''Life with Elizabeth'' is an American television

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

starring

Betty White Betty Marion White (January 17, 1922December 31, 2021) was an American actress and comedian. A pioneer of early television, with a television career spanning almost seven decades, White was noted for her vast work in the entertainment indust ...

as Elizabeth and

Del Moore Marion Delbridge Moore (May 14, 1916 – August 30, 1970) professionally Del Moore, was an American actor, comedian and radio announcer. Life and career Moore was born on May 14, 1916, in Pensacola, Florida, he began his career in radio before m ...

as her husband Alvin;

Jack Narz John Lawrence Narz Jr. (November 13, 1922 – October 15, 2008) was an American radio personality, television host, and singer. Early years Narz was born to John and Ado Narz, in Louisville, Kentucky, along with sister Mary, and younger brothe ...

is the on-camera announcer and narrator. The series aired in

syndication Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

from October 7, 1953, to September 1, 1955. The show was the first of many 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 {{Inline, date=January 2018 ''Hollywood on Television'' is a five-and-a-half-hour, six-day-a-week live television talk show that starred newcomer Betty White and radio disc jockey Al Jarvis that ran from 1949-1953. When Jarvis left the show in 19 ...

''. The low-budget comedy was produced by and filmed at Los Angeles TV station KLAC-TV (now

KCOP-TV KCOP-TV (channel 13) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship of MyNetworkTV. It is owned and operated by Fox Television Stations alongside Fox outlet KTTV (channel 11). Both stations ...

) where White and Moore were on the staff (the series was originally a live production on KLAC-TV in 1951). White received her first

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

nomination for her work on this series.

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 was not. 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 George F. Tibbles (June 7, 1913February 21, 1987) was a composer and screenwriter. He and Ramez Idriss co-wrote "The Woody Woodpecker Song" for the 1948 short film, ''Wet Blanket Policy''; the song would receive an Academy Award nomination (Ac ...

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 Donald Joy Fedderson (April 16, 1913 – December 18, 1994) was an American executive producer who created a number of television programs including '' The Millionaire'', ''My Three Sons'' and ''Family Affair''. Career Fedderson was born April 1 ...

Nina Bara Nina Bara (born Frances Joan Baur on May 3, 1920, died August 15, 1990) was an American actress who performed in films, on television, and on old-time radio. Early years The daughter of an Italian mother and an American father, George Baur, Bar ...

appeared in several episodes.

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 oversaturate secondary markets, thus making the series less profitable in second-run syndication.

Episodes

Broadcast and syndication

The series was exported to Australia during the late 1950s. ''Life with Elizabeth'' aired in syndication on

America One America One was an American television network established in 1995 by USFR Media Group through its America One Television subsidiary.

, on the HOT (History of Television) Network in New York (WKOB 42.4) & Dallas (K31GL 31.3), and on Lost TV and The Decades Binge on the Decades Network. On September 11, 1998, Betty White, Jack Narz and

Peter Michael Goetz Peter Michael Goetz (born December 10, 1941) is an American actor. Early life and education Goetz was born in Buffalo, New York, the son of Esther L. and Irving A. Goetz, a construction engineer.Tawny Little Tawny Little (née Godin; born September 15, 1956), Miss America 1976 and Miss New York 1975, is an American television personality. Early life and education Godin was born in Portland, Maine. She was raised in Yonkers, New York and Toronto, Ont ...

and Alan Frio. The segment was filmed in front of a live studio audience, with Betty White playing her original role.

Home media

Because the show was formatted as separate eight-minute sketches, a number of used

16mm 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical gauge of film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 and 35 mm. It is generally used for non-theatrical (e.g., industrial, educ ...

prints of the films were cut into individual segments and sold on the "

home movies A home movie is a short amateur film or video typically made just to preserve a visual record of family activities, a vacation, or a special event, and intended for viewing at home by family and friends. Originally, home movies were made on ph ...

" 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 The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

, it has been released in volumes of budget DVD releases.

References

External links

* * {{Internet Archive film, id=Life_With_Elizabeth_5 1953 American television series debuts 1955 American television series endings 1950s American sitcoms Black-and-white American television shows English-language television shows First-run syndicated television programs in the United States Television shows set in Los Angeles