# Filthy Rich (1982 TV series)

Filthy Rich is an American sitcom television series that aired on CBS from August 1982 to June 1983. Starring Dixie Carter and Charles Frank, the series satirized prime-time soap operas such as Dallas and Dynasty.

## Premise

The series was set in Memphis at a fictional mansion called Toad Hall, which was owned by one Big Guy Beck (Slim Pickens in the pilot, and Forrest Tucker afterwards), a very wealthy land baron. He had recently died of an undisclosed illness, and before he was cryonically frozen he had made out a videotaped will, a piece of which was played every week by his lawyer, George Wilhoit (David Healy and Vernon Weddle).
The will's terms were harshest on Big Guy's older son, snobbish Marshall Beck (Michael Lombard) and his equally-snobbish wife Carlotta (Dixie Carter). Also aghast at the will's terms was Big Guy's wily younger wife Kathleen (Delta Burke). The terms stated that the family wouldn't be able to collect a dime of their inheritance until 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 Carlotta, Marshall and Kathleen's schemes to declare the terms and constraints of the will invalid and also to rid themselves of Wild Bill and Bootsie, not to mention the rest of the family, out of their lives, so the snobs could live it up on the money they would receive. Their wildly outlandish schemes usually and inevitably ended up failing.
Also appearing were Nedra Volz, who played Big Guy's senile 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.
Stanley, independently wealthy because he invested his money wisely, and thus not concerned about his inheritance from his father, was the nicest of the whole lot. Usually, it was Stanley who was able to protect Wild Bill and Bootsie (whom he and Mother B. accepted outright) from the devious scheming of his stepmother, who lusted after him; and his conniving brother and sister in-law.

## Cast and characters
### Starring (in alphabetical order)

* Delta Burke as Kathleen Beck, Big Guy's much younger second wife. A very wily woman, she openly lusted after her younger stepson, Stanley, who often deflected her unwelcome advances. Despite siding with Marshall and Carlotta against the Westchesters, they regularly squabbled amongst themselves with Carlotta often calling her a "tramp" and "slut". She is also thoroughly disliked by Big Guy's previous wife, "Mother B", who derisively calls her "Big Girl".
* Dixie Carter as Carlotta Beck, Marshall's snobby and shrewish wife and Big Guy's daughter-in-law. She considers herself the only reigning queen of Toad Hall, and is always plotting with Marshall and Kathleen to get rid of the Westchesters (as well as Mother B and Stanley), so they would be the only ones with access to Big Guy's vast fortune. Despite this, the three would often argue among one another as much as they fought the Westchesters. Their schemes were often thwarted by their own ineptitude or by Stanley, who saw them for the connivers that they were. Although they shared the same goal, Carlotta couldn't stand Kathleen and vice versa. Carlotta would always snidely remind Kathleen that she was only Big Guy's second wife and thus, was only her stepmother-in-law. She was also an enemy of Mother B, given that she and Marshall had put her in the nursing home, and she would often rat out her and Marshall and their wrongdoings, in retaliation.
* Charles Frank as Stanley Beck, Big Guy and Mother B's son and younger brother of Marshall. He is independently wealthy (due to some wise investments) and not in need of any inheritance. He is the most down-to-earth of the family and welcomed the Westchesters immediately. An avid Dr. Pepper drinker, Stanley is kind and concerned about others, but will not tolerate the more dishonest shenanigans of Marshall, Kathleen and Carlotta. He has a close bond with his mother, Mother B (who calls him Skippy) and is usually there to help his half-brother and half-sister in-law in dealing with the other Becks and thwarting their schemes.
* Jerry Hardin as Wild Bill Westchester, a used RV salesman and Big Guy's illegitimate son. He and Bootsie were almost scared out of the house by Marshall, Carlotta and Kathleen, by means of a phony seance, but was convinced by Stanley and Mother B, who truly cared about them, that they would always have a home at Toad Hall, whether the other Becks liked it or not.
* Michael Lombard as Marshall Beck, Big Guy and Mother B's oldest son. He is bisexual and in therapy for it, and is slightly weak willed compared to his wife, tending to wheeze a lot because of his asthma. Although he loves Carlotta, they often bicker. He is appalled that at the presence of the Westchesters in their home, and equally appalled that his younger brother and mother would welcome them with open arms. He is usually put in his place by his mother, who tended to know more about his dishonesty and often delighted in ratting him out.
* Nedra Volz as Winona "Mother B" Beck, Big Guy's first wife and the senile mother of Marshall and Stanley. She belied her age by constantly escaping her nursing home, eventually, escaping for good, and moving into Toad Hall. She, like her favored younger son, Stanley, whom she calls "Skippy", accepted the Westchesters outright and often take delight in ratting out Marshall and Carlotta in retaliation for them putting her in the nursing home.
* Ann Wedgeworth as Bootsie Westchester, Wild Bill's gentle natured but ditzy wife. She, like Wild Bill, is thrilled to be part of the family. Her marriage was almost ruined by Kathleen, Marshall and Carlotta but she, along with Stanley's help, thwarted it. She unwaveringly loves Wild Bill, and makes the most of being on a budget.

