Weekly, when she
was eight-eight, was her favorite.

Now the reason why I am here is because I needed to dig up a film illustrating an actress in her prime for the "Jean Smart" thread, and Betty White was featured in a small role where she irresistibly showed off how lovely she looked... therefore, needing to be brought to your attention. I then ventured upon this thread for the first time, lovingly begun by Master Sam Spade all the way back in 2009, not expecting to be hit with a ton a' bricks. (It was a ton, I tell you. Don't worry, I'm still alive.)


The odds and ends used to prettify this post
came from a "retrospective" video from the
Entertainment Weekly site. I guessed at the
sources for some, but not for this one. WAIT!
Glad I dug deeper... it's from "Beach Blanket
Boo-Boo," a spoof with Steve Martin as Frankie
Avalon and Betty as a biker chick (sexy!) from
a season 11 episode of The Carol Burnett
Show, 1978. Vicki Lawrence was hot, too...
and so was Carol?? Here's the video.

Wholesome, angelic Betty was nude? Now I know she made fun of her squeaky-clean image in the two shows she came to be known most for (at least for "modern" audiences) The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Golden Girls, but let's not forget that when she was in her prime (during the 1940s, while in her twenties), good girls did not pose nude.


This turned out to be from the hidden camera
TV show, Off Their Rockers (2012-2017); the
above image in far better quality. It's a promo
that spoofs Miley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball" video.

So I read the "controversy" with great interest. In 2011's Post #9, "M.I.A." Member "Zwaik" provided the quotes from a caption underneath a published nude photo intending to show how liberal Betty was (thus improving the odds that she would have consented to reveal her secrets), but part of Betty's charm was to be sassy (since being risque served as a satisfying contrast to her sunny, goody-two-shoes disposition, helping with the humor element), and that served as no proof.


Best guess: From the 1956 episode of The Millionaire,
where Betty played the title role of "Virginia Lennart,"
off to Rome with her million smackeroos to find romance
with an Italian count. I was surprised to learn from
Betty's filmography that she has done next-to-no
dramatic movies or TV shows from the 1950s, so this is
a pretty educated guess.

In his next post months later, Zwaik announced that he began a discussion thread on the subject, and within that other thread Member "Qwerty" phrased beautifully exactly what was going through my mind:

Originally Posted by qwerty17

Has anyone ever determined with certainty whether any of these nude images are actually Betty White? I'd be delighted if that were really the case, but I've never read any proof of it; after they popped up about a dozen years ago, or so, everyone has just reposted them, and assumed it's a fact.

For instance, has Betty White herself ever mentioned it in an interview? She's such an outspoken gal I'm sure she wouldn't have any reason to deny it (especially these days, when no actress thinks anything of stripping on the set or off... unlike the 1940s or 50s!). So: does anyone have proof these are really her?

Valuable Member "Cuzzyman927" pitched in, responding to Qwerty17's follow-up, indicating he was fairly convinced, and then Member "Kenveco68" (member since 2007 and still actively with VEF, bless 'im) raised doubts: "I've been looking for proof myself. There are lots of porn models who bear a striking resemblance to a famous person." Cuzzyman927's next post convinced Kenveco68, because of the "dental work." (I couldn't make out teeth detail from the provided side-by-side comparison, as seen below, but we must admit, the dimples are awfully persuasive.)



In the last post (from nearly a decade ago) of that other discussion thread, Qwerty17 piped in, and he began with how the later pro-nudity posts, "...Sort of put the argument to rest." Oh, okay, I thought; I know Qwerty17 to be an-on-the ball fella, so if he concluded the nude lady was actually Betty, then maybe I'll start believing. He then, however, threw a curve:

Originally Posted by qwerty17

Thanks for these -- they sort of put the argument to rest. From the shape of the jaw, especially (compared to pictures of the actual Betty White in her youth), it's pretty clear that this nude model is not her.
Pity though - it was fun to imagine that these nude shots "might" have been of the real Betty White.

Yet here's what I found to be the near-clincher, and it came from this thread's Post #12, and from none other than the man who started the hoopla, Sam Spade:

Originally Posted by Sam Spade

She denies the playing card image is of her.(see the piece under the image of the card)

If you read the fine print, you will learn that we have David Letterman to credit. He actually showed Betty (and this took guts; perhaps the interview was pre-arranged. Many talk shows operate in this fashion and are no longer off-the-cuff, as used to be the case in the talk shows of old. Since Letterman was a rascal, however, he could have easily sprung all of this on an unsuspecting Betty) a copy of Celebrity Sleuth Magazine, the publication that was the go-to venue (before the Internet caught on full swing, leading to the mag's demise) for the bare revelations.


On the Tonight Show Starring Johnny
Carson, with then guest-host David
Letterman, March 26, 1979.

Betty agreed that the model did look like her, but sorry, no dice (dashing everyone's dreams; don't be fooled by how "nice" she came across. Betty proved she was a sadist). Dave didn't give up: "It's somebody who looks an awful lot like you." Betty replied with a witticism, but refused to 'fess up.



