Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    Banner
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
      • Playlists
    • Television
      • Shows by Decade
        • 1950s Television
        • 1960s Television
        • 1970s Television
        • 1980s Television
        • 1990s Television
      • Shows by Genre
        • Comedy
        • Drama
        • Kids TV
        • Variety
        • News & Sport
        • Advertisements
      • Shows by Country
        • UK TV
        • USA TV
        • Australia & NZ TV
        • Canada TV
        • Europe TV
        • Japan TV
      • Shows A to K
        • Shows A
        • Shows B
        • Shows C
        • Shows D
        • Shows E
        • Shows F
        • Shows G
        • Shows H
        • Shows I
        • Shows J
        • Shows K
      • Shows L to Z
        • Shows L
        • Shows M
        • Shows N
        • Shows O
        • Shows P
        • Shows Q
        • Shows R
        • Shows S
        • Shows T
        • Shows U
        • Shows V
        • Shows W
        • Shows X
        • Shows Y
        • Shows Z
      • Shows 0 to 9
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • 1950s Music
        • 1960s Music
        • 1970s Music
        • 1980s Music
        • 1990s Music
      • Music A to K
        • Music A
        • Music B
        • Music C
        • Music D
        • Music E
        • Music F
        • Music G
        • Music H
        • Music I
        • Music J
        • Music K
      • Music L to Z
        • Music L
        • Music M
        • Music N
        • Music O
        • Music P
        • Music Q
        • Music R
        • Music S
        • Music T
        • Music U
        • Music V
        • Music W
        • Music X
        • Music Y
        • Music Z
      • Music 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • 1950s Movies
          • Movies 1950
          • Movies 1951
          • Movies 1952
          • Movies 1953
          • Movies 1954
          • Movies 1955
          • Movies 1956
          • Movies 1957
          • Movies 1958
          • Movies 1959
        • 1960s Movies
          • Movies 1960
          • Movies 1961
          • Movies 1962
          • Movies 1963
          • Movies 1964
          • Movies 1965
          • Movies 1966
          • Movies 1967
          • Movies 1968
          • Movies 1969
        • 1970s Movies
          • Movies 1970
          • Movies 1971
          • Movies 1972
          • Movies 1973
          • Movies 1974
          • Movies 1975
          • Movies 1976
          • Movies 1977
          • Movies 1978
          • Movies 1979
        • 1980s Movies
          • Movies 1980
          • Movies 1981
          • Movies 1982
          • Movies 1983
          • Movies 1984
          • Movies 1985
          • Movies 1986
          • Movies 1987
          • Movies 1988
          • Movies 1989
        • 1990s Movies
          • Movies 1990
          • Movies 1991
          • Movies 1992
          • Movies 1993
          • Movies 1994
          • Movies 1995
          • Movies 1996
          • Movies 1997
          • Movies 1998
          • Movies 1999
      • Movies A to K
        • Movies A
        • Movies B
        • Movies C
        • Movies D
        • Movies E
        • Movies F
        • Movies G
        • Movies H
        • Movies I
        • Movies J
        • Movies K
      • Movies L to Z
        • Movies L
        • Movies M
        • Movies N
        • Movies O
        • Movies P
        • Movies Q
        • Movies R
        • Movies S
        • Movies T
        • Movies U
        • Movies V
        • Movies W
        • Movies X
        • Movies Y
        • Movies Z
      • Movies 0 to 9
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Radio
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Television»Shows by Decade»1970s Television
    1970s Television Drama Shows B USA TV 4 Mins Read

    Backstairs at the White House

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    1 9 7 9 (USA)
    1 x 180 minute episode
    3 x 120 minute episodes

    This excellent nine-hour miniseries from NBC (an adaptation of the 1961 best-seller by former White House maid Lillian Rogers Parks) covered 52 years and the terms of eight American presidents – from Taft to Eisenhower – and aired over four consecutive Mondays from 29 January 1979.

    The debut three-hour episode began with Lillian’s mother, Maggie (Olivia Cole), starting work at the White House in 1911 when William and Nellie Taft (Victor Buono and Julie Harris) were in the White House – or, as the unhappy Taft called it, “the great White Jail”.

    Lillian (Leslie Uggams) eventually overcame a physical disability (polio) to become a staff member at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue herself, and it is through Lillian and Maggie’s eyes – and those of their colleagues in the White House servants’ quarters – that we witnessed the successive presidencies:  William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and Dwight D. Eisenhower

    The Presidents and their first ladies were superbly portrayed throughout: Woodrow Wilson (Robert Vaughan) had two wives, Ellen (Kim Hunter) and Edith (Claire Bloom), and although his first wife Ellen was better-liked, it was Edith who took over Wilson’s office quietly when he suffered a health collapse in the fight for the League of Nations.

    Dimwitted (and corrupt) Warren G. Harding (George Kennedy) and his wife Florence (Celeste Holms) learned that his administration had more holes in it than swiss cheese when his infidelities were revealed. Following his death – and years of scandal and gossip – the quiet dignity of President Calvin Coolidge (Ed Flanders) was a welcome relief.

    Coolidge was portrayed as an honest, businesslike president who was very much in love with his wife Grace (Lee Grant) and heartbroken about the death of his younger son Calvin Jr. from blood poisoning in a freak accident.

    The calm was followed by the stern Herbert Hoover (Larry Gates) and the Great Depression.

    The atmosphere moved from gloom to gaiety as Hoover was defeated by Franklin D Roosevelt (John Anderson), but the relaxed family feeling in the White House ended abruptly with the outbreak of World War II.