### Also starring

* Slim Pickens (s. 1) & Forrest Tucker (s. 2) as Big Guy Beck, a very wealthy land baron and the patriarch of Toad Hall. His will stipulated that his family accept his illegitimate son, Wild Bill Westchester and his wife Bootsie into the family. He was married to Kathleen when he died and is the father of Marshall and Stanley by his first wife "Mother B". He has a tendency to end his videotapes with singing a very off-key version of "Happy Trails".
* David Healy (s. 1) & Vernon Weddle (s. 2) as George Wilhoit, Big Guy's lawyer who plays a section of his late client's video will every week, and was there to make sure the conditions, however outlandish, were carried out. Some conditions were reasonable (like the family getting a job or living within a strict budget, after Marshall, Carlotta and Kathleen were caught trying to throw out the Westchesters) while others (where Big Guy had Stanley kidnapped on his birthday to find out who his true friends were) were more bizarre.

## Production

Series creator Linda Bloodworth began her television career by co-writing a script for an episode of M*A*S*H with Mary Kay Place, and when that script was nominated for an Emmy Award, she found herself in high demand. Bloodworth was offered staff positions on several television series, but she turned them down. "I just wanted to get my own shows on the air", she said. "I didn't want to die working those long hours for someone else's show. I didn't want to bleed unless it was for my own show." She formed her own production company, produced numerous pilot episodes and then, in 1980, she got the idea for Filthy Rich. "I just set out to write a comedy about Southerners — eccentric Southerners."
The hour-long pilot for Filthy Rich was filmed on February 27, 1981 as a candidate for inclusion on CBS's 1981–82 fall schedule. When the fall schedule was announced in May, Filthy Rich wasn't included, but the network optioned it as a potential midseason replacement. "Apparently, the network wasn't sure of its feelings", commented Dixie Carter. "Some executives liked the concept, others despised it." Meanwhile, Delta Burke was offered the role of Katherine Wentworth on Dallas, as well as a recurring role on the TV spin-off of Private Benjamin, but she was forced to turn both parts down because she was under contract for Filthy Rich. Similarly, Carter was asked to replace Tammy Grimes in the Broadway production of 42nd Street, but CBS prevented her from accepting. Instead, cast members were forced to take small roles in films and guest-star on various TV shows while awaiting word on the fate of Filthy Rich.
In March 1982, CBS ordered a second pilot episode, this time as a half-hour show. The network stipulated that they wanted the new pilot to be "less bizarre" than the original pilot had been, and though the material was toned down a bit, they still passed on including the show on the fall schedule.
In that era, it wasn't unusual for unsold pilots to be broadcast as filler during the summer – replacing low-rated reruns – as a means of recouping the money that was spent to produce them. The original hour-long pilot was split in two and re-edited, then packaged with the second pilot (titled "Town and Garden"), and the now-trio of episodes were billed as a "limited run" series which was broadcast on Monday nights following reruns of M*A*S*H in August 1982. Much to CBS's surprise, the show topped the weekly Nielsen ratings for three consecutive weeks. CBS Entertainment President Donald "Bud" Grant later commented, "I think we conned ourselves into thinking Filthy Rich was a hot show." The network scrambled to find a place on the fall schedule for the show, ultimately opting to bump the new series Mama Malone off the schedule altogether (Mama Malone eventually aired in 1984).
Although viewers initially tuned in, the series fared poorly with critics. "This is the most misunderstood show I've ever been associated with", said Bloodworth. Associated Press writer Fred Rothenberg commented in his widely circulated review, "It's called Filthy Rich and the slant is more toward the former than the latter." Bloodworth retaliated, "I think because the Southern accents are thick and the first shows were very theatrical and broad, the critics tuned out." She went on to defend the show against the Southern critics who'd bashed the series as well. "There are a lot of liberal-minded critics who consider themselves the keepers of the Southern flame. We're not maligning the South, we're celebrating it."
While working on the show, Burke felt particularly pressured to maintain a slender figure. "That's when I discovered crystal meth, a powerful amphetamine that cut my hunger but made my heart race", she revealed in her autobiography. It had the side effect of paranoia and making her lapse into unconsciousness.
Adding further woes to the troubled series, actor Slim Pickens, who played Big Guy Beck in the original hour-long pilot episode, was rushed to San Francisco Medical Center several days before the series premiered, and he underwent five hours of surgery to remove a brain tumor the day after the show's TV debut. Pickens was released from the hospital before production resumed on the series, but he was unfit to appear. Most subsequent episodes played without Big Guy, though Pickens was quickly replaced by Forrest Tucker, who didn't play the role with the same broad, comic zeal.
Production soldiered on a little behind schedule. In the early weeks of September, scripts hadn't been completed for any episodes of the fall season, which began on September 26. "Every night I go home with notes on all the network suggestions and work on the scripts", Bloodworth said. "A messenger comes to pick up my rewrites at 1 a.m. I write in longhand and the scripts are typed and returned at 7 a.m. I'm sure my neighbors think I'm in some illegal business." Bloodworth quickly churned out some scripts, but she hired former Jimmy Carter speech writer E. Jack Kaplan to help pick up the slack.
Filthy Rich returned to the air on Wednesday, October 6. Nestled between Alice and Tucker's Witch and opposite the new series NBC's Family Ties, ratings quickly plummeted; Filthy Rich ranked #60 in the weekly TV ratings by the end of October. In November, six weeks into the show's second season, all three series were yanked off the schedule and replaced with The CBS Wednesday Movie. Filthy Rich returned to the schedule by January 1983 — on Monday nights, sandwiched between Square Pegs and M*A*S*H. Ratings didn't improve. It aired for a month before being pulled from the schedule again. The remaining two episodes aired in June, after the series had officially been canceled.

