Backstairs at the White House (1979)

Directed by

Michael O'Herlihy

Genre

drama film

Country

United States

Length

1 season, 4 episodes

Rating

6.1 of 10 from 5 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This miniseries shows the daily work of White House staff across several presidential administrations. It follows the lives and service of the people who keep the White House running, from maids and cooks to butlers and doormen, as they interact with the first families.

behind-the-scenesnostalgicdignifiedslice-of-lifequietly compellingensemble-drivenrespectful

What happens

Backstairs at the White House is a 1979 NBC television miniseries based on the 1961 book My Thirty Years Backstairs at the White House by Lillian Rogers Parks (with Frances Spatz Leighton). The series, produced by Ed Friendly Productions, is the story of behind-the-scenes workings of the White House and the relationship between the staff and the First Families. This mini-series was nominated for 11 Emmy Awards in 31st Primetime Emmy Awards, winning for Outstanding Achievement in Make-up (Mark Bussan, Tommy Cole and Ron Walters) and nominated for Outstanding Limited Series (Ed Friendly, Executive Producer; Ed Friendly, Producer; Michael O'Herlihy, Producer), Best Actress (Olivia Cole), Best Actor (Louis Gossett Jr.), Best Supporting Actress (both Eileen Heckart and Celeste Holm), Best Supporting Actor (both Ed Flanders and Robert Vaughn), Outstanding Teleplay (Part 1) (Gwen Bagni and Paul Dubov), Outstanding Art Direction/Set Decoration (Part 1) (Richard Y. Haman, Art Director; Anne D. McCulley, Set Decorator), and Outstanding Achievement in Hairstyling (Susan Germaine, Lola Kemp and Vivian McAteer). The series was notable for its all-star cast: Leslie Uggams starred as Lillian Rogers Parks and Olivia Cole played her mother Maggie Rogers. Other White House staffers were played by Louis Gossett Jr., Robert Hooks, Cloris Leachman, Leslie Nielsen, and Hari Rhodes. The first episode featured Paul Winfield as Emmett Rogers Sr. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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