Betty Thomas

Betty Thomas (born Betty Lucille Nienhauser, July 27, 1947)[1] is an American actress, director, and producer of television and motion pictures. She is known for her Emmy Award-winning role as Lucy Bates on the television series Hill Street Blues.[2] As of March 2018, Thomas is one of just two directors (and the only solo director) to have multiple films on the list of seventeen highest-US-grossing female-directed films.[3] Additionally, all of her films are in the top twenty five highest-US-grossing female-directed films.[4]
== Early life ==
Thomas was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1947 to Nancy (née Brown) and William H. Nienhauser, Sr.[5][6] She graduated from Willoughby South High School, Willoughby, Ohio, in 1965. After high school Thomas attended Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Upon graduating Thomas worked as an artist and taught high school before becoming a part of The Second City Chicago premiere source for improvisational theater.[7] She took her professional surname from her marriage to Douglas Thomas.[6]
=== Second City ===
Thomas came to her entertainment career by a circuitous route. While working as an artist and school teacher she became a waitress at The Second City to earn extra cash for a trip abroad. While waiting tables Thomas was encouraged to try out for the troupe, and subsequently joined the company.[8] She was praised for her brassy and outspoken performances, and became the first woman to direct one of their MainStage theatre productions.[9] Thomas also worked with several up and coming Second City alumni, most notably Bill Murray.[10] When The Second City opened a Los Angeles branch, Thomas moved west.
== Career ==
=== Acting career ===
Upon her arrival in Los Angeles, Thomas received many bit parts in low-budget films like Chesty Anderson, USN (1976), the Robert Zemeckis film Used Cars(1980) as well as sketch comedy films like Tunnel Vision (1975), and Loose Shoes (1980) the latter of which featuring Second City classmate Bill Murray.[8]She appeared in the 1989 film Troop Beverly Hills, starring Shelley Long.[11]
While Thomas had been building her career in comedy, her breakthrough role as an actress came when she was cast in the dramatic role of police officer (later Sergeant) Lucille Bates on the TV series Hill Street Blues (1981–87). Over the course of the series her character goes from inexperienced rookie to confident sergeant. She received seven Emmy nominations for best supporting actress, and took home the award for the 1984–85 season.[12]
=== Directing career ===
After having lied to a Variety reporter about planning on directing a Hoopermanepisode, she was given a real opportunity by the show's executive producer, and from there her directing career began.[13] After making several other acting appearances, Thomas began directing episodes of Hooperman in addition to the premiere episodes of Doogie Howser, M.D. in 1989. She went on to direct episodes of Arresting Behavior and several episodes of the HBO series Dream On, the latter of which earned her an Emmy for best director.[12] Thomas is nicknamed "The Midnight Queen" because of her preference for nighttime shoots.[14]
In 1992 Thomas took the next step in her directing career with her feature debut Only You. A slight, playful romantic comedy; Only You was a departure from Thomas's experience on Hill Street Blues or her subsequent television directing. Wayne Rice, the film's producer and screenwriter, said that Thomas was chosen to direct due in part to the film's plot in which a man is on a hapless quest to find the perfect woman would be considered inherently sexist without a female director.[15]
Three years following the release of Only You Thomas directed The Brady Bunch Movie (1995). A satirical vision of the 1970s television series The Brady Bunch. The Brady Bunch Movie was a box office hit with domestic ticket sales of $46,576,136, nearly quadrupling its $12,000,000 budget and making it at the time one of the highest-grossing films directed by a woman.[2]