### Designing Women and Evening Shade

Filthy Rich paved the way for one of CBS's most successful TV series of the late 1980s: Designing Women. "I'd worked with Dixie and Delta on Filthy Rich", Bloodworth revealed in a 1986 interview. "We've had a secret plot since then to work together again." Bloodworth created the roles of Julia and Suzanne Sugarbaker for Carter and Burke (Burke referred to her Filthy Rich character as "Suzanne in the Beginning;", and Carter's Julia, with her self-righteous, long-winded monologues, had more than a bit in common with Carlotta) and numerous one-liners were recycled along with a "hog hat" prop which was prominently featured in episodes of both series. Filthy Rich stars Nedra Volz and Charles Frank each guest-starred on Designing Women, as did guest-stars Tracey Walter, William Utay, Davis Roberts and John Petlock, and E. Jack Kaplan penned an early episode. Additionally, Charles Frank reunited with Burke for an episode of the short-lived Designing Women spin-off Women of the House.
By the early 1990s, another Filthy Rich cast member found work in a new Bloodworth series. Evening Shade, which aired from 1990 through 1994, included Ann Wedgeworth among its cast as Merleen Eldridge, the wife of the town doctor.

## Episodes
### Season 1 (1982)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Viewers (millions) |
| 1 | 1 | "Pilot – Part 1" | Wes Kenney | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | August 9, 1982 (1982-08-09) | 24.2 |
| At the reading of cryonically frozen family patriarch Big Guy Beck's video-will, the Becks learn that Big Guy had an illegitimate son — used RV dealer Wild Bill Westchester. To make matters even more embarrassing for the Becks, they learn that in order to receive their inheritance, they'll have to live "in peace and harmony" with Wild Bill and his "lovely and whimsical" wife, Bootsie, in Toad Hall, the family mansion. Independently wealthy son Stanley and his mother, Big Guy's first wife, Mother B, greets the Westchesters with open arms. However, snobby older son Marshall, his wife, Carlotta, and Big Guy's widow, Kathleen are overwrought with embarrassment and the three scheme to get the Westchesters out of the picture. |||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Pilot – Part 2" | Wes Kenney | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | August 16, 1982 (1982-08-16) | 19.2 |
| Marshall, Carlotta, and Kathleen devise a scheme to disprove Wild Bill's relation to Big Guy — so they drug him and steal a half gallon of his blood to use for testing. But in the end, all it proves is that Wild Bill actually is Big Guy's son. |||||||
| 3 | 3 | "Town and Garden" | Bill Persky | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | August 23, 1982 (1982-08-23) | 21.1 |
| The Becks try to teach the Westchesters proper manners when they learn that a town and garden magazine wants to feature Toad Hall on the cover. But there's still the problem of Mother B. — so Marshall attempts to drug her... but he winds up taking the sleeping pills himself. In the end, Mr. Means decides not to use Toad Hall, instead opting for Mother B.'s nursing home. |||||||