    Lillian was temporarily dismissed when President Harry Truman (Harry Morgan) moved his family to Blair house but was rehired and served through the two terms of Dwight D Eisenhower (Andrew Duggan).

    The White House living quarters were meticulously recreated on a Hollywood sound stage.

    Backstairs at the White House received a mammoth 11 Emmy nominations, nosing out Roots and Centennial. It won one of the categories – “Outstanding Achievement in Makeup”.

    Lillian Rogers
    Leslie Uggams
    Maggie Rogers
    Olivia Cole
    Houseman Levi Mercer
    Louis Gossett Jr.
    Doorman and Presidential Barber John Mays
    Robert Hooks
    Doorman Jackson
    Bill Overton
    Butler Dixon
    David Downing
    Mrs Florence Harding1
    Celeste Holm
    President Warren G. Harding
    George Kennedy
    President Calvin Coolidge
    Ed Flanders
    Mrs Grace Coolidge
    Lee Grant
    President Herbert Hoover
    Larry Gates
    Mrs Lou Hoover
    Jan Sterling
    Mrs Eleanor Roosevelt
    Eileen Heckart
    President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
    John Anderson
    President Harry S. Truman
    Harry Morgan
    Mrs Bess Truman
    Estelle Parsons
    Mrs Mamie Eisenhower
    Barbara Barrie
    President Dwight D. Eisenhower
    Andrew Duggan
    Ike Hoover
    Leslie Nielsen
    Butler Coates
    Hari Rhodes
    Roach
    Tom Scott
    Moira
    Kathleen Doyle
    Emmett Rogers Jr.
    Kevin Hooks
    First Maid Annie Gilhooley
    Helena Carroll
    Houseman Fraser
    James A. Watson Jr.
    Housekeeper Nesbitt
    Louise Latham
    Chief Usher Crim
    Richard Roat
    Mrs Jaffray
    Cloris Leachman
    President William Howard Taft
    Victor Buono
    Mrs Ellen Wilson
    Kim Hunter
    Mrs Edith Galt Wilson
    Claire Bloom
    Housekeeper Long
    Diane Shalet
    Senator Fall
    John Randolph
    Prettyman
    Gerry Black
    Sevilla
    Bebe Drake
    Housekeeper Walker
    Marged Wakeley
    Emmett Rogers Sr
    Paul Winfield
    Mrs Helen ‘Nellie’ Taft
    Julie Harris
    Attorney General Harry Daugherty
    Barry Sullivan
    President Woodrow Wilson
    Robert Vaughn
    Margaret Truman
    Nancy Morgan
    Ellen Truman
    Ann Doran
    Mrs Wallace
    Heather Angel
    Wheatley Parks
    Harrison Page

    Video

    Related Posts

    • Aldrich Family, The
      Aldrich Family, The
      1 9 4 9 - 1 9 5 3 (USA) Before it became a successful sitcom on television, The Aldrich Family had been…
    • Fay
      Fay
      1 9 7 5 - 1 9 7 6 (USA) 10 x 30 minute episodes Lee Grant's swinging 43-year-old divorcée, Fay…
    • Having Babies (Julie Farr MD)
      Having Babies (Julie Farr MD)
      1 9 7 8 (USA) 1 x 120 minute episode 6 x 60 minute episodes Having Babies was introduced as an…
    • From Here to Eternity
      From Here to Eternity
      1 9 7 9 (USA) 3 x 120 minute episodes 1 9 8 0 (USA) 12 x 60 minute episodes A…
    • Place to Hide, A
      Place to Hide, A
      1 9 7 6 (UK) 6 x 30 minute episodes Ex magician Bruno Valenta (Terry Duggan) runs a remote guesthouse with…
    • Kids
      Kids
      1 9 7 9 (UK) 13 x 60 minute episodes Debuting on 27 April 1979, LWT's Kids provided 13 hour-long episodes…
    • Alice Through the Looking Glass
      Alice Through the Looking Glass
      1 9 7 3 (UK) 12 x 15 minute episodes Cyril Fletcher played the writer and storyteller Lewis Carroll (real name,…
    • Georgian House, The
      Georgian House, The
      1 9 7 6 (UK) 7 x 30 minute episodes Dan (Spencer Banks) and Abbie (Adrienne Byrne), two students from very…

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleGoing Down (1982)
    Next Article Nutz (Rage)

    Comments are closed.

    NC Radio Player
    Search the site

    Nostalgia Central has been a labour of love since 1998. The site carries no advertising, and I rely on donations to help with running costs and to keep the site running for your entertainment and education.

    If you find the site informative or enjoyable, please consider a donation – no matter how small. 

    Thank you so much.
    Enjoy your trip in the time machine!

    You may also like

    • Tea Ladies, The
      Tea Ladies, The
      1 9 7 8 (Australia) 8 x 30 minute episodes This short-lived Australian comedy series from ATV-0 was set in Parliament…
    • Mask, The
      Mask, The
      1 9 5 4 (USA) 15 x 60 minute episodes This ABC series presented the investigations and courtroom defences of brothers…
    • Co-Ed Fever
      Co-Ed Fever
      1 9 7 9 (USA) 6 x 30 minute episodes This CBS sitcom featured the young residents of Brewster House, a…
    • Palace Guard
      Palace Guard
      1 9 9 1 (USA/Canada) 1 x 120 minute pilot 8 x 60 minute episodes Tommy Logan (DW Moffett) is an…


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Copyright © 1998, 2023 Nostalgia Central. Run by volunteers. Funded by donations.
    • About Nostalgia Central
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.