The role of Sue Ann Nivens was not specifically written for White, but script #73 of the series called for an "icky sweet Betty White type". The show's casting director decided to approach the star herself, who with her husband Allen Ludden was already good friends with Mary Tyler Moore and her then husband, the show's producer Grant Tinker. In a 2011 Archive of American Television interview, Moore explained that producers, aware of Moore and White's friendship, were initially hesitant to audition White for the role, the fear being that, if she weren't right, it would create awkwardness between the two. In playing Sue Ann, the actress played up her character as a cheerful, home-and-hearth loving woman as a contrasting cover for a backbiting, sexually voracious nature. Her debut appearance was in the sitcom's first episode of the fourth season. This was supposed to be a one-time guest role but James L. Brooks, who created the series, said, "Don't make too many plans."
''The Happy Homemaker'' (and homewrecker)
Sue Ann Nivens was the relentlessly perky star of The Happy Homemaker on the fictional WJM-TV in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her program delivered advice to housewives on cooking and decorating. She chose unusual and sometimes ludicrous themes for some episodes, such as "What's all this fuss about famine?" and "A salute to fruit". Nivens was a perfectionist; she once confessed she would rather flush her Veal Prince Orloff down a toilet than serve it reheated. She was also full of helpful hints for all occasions and always ready to make lemons into lemonade; she once suggested buying colorful, happy goldfish as companions for the infirm and then, when the goldfish died, using them as fertilizer for houseplants. Although Sue Ann presented an image of a sweet, perfect wife and homemaker on-screen, she was actually sardonic, man-obsessed, and very competitive.
Relationships
With Mary and Phyllis
Sue Ann premiered on The Mary Tyler Moore Show as a guest at one of Mary Richards' famously disastrous parties. At the conclusion of the party, Lars Lindstrom gave Sue Ann a ride home. Phyllis subsequently realized Lars and Sue Ann were having an affair because Lars came home with cleaner clothes than when he left. When Phyllis threatened to "rip Sue Ann's face off", Mary was forced to mediate between Phyllis and Sue Ann to end the affair. Eventually, Sue Ann and Mary became somewhat friendly, or perhaps were friendly adversaries. She often called Mary "Dear, sweet, naive Mary"; and she, along with Georgette Franklin, helped to fill the void when Phyllis and Rhoda left. Nonetheless, Sue Ann's relationship with Mary could be competitive, as Mary, who was younger and more attractive, more easily drew the attention of men.
With others
Sue Ann also often sparred with news writer Murray Slaughter, making veiled remarks about his baldness, while Murray, in turn, fired quips about Sue Ann's age and promiscuity.
The one man whom she most wanted to bed was Lou Grant. After being turned down on numerous occasions, she finally succeeded in a sixth-season episode ; Lou went to great lengths to try to ensure that the rest of the WJM staff didn't find out about this.
Sue Ann also had a younger sister, Lila, with whom she had a severe case of sibling rivalry. Lila caused Sue Ann a lot of grief, especially when Lila accepted an offer to host a rival cooking show in Minneapolis.
In the series' final season, Sue Ann's Happy Homemaker show was canceled because of low ratings. She still was under contract to WJM, but would only continue to get paid if she worked at the station – and, after being assigned to a series of menial positions, Lou coerced Mary into hiring her as a production assistant on the Six O'Clock News. In the final episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Sue Ann was fired, as was almost everyone in the WJM newsroom. She immediately bounced back, however, finding work as a travelling companion and "sort of a practical nurse" to a wealthy, elderly gentleman.
Impact and legacy
Sue Ann Nivens exhibited a new dimension to White's talent. Often typecast as a sometimes cloying, gentle, innocent or seemingly demure woman who would occasionally say shockingly risque things the meaning of which she was unaware, White was able to distinguish herself as an actress from her body of work. Reflecting on the role, White has said, "Of course, I loved Sue Ann. She was so rotten. You can’t get much more rotten than the neighborhood nymphomaniac." The role earned White two Emmy Awards as Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, with a further nomination following in the show's final season, 1977. Asked about her favorites among her many awards to date, she cites these won for The Mary Tyler Moore Show. White gives a great deal of credit for the role's success to the scripts, speaking of being "blessed with the kind of writing on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Golden Girls," claiming as well, "If it isn't on the page, we can't do anything about it." On The Golden Girls, debuting eight years later, White was originally cast as man-hungry Blanche; and Rue McClanahan, the befuddled Vivian on Maude, was cast as naive Rose. The two actresses realized how similar their new roles were to their previous ones and, at the suggestion of veteran comedy director Jay Sandrich, approached the producers about switching roles. The producers agreed, and the show went on to great success. White stated in January 2017 that she greatly enjoyed playing the character of Rose, as opposed to Blanche. Allowing White and McClanahan to swap roles was what made Bea Arthur decide to take part in The Golden Girls. McClanahan recalled in an interview, "Bea told me, 'Rue, I don't want to do a show where Maude and Vivian meet Sue Ann Nivens', to which I said, 'No, Bea. I'm going to play Nivens and Betty White is going to play Vivian.'" Bea Arthur was then said to reply, "Interesting!"