### Season 2 (1982–83)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Viewers (millions) |
| 4 | 1 | "Some Like It Not" | Rod Daniel | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | October 6, 1982 (1982-10-06) | 16.5 |
| Marshall, Carlotta and Kathleen scheme to break up the happy Westchester marriage and drive them out of Toad Hall. Their plan has Kathleen seducing Wild Bill, while Marshall makes a move on Bootsie. But the whole plan backfires when Stanley figures out what's going on and has Wild Bill pretend to be smitten with Carlotta. |||||||
| 5 | 2 | "The Kidnapping of Stanley" | Rod Daniel | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | October 13, 1982 (1982-10-13) | 14.0 |
| It's Stanley's 35th birthday and Marshall, Carlotta and Kathleen expect him to get the gift of cash, so naturally they all suck up to him. But instead of cash, a cake arrives with two ladies inside — who kidnap him. It's soon revealed that the kidnapping was arranged by Big Guy so Stanley could find out who his friends really are — his "friends" being whichever family members come up with the ransom. Needless to say that Marshall, Carlott,a and Kathleen aren't his friends... Meanwhile Wild Bill and Bootsie work feverishly and valiantly to come up with the cash, but it's Mother B. who saves the day (with cash she picked from the money tree that Big Guy left her). |||||||
| 6 | 3 | "The Real Men" | Rod Daniel | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | October 20, 1982 (1982-10-20) | 14.2 |
| In an attempt to prove himself to Carlotta, Marshall takes out a huge loan — unaware that he's borrowing the money from a gangster. Marshall flaunts his newfound wealth... then loses it to one of Mother B's friends in a poker game. |||||||
| 7 | 4 | "The Happy Medium" | Rod Daniel | Jim Brecher | October 27, 1982 (1982-10-27) | 11.9 |
| Bootsie's sudden interest in the occult finds Carlotta scrambling to arrange a phony séance to contact Big Guy's spirit, who tells the Westchesters to give up their inheritance and leave Toad Hall. The schemers are exposed, Marshall, Kathleen and Carlotta are foiled once again (and they leave arguing about the scheme's failure), and Stanley convinces Wild Bill and Bootsie that they will always have a home at Toad Hall, whether Marshall, Carlotta, and Kathleen like it or not. |||||||
| 8 | 5 | "Take This Job and Love It – Part 1" | Rod Daniel | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | November 3, 1982 (1982-11-03) | 12.4 |
| The latest installment of Big Guy's video will includes a promise of a $10,000 bonus for the family member who finds work and gets the best report. Marshall and Wild Bill get jobs at an RV dealership, Carlotta becomes a tour guide, Bootsie starts a fingernail and underwear franchise, and Kathleen receives promotion after promotion at the State Bank. It's smooth sailing until Bootsie reveals that she's set up an in-home presentation on the same night that the Southern 500 Committee is scheduled to arrive for a dinner meeting regarding Marshall and Carlotta's failure to pay their annual dues. |||||||
| 9 | 6 | "Take This Job and Love It – Part 2" | Rod Daniel | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | November 10, 1982 (1982-11-10) | 10.5 |
| Members of the Southern 500 Committee arrive for a meeting with Marshall and Carlotta on the same evening that Bootsie is hosting an in-home presentation for a fingernail and underwear franchise that she's started. The festivities get off to a rocky start when Carlotta, who fell into the river at her job on Mud Island as "an interpreter of the language of salty sea captains", is forced to wear her work clothes (a hoop skirt) to the party. Further complications ensue when Wild Bill burns dinner, forcing Bootsie's party into the adjoining room (though her sole guest is homeless Alvin Essary) and Mother B. arrives to liven things up. |||||||
| 10 | 7 | "The Country Club" | Rod Daniel | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | January 17, 1983 (1983-01-17) | 13.1 |
| The snobby Beck trio are horrified when Stanley arrives at the country club with Bootsie and Wild Bill. But what happens next horrifies them even more: Bootsie and Bill decide to join the country club, with Stanley as their sponsor! In an attempt to discredit the Westchesters, Carlotta sets up a meeting with the admissions committee and encourages the Westchesters to be themselves. She and Marshall pick out the tackiest clothes in the Westchester closet, and invite wino Alvin Essary to speak on behalf of the Westchesters. But Stanley intervenes, making the rest of the Becks look like fools when Essary and the Westchesters arrive dressed and acting like royalty. The result is the Westchesters are accepted in the Country Club, while Marshall and Carlotta, due to a scheme to pocket money using phony foster children, are placed on probation, which leads Carlotta to moan "They're IN, and we're OUT!". |||||||