What about Qwerty17's contention regarding, "She's such an outspoken gal I'm sure she wouldn't have any reason to deny it"? It's one thing to be outspoken, another to be discreet when one's personal reputation may be at risk (remember, although sex is everywhere, the U.S. still maintains a Victorian mentality, and the "immorality" of nudity is unforgivable in too many circles).



Regardless of whether Betty was being forthright or not, none of us who are fair and fact-oriented should accept these photos as being her (in spite of how we all desperately wish such to be the case). I have noticed the photos have kept appearing in the later pages of this thread, and they should suffice for the dreamers. Hopefully, the nudies will not appear in the thread again, unless someone comes up with the decisive proof.


The Twitter link for the video where Betty
recited her "Top Ten" for the Letterman
show was disallowed by VEF; this other
page recounts the gags.

Interestingly, Letterman may not have become Letterman, if not for Betty White (and since they have a history, he may have felt more secure about "embarrassing" her with the question from his interview that could boil down to, "Are you really a slut"?), and more accurately, her husband, Allen Ludden.


Betty met "the love of her life" on the
set of Password in 1961, marrying Ludden
in 1963. He died in 1981.

While Letterman was a nobody on a local Indiana television show, the couple appeared on his program, and Ludden was impressed enough with the comedian to offer springboarding help. He proved to be a man of his word (per this article), and made the difference, allowing for Letterman to make important breakthroughs in the business.


These views of Betty with Wendie Malick are likely from the 2010-2015 sitcom, Hot in Cleveland.


O-kayyyyyyy... so let's move on to what was supposed to be the one and only reason for me to be here.


With Carol Burnett from either the 1982
TV movie, Eunice, or from one of the
three episodes of Burnett's show Betty
appeared in (1975, 1976, 1978).

Before and After is what seems to be a relatively forgotten television film that meant to serve as an inspirational piece for ladies who are determined to lose weight, no matter what the cost. The lead is Patty Duke, whose husband leaves her because she's too fat (never mind that Patty didn't look at all overweight in the film), and Patty struggles with her goal to shed the pounds with the help of a chubby but happy married pal, and the thin but unhappy single pal (played by Barbara Feldon; the film will lead to posts on both Patty's and Barbara's own VEF threads).



Patty and Barbara attend a weight-loss conference, led by Betty. In the scene, Betty declares, "I, too, used to be a porker... and look at me now!" The following photos exhibit the way she posed, to prove her point.


Betty was fifty-seven at the time, or the same age as she was
when she appeared as "Eve" in the Carson show skit that
Cuzzyman offered photos of in his Post #33, three/four posts
above. See below for another view.



Naturally, if Betty wanted to show off how great she looked, she should have taken off all of her clothes and assumed the pose below, exactly as her younger doppelganger. (Hey! I thought we agreed not to present these photos again...)


Photo by Zwaik in 2010's Post #7,
"in little bigger format."







.

[Findcandor]

.
Well! The last thing I had in mind was to put up another post on the Betty White thread. (Especially since I have so many VEF threads to work on that I keep putting off.)


Here's Betty, kicking off her TV career in 1949.
Before, she had a career in radio, leading to how
she may not have been desperate for the cash
from appearing nude for photos.

After running into a detail that my prior post could benefit by, I came by to make the addition. Then my eye was caught by good old Tsunami's post above (Post #32), entitled, "Here's a cute short short clip I call 'Betty White Stencils.'" Now, what the heck does "Betty White Stencils" mean, and will curiosity finally prove to be the end of me? So I downloaded and watched.

The little clip began with views of young Betty. That's when it occurred to me. All over the web, along with a good many members on this forum, the naked photos that are said to be Betty have been mindlessly accepted across-the-board as a fact. Why don't I gather photos of young Betty and provide side-by-side comparisons? That way everyone can have a better idea of determining whether the photos are of Betty, or not.


Betty reportedly made a habit of taking
part, if not hosting, the Tournament of
Roses parade, as she did here in 1963.

This idea was especially good, because when I first got exposed to the nude photos, they were the ones from this thread's page one, with Betty posing in front of the curtain (which have been repeated throughout the thread, as may also be seen two posts up).



Incidentally, as I needed a profile shot
of "Nude Betty," I was surprised to find
the view of the lady that was up against
the curtain with her delightful derriere
staring at us were of poor quality, among
several offered on the thread. I conducted
a web search, and found this best quality
one (which believers in "Nude Betty" may
make use of).

(I needed a high quality view of what is above, because of the need to crop out her head area, as you will see below. Profile photos of both real Betty and "Nude Betty" are rare.)


Let me get one more thing out of the way.
If you read the prior post, notice how I
bragged about my "educated guess"
regarding the black and white photo of
Betty with the man in the car being from
The Millionaire. Since I needed profile
views of young Betty White, I was happy
to see the episode was made available
online, which may be accessed here.
There was indeed a scene of a man, a
more handsome man, with Betty in a car,
but it was not from the scene featured on
the prior post. So I blew it. Betty appeared
in a couple of sitcoms in the 1950s, Life
with Elizabeth (1952-1955), the show that
put Betty on the map (which she produced),
and the leading man named Del Moore looks
More like the man from the prior post's photo
than the leading man of Betty's second show
(Bill Williams), named Date with the Angels
(1957-1958), which Betty was reportedly
unhappy to appear in.