She followed The Brady Bunch Movie with other successes, including Private Parts (1997), Dr. Dolittle (1998), 28 Days (2000), and John Tucker Must Die(2006). 2009's Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel became the first female-directed picture to gross more than $200 million and made her the most successful woman director to that time at the box office.[16] In 2012, Thomas directed a low-budget online series called Audrey for the WIGS YouTubechannel.[17]
In 2001, Thomas won the Dorothy Arzner Directors Award of the Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards, presented by the Los Angeles chapter of the Women in Film Organization.[18]
== Filmography ==
=== Actress ===
Year 	Film 	Role 	Director / creator 	Notes
1976 	Tunnel Vision 	Bridgit Bert Richards 	Neal Israel, Bradley R. Swirnoff	
1976 	Jackson County Jail 	Waitress 	Michael Miller 	
1976 	The Last Affair 	 	Henri Charr 	
1976 	Chest Anderson U.S. Navy	Party Guest #1 	Ed Forsyth 	
1977 	Dog and Cat 	Waitress 	Bob Kelljan 	
1978 	C.P.O. Sharkey 	Seaman Daley 	Aaron Ruben 	
1978 	Outside Chance 	Katherine 	Michael Miller 	
1980 	Used Cars 	Bunny 	Robert Zemeckis 	
1980 	Loose Shoes 	Biker Chic #1 	Ira Miller 	
1981 	The Nashville Grab 	Maxine Pearce 	James L. Conway 	
1982 	Twilight Theater 	 	Perry Rosemond 	
1982 	Homework 	Reddogs Secretary 	James Beshears 	
1983 	When Your Lover Leaves 	Maude 	Jeff Bleckner 	
1985 	ABC Afterschool Specials	Dr. Mary Lewis 	Guy Fraumeni 	
1987 	Prison for Children 	Angela Brannon 	Larry Peerce 	
1981–87	Hill Street Blues 	Sgt. Lucy Bates 	Steven Bochco, Michael Kozoll 	Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, 1985
1989 	The Tracey Ullman Show 	Miss Belts, Gym Teacher	Ted Bessell, Art Wolff 	Segment titled "Francesca: A Physical Education"
1989 	Troop Beverly Hills 	Velda Plendor 	Jeff Kanew 	
2018 	Kidding 	 	Michel Gondry 	Episode: "Green Means Go"
=== Directing for television ===
Year 	Series 	Role 	Notes
1989 	Hooperman 	Director	Episodes: "Goodnight, Sweet Hooperman", "Dog Day Afternoon", "Morning and Night", "In the Still of My Pants"
1989 	Doogie Howser, M.D.	Director	Episodes: "Doogie The Red-Nosed Reindeer", "The Ice Queen Cometh"
1990 	Mancuso, FBI 	Director	Episodes: "Night of the Living Shred", "Shiva Me Timbers", "Murder of Pearl"
1990 	Parenthood 	Director	Episodes: "Thanksgiving with a T that Rhymes with B that Stands for Basketball", "I Never Invested for My Father"
1991 	Sons and Daughters 	Director	TV series
1991 	Midnight Caller 	Director	Episode: "Her Dirty Little Secret"
1991 	Shannon's Deal 	Director	Episode: "Matrimony"
1992 	On the Air 	Director	TV Mini-series: Episode #1.6
1994 	My Breast 	Director	TV film
1994 	Couples 	Director	TV film
1996 	The Late Shift 	Director	Won Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Specials, 1997
1990–96	Dream On 	Director	Directed 18 episodes, Won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series, 1993
2001 	Silicon Follies 	Director	TV film
2003 	Senor White 	Director	TV film
2006 	That Guy 	Director	TV film
2006 	The Loop 	Director	Pilot episode
2007 	Dash 4 Cash 	Director	TV film
=== Directing feature films ===
Year	Series 	Role 	Notes
1992	Only You 	Director	Feature film debut
1995	The Brady Bunch Movie 	Director	One of the highest-grossing films directed by a woman
1997	Private Parts 	Director	Adaptation of Howard Stern's autobiography; Won Audience Award at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival(Tied with Forgotten Light), 1997
1998	Dr. Dolittle 	Director	$294 million in box office gross
2000	28 Days 	Director	
2002	I Spy 	Director	
2006	John Tucker Must Die 	Director	
2009	Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel	Director	$443 million in box office gross
2019	Buddypoke: The Movie 	Director	
=== Producing feature films ===
Year	Series 	Role 	Notes
1998	Can't Hardly Wait 	Producer 	
2000	Charlie's Angels 	Executive Producer	
2001	Silicon Follies 	Executive Producer	TV Movie
2002	I Spy 	Producer 	
2004	Surviving Christmas 	Producer 	
2005	Guess Who 	Executive Producer	
2006	John Tucker Must Die	Producer 	Video Documentary Short
Category:American film actresses