Filthy Rich (1982 TV series)

infobox television
show_name = Filthy Rich


format = Sitcom
runtime = approx. 30 minutes (with commercials)
creator = Linda Bloodworth-Thomason
asst_producer = Columbia Pictures Television
starring = Delta Burke
Dixie Carter
Charles Frank
Jerry Hardin
Michael Lombard
Nedra Volz
Ann Wedgeworth
country = USA
network = CBS
first_aired = August 9, 1982
last_aired = June 15, 1983
num_seasons = 2
num_episodes = 15
imdb_id = 0083415
tv_com_id = 2256|

"Filthy Rich" was a 1982 television series starring Dixie Carter and Delta Burke. Although short-lived, the show brought Carter and Burke together with writer/creator Linda Bloodworth-Thomason. The three would later work together on the popular sitcom "Designing Women".

Plot

The series was set in Memphis at a fictional mansion called Toad Hall, which was owned by one Big Guy Beck, a land baron. He had recently died of an illness, and before he was cryogenically frozen, he had made out a videotaped will, a piece of which was played every week, by his lawyer, George Wilhoit.

The will's terms were harshest on Big Guy's oldest son, the snobbish Marshall Beck (Michael Lombard) and his equally snobbish wife Carlotta (Dixie Carter). They wouldn't be able to collect a dime of the money, unless they accepted Big Guy's illegitimate son, Wild Bill Westchester (Jerry Hardin) and his good natured, but ditzy wife, Bootsie (Ann Wedgeworth) into their family.

Many of the situations stemmed from the conniving Marshall and Carlotta's schemes to declare the constraints of the will invalid and also to rid themselves of Wild Bill and Bootsie, for to their minds, with them; not to mention everyone else in the family all gone, the snobbish couple could live it up on the money. Their wildly outlandish schemes usually and inevitably ended up failing miserably.

Also appearing were Nedra Volz, who played Big Guy's first wife, Winona Beck, called Mother B., who had escaped from her nursing home; and Charles Frank, who played Big Guy's younger son Stanley.

The independently wealthy Stanley was the nicest of the whole lot. Usually, it was Stanley that was able to protect Wild Bill and Bootsie (whom he accepted from the outset) from the devious scheming of his brother and sister in-law.

Delta Burke played Big Guy's younger second wife, Kathleen, who was wily in her own right, but was also scorned (as was almost everyone else in Toad Hall) by Carlotta, who was utterly shameless in her snobbery.

Cancellation

CBS didn't have faith that the show would be a success, so it was more than a year after the first "Pilot" episode was shot before the series aired. [Liebergott, Sheila: "Pity Poor Dixie If "Filthy Rich" Succeeds". TV Guide, February 12, 1983] . When it first premiered as a summer series, it was very successful, but it fared poorly when pitted against more established shows when it returned for another season, and was subsequently cancelled. Adding further complications, actor Slim Pickens played the Big Guy Beck in the two-part "Pilot" episode, but he was rushed to the hospital several days before the series premiered ["Associated Press" Article, August 4, 1982] , and he died shortly after the series went off the air. Most subsequent episodes played without Big Guy, though Pickens was eventually replaced by Forrest Tucker, whose performance wasn't as well-received.

Notes