Sue Ann Nivens

Sue Ann Nivens was a fictional character on the long-running situation comedy, "The Mary Tyler Moore Show". She was played by television perennial Betty White.

The happy homemaker (and homewrecker)

Sue Ann Nivens was the host of a women's show on fictional television station, WJM-TV, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, called the "Happy Homemaker".

Sue Ann was a forerunner of Martha Stewart. Her show had unusual and sometimes ludicrous themes such as "What's all this fuss about famine?" and "A salute to fruit". Her perfectionism, like Stewart's, was relentless. She explained she would rather flush her Veal Prince Orloff down a toilet than serve it reheated. She was consumed with helpful hints for all occasions, such as her suggestion of buying colorful, happy goldfish as companions for the infirm as the soon dead goldfish can be used as fertilizer for houseplants. (Murray overheard this and asked, "Does anyone want the rest of this tuna sandwich?")

Although on the outside, she seemed to be sweet, in reality, Sue Ann was a very sardonic and sex-obsessed woman. She could also be somewhat cruel, and extremely snide towards people she didn't like, or felt threatened by.

Sue Ann, Mary, and Phyllis

Sue Ann first appears onscreen in 1973, as a guest in one of Mary Richards' famously disastrous parties. At the conclusion of the party Lars Lindstrom, the never-seen husband of Mary's friend and landlady, Phyllis Lindstrom, gave Sue Ann a ride home. When Lars didn't return home when he was supposed to, Phyllis was appalled. She realized that Lars and Sue Ann were having an affair because Lars came home with cleaner clothes than when he left.

Phyllis went to the WJM "Happy Homemaker" studio to confront Sue Ann. When she arrived, Sue Ann was working on some needlepoint, while a chocolate soufflé was baking in the oven. Phyllis angrily demands some satisfaction about the affair. In a classic piece of comic timing, Sue Ann tells Phyllis that she has a show to do, which includes taking care of her chocolate soufflé. Phyllis slams the oven door, causing the soufflé to fall. Sue Ann pulls the soufflé from the oven and bumps the oven door closed with her knee. Sue Ann looks astonished with Phyllis's actions and asks, "Now what did that soufflé ever do to you?" (Betty White described the situation perfectly in her book, "Here We Go Again".) Sue Ann steadfastly refuses to break off the relationship with Lars, which prompts Mary to intervene and in a very direct manner, tells Sue Ann that if she doesn't break it off with Lars, she'll spread word of her affair to the whole TV station, and that, that is not the image the station will want for "The Happy Homemaker". At the end, Mary says, "it comes down to a choice, either Lars or your job." Sue Ann agrees to end the relationship, not for herself but for all of her fans. Mary leaves and Phyllis then asked Sue Ann if she knows how to get out chocolate stains. Sue Ann responded yes and Phyllis then flings chocolate all over Sue Ann's white blouse. (Cloris Leachman, who played Phyllis, won an Emmy Award for her work in this episode.)

Eventually, Sue Ann and Mary did become friends. She often called Mary, "dear, sweet naive Mary", and she, along with Georgette Franklin, helped fill the void that Phyllis and Rhoda had left when they moved out (and left the show). Nonetheless, Sue Ann's relationship with Mary could be competitive, as Mary, who was younger and more attractive, more easily attracted the attention of men (such as a group of undertakers the two women met at a broadcasters' convention, whom Mary was definitely "not" interested in, but Sue Ann was).

Other relationships

* Sue Ann also often sparred with news writer Murray Slaughter, of whom she often made snide remarks about his baldness.
* She was also "very close" to WJM's children's television show host, Chuckles the Clown, baking the first custard pie he ever sat in.
* The one man she wanted to go to bed with was Lou Grant. She nearly succeeded in that, but was shown to be more bluster than anything.
* Sue Ann also had a younger sister named Lila (played by Pat Priest) with whom she had a severe case of sibling rivalry. Lila caused Sue Ann a lot of grief, especially when Lila had made overtures to take over Sue Ann's role as the happy homemaker.

As the show concluded, Sue Ann's show had been canceled due to low ratings. She worked for a time in the newsroom, but in the final episode, almost everyone, including Sue Ann, was fired from WJM. (Ironically, the one person who was spared the purge was Ted Baxter.)

Playing Sue Ann had an impact on Betty White's career, and also had an impact on her participation in "The Golden Girls", which debuted in 1985, eight years after "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" ended. When she first became a part of "The Golden Girls", the producers had cast White as man-hungry Blanche, and had cast Rue McClanahan, who had played befuddled, confused Vivian on the 1970s sitcom "Maude", as naive Rose. The two actresses realized how similar their new roles were to their previous ones, and approached the producers about switching roles. The producers agreed, and the show became very successful. [http://www.wildaboutmovies.com/interviews/WildAboutMoviesGoldenGirlBettyWhite.php]