"Backstairs at the White House" (1979) TV mini-series

User Rating:

8.3/10   

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

29 January 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History

Plot:

Behind the scenes at the White House during eight administrations, as told by the people who work there.

Plot Keywords:

White House | Maid | William Howard Taft | John F Kennedy | Usher

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 10 nominations

Cast

Olivia Cole	...	Maggie Rogers (4 episodes, 1979)
Leslie Uggams	...	Lillian Rogers Parks (4 episodes, 1979)
Louis Gossett Jr.	...	Houseman Levi Mercer (4 episodes, 1979)
Robert Hooks	...	Doorman and Presidential Barber Mays / ... (4 episodes, 1979)
Bill Overton	...	Doorman Jackson (4 episodes, 1979)
David Downing	...	Butler Dixon (4 episodes, 1979)
Celeste Holm	...	Mrs. Florence Harding (4 episodes, 1979)
Lee Grant	...	Mrs. Grace Coolidge (4 episodes, 1979)
Larry Gates	...	President Herbert Hoover (4 episodes, 1979)
Jan Sterling	...	Mrs. Lou Hoover (4 episodes, 1979)
Eileen Heckart	...	Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt (4 episodes, 1979)
John Anderson	...	President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (4 episodes, 1979)
Harry Morgan	...	President Harry S. Truman (4 episodes, 1979)
Estelle Parsons	...	Mrs. Bess Truman (4 episodes, 1979)
Barbara Barrie	...	Mrs. Mamie Eisenhower (4 episodes, 1979)
Andrew Duggan	...	President Dwight D. Eisenhower (4 episodes, 1979)
Leslie Nielsen	...	Ike Hoover / ... (3 episodes, 1979)
Hari Rhodes	...	Butler Coates (3 episodes, 1979)
Claire Bloom	...	Mrs. Edith Galt Wilson (3 episodes, 1979)
Ed Flanders	...	President Calvin Coolidge (3 episodes, 1979)
George Kennedy	...	President Warren G. Harding (3 episodes, 1979)
Kathleen Doyle	...	Moira (3 episodes, 1979)
Kevin Hooks	...	Emmett Rogers Jr. / ... (3 episodes, 1979)
Tom Scott	...	Roach (3 episodes, 1979)
Cloris Leachman	...	Mrs. Jaffray (2 episodes, 1979)
Helena Carroll	...	First Maid Annie / ... (2 episodes, 1979)
Richard Roat	...	Chief Usher Crim (2 episodes, 1979)
James A. Watson Jr.	...	Houseman Fraser (2 episodes, 1979)
Victor Buono	...	President William Howard Taft (2 episodes, 1979)
Kim Hunter	...	Mrs. Ellen Wilson (2 episodes, 1979)
Diane Shalet	...	Housekeeper Long / ... (2 episodes, 1979)
Louise Latham	...	Housekeeper Nesbitt (2 episodes, 1979)
Gerry Black	...	Prettyman (2 episodes, 1979)
Bebe Drake	...	Sevilla (2 episodes, 1979)
Lee Kessler	...	Presidential Secretary / ... (2 episodes, 1979)
John Randolph	...	Sen. Fall (2 episodes, 1979)

Runtime:

540 min (4 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Ed Friendly Productions

Trivia:

Olivia Cole, who played the role of Maggie Rogers, is less than a year older than Leslie Uggams, who played the role of her adult daughter, Lillian Rogers Parks. In 'Roots' (1976), Leslie Uggams played Oliva Cole's mother-in-law.

Finally available on DVD!

I think I lost this the first time.

I am so delighted that this terrific mini series is finally available.

My mother gave the the book that it is based on many years ago. The mini is quite faithful to that book. (By the way),unless i am mistaken, Lillian Rogers Parks lived to be almost 100 years old, and was a consultant on the film.

This series has one of the best ensemble cast ever assembled. Leslie Uggams and Olivia Cole as Lillian and Maggie are superb, although Uggams may be too tall...Remember Lillian was crippled by polio at a very young age, and was less than 5 feet tall, but why quibble. Robert Hooks and Louis Gossett are great as Maggie and Lillian's friends, Mays and Mercer.

The Presidents and their first ladies represent the best from Television, film and Broadway. One of the best sequences in the film involves Calvin Coolidge(well played by Ed Flanders)taking on the head housekeeper, Mrs Jaffray( A wonderful Cloris Leachman.. shades of Frau Blucher!), when she attempts to tell everyone to stop tracking up "her" floor(They are trying to shore up the roof). President Coolidge says, "Mrs Jaffray, wouldn't you be happier in Buckingham Palace??

Julie Harris as Nellie Taft is splendid in this film,especially when Maggie and President Taft(A rotund Victor Buono) help her learn to speak after a stroke. Also effective are Celeste Holm and George Kennedy as the Hardings.(Can we say scandal). Estelle Parsons, Harry Morgan and Nancy Morgan are also in top form. Robert Vaughn and Claire Bloom are very effective as the Wilsons.

Because they come along late in the story, Andrew Duggand and Barbara Barrie seem to get short shrift as the Eisenhowers.

(In a recent episode of the Food Channel's White House, reference is made to serving hotdogs to the British Royal family. According to Lillian, this really did happen at is a humorous bit when she tells the visiting royalty's staff.... you just try one with all the fixin's.

An excellent history lesson very well played out by a brilliant cast!