Yet the reality is, as one goes through the thread, "Nude Betty" was not restricted to the "curtain" shoot. Whoever this lady was engaged in a bunch of other shoots, as Member "Mot" covered in Posts numbered 14 and 15 and 16 from 2013, and as Member "Vls57" put up on his Post #22 from 2016.


1957 Betty, in photos for Date with the Angels, with TV husband Bill Williams in the
second shot. She reportedly played a "Lucy" type of kooky wife to her insurance
salesman hubby, named Gus Angel. They lived in California, home of the baseball
team, the Angels, who are telling her to butt out in the first photo. Now we need to figure
out which "angel" they were referring to in the title (I'm imagining that would be Mrs. Angel,
or Betty, but note that the word is plural), and what was that about a "date"?


In other words, for those who believe the nude lady was Betty White, she didn't just do the "curtain" shoot, possibly as a lark. She made a little career of posing nude on a good several occasions. Since Betty White (born 1922) began her respectable television career in 1949, if she embarked on a mini-nudie career, the work would have had to be produced in the 1940s (for the very limited underground market of the time); more importantly, if she went that all out, we might as well stop calling her Betty White, and start calling her Bettie Page.



Why did the fabulous Bettie misspell her stage name? Grabs are from this video.

As you know, Bettie Page was active in the 1950s, where she and the "pornographers" who paid her were at times molested by the long arm of the law. That's how tough it was to get mixed up with the land of smut, and things were even tougher in the 1940s. If you look at the series of photos that were offered by Mot and Vls57, you will notice "Nude Betty" — unlike the "curtain" shoot — was paired with another brave young lady. (In fact, two different brave ladies.) Hard to say, but which decade would these hair styles belong to?


Another clue is offered by the shoes, as worn by "Nude Betty" in the last photo. Admittedly, they do have a 1940-ish feel.

My job was to gather photos of "Young Betty White," from the 1940s and 1950s. I mainly used the following three sites, which offered handy looks at the younger Ms. White (and additionally, two ransacked photos from Johnbear's Post #25, from 2016):


These photos are respectively dated 1953, 1954 and 1955. That's her dog "Stormy" in the first shot. In the last image, the
star took part in Los Angeles' Christmas Parade. What was this animal lover doing in a fur coat?

1) "10 Pictures That Prove Betty White Has Always Been a Babe,"
2) "40 Rare, Iconic Photos of Betty White Through the Years,"
3) "Betty White Through the Years in Pictures."

I didn't cross-check with what had appeared in the thread, and I could see some are repeats. But that's okay, since the idea is to compare. (I dressed up this post with the fuller views, also helping to gain more insight on Betty White.)

I have "rotated" the head shots so that we may benefit by the most straight-on views (instead of the heads being positioned at an angle).

Problem with "Nude Betty" is that in almost every way she has been photographed, it's the same, rubber-stamped, head-on view with the affixed grin.



It would have been helpful if we got to see her from different angles, for a better comparison. Here are two shots of Nude Betty vs. Real Betty that are positioned in nearly the same way, and that's the kind of thing we could have made better use of.

....

So here we go:

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....


....
Note in the last two shots, Real Betty has a bit of the bump on the nose.


....
For Real Betty, this set and the next made use of frame grabs from The Millionaire (and as mentioned, also the profile views from above).


....



....






Nude Betty's plastered-on smile is not as wide as Real Betty's.


....


....
I flipped the next view of 1957 Betty (from Date with the Angels)
for the "ear" comparison.




EDIT:

A correspondence with VEF VIP Qwerty17 led to the following food for thought; from a People Magazine interview: Betty "fantasized about being a forest ranger but fell in love with acting in school. She skipped college to pursue that dream, but two marriages slowed her down. Dick Barker, a WW II pilot who wed White in 1945, took her home to an Ohio chicken farm.... In four months she was back in L.A. and soon doing theater. In ’47 she married an agent, Lane Allen—'but he wanted me to stop show business.' They split in two years."



This article reveals that she had already appeared on what passed for TV at the time (1939, via another source), and was "singing, acting, modeling" (the latter alluded to traditional modeling), and before turning twenty, "joined in the war effort." The American Women's Voluntary Services (AWVS; that's Betty in uniform above) performed services on the home front, and Betty was a truck driver. That's when she met her first G.I. husband in 1942. The second marriage lasted from 1947 to 1949, and 1949 was when she resumed her show business career with a bang.

She was probably not going to buck society's standards as a teenager, and until '45 was a "soldier," then she got married, and before getting married again, she dove into stage work (as claimed above). In other words, it does not appear she had an idle period to experiment in dangerous territory. Betty had big dreams, and taking off her clothes during those very repressive times could have thrown a monkey wrench into the life plan.






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[tsunamiSD]