| 11 | 8 | "A Beck Goes Back" | Rod Daniel | E. Jack Kaplan | January 24, 1983 (1983-01-24) | 12.5 |
| When Carlotta is nominated to be vice president of the Dames of the Confederacy, her rival nominee, Sissy Chastaine, gives Carlotta a most difficult charity to complete in order to stay in the running — the high school equivalency test drive. Carlotta is determined to win the nomination, but has no idea how to complete her charity drive, until Bootsie reveals she does not have her high school diploma. Bootsie offers her help to Carlotta and Marshall, who repel her every effort. Finally, Stanley, Wild Bill and Bootsie (who has been preparing to take her exam by reading the entire Encyclopædia Britannica — except the "z"s) come up with the perfect plan to help — make giant billboards of Bootsie wearing her mortar board and holding a diploma under the heading: "A Beck goes Back!" [to school]. Carlotta, Marshall, and Kathleen are horrified, and, armed with paint and brushes, go around town blocking out the Beck name. Caught in the act, the snobs are arrested for defacing public property. When Carlotta returns home after spending a night in jail, she receives a phone call from Sissy Chastaine. Sissy tells Carlotta that the equivalency test drive was a huge success. Carlotta is thrilled, believing she has won the nomination, until Sissy tells her that due to her now criminal record, (her night of vandalism) she is disqualified. |||||||
| 12 | 9 | "The Treasure of Toad Hall" | Rod Daniel | E. Jack Kaplan | January 31, 1983 (1983-01-31) | 16.1 |
| When Bootsie discovers a Civil War diary which documents hidden gold in the mansion, Marshall and Carlotta quickly concoct a scheme to keep Bootsie from telling the rest of the family. |||||||
| 13 | 10 | "The Blue and the Gray for the Green" | Wes Kenney | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason & E. Jack Kaplan | February 14, 1983 (1983-02-14) | 12.9 |
| The Becks are delighted when they learn that Toad Hall is regarded as a historical site, thus entitling them to tax exemption. However, what the snobs don't anticipate is that as a historical site, they are required by law to conduct tours of the family mansion, something they are not too thrilled about. |||||||
| 14 | 11 | "The First Heir" | Rod Daniel | Barry E. Blitzer & Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | June 8, 1983 (1983-06-08) | 7.0 |
| When it's revealed that there's a large inheritance waiting for the first Beck grandchild, Marshall, Carlotta and Kathleen begin to scheme. Kathleen takes the opportunity to try to seduce Stanley yet again, which he deflects as usual. Marshall and Carlotta, on the other hand, decide to adopt a child, thinking that an adopted child would still be a Beck grandchild (George later told them that would not be the case). Afraid that Bootsie will become pregnant before the adoption can be completed, the trio decide to keep the Westchesters apart — Kathleen and Carlotta have slumber parties with Bootsie while Marshall keeps Wild Bill awake, telling him of his problems. Eventually, it's revealed that Bootsie is unable to get pregnant, though she and Wild Bill have tried. Upon hearing this, and receiving a phone call that their application for adoption was denied, a truly furious Carlotta banishes Marshall out of their bedroom into a tent in the hallway. |||||||
| 15 | 12 | "The Best Revenge Is Stealing Your Ex-Husband's Second Wife's Fiance" | Rod Daniel | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | June 15, 1983 (1983-06-15) | 8.0 |
| Gold-digging Kathleen finds herself engaged to a rich old timer and the wedding's just days away. Marshall and Carlotta are excited by this news because, by getting remarried, Kathleen forfeits her claim on Big Guy's money. Kathleen sees this as her last opportunity to seduce Stanley who rings a fire alarm to scare her off. But Kathleen's giddiness turns to despair when her fiance announces that he's in love with Mother B., just moments before they are to be wed. |||||||

## Ratings

| Season | Episodes | Start Date | End Date | Nielsen Rank | Nielsen Rating | Tied With |
| 1981–82 | 3 | August 9, 1982 | August 23, 1982 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 1982–83 | 12 | October 6, 1982 | June 15, 1983 | 72 | N/A | N/A |