Betty Rubbleis a fictional character in thetelevisionanimated seriesThe Flintstonesand its spin-offs and live-action motion pictures. She is theblack-hairedwife ofcavemanBarney Rubbleand the adoptive mother ofBamm-Bamm Rubble.Her best friend is her next-door neighborWilma Flintstone.

Betty Rubble
The Flintstonescharacter
First appearance"The Flagstones" (1959)
Created byHanna-Barbera
Voiced by
Portrayed byRosie O'Donnell(1994film)
Jane Krakowski(2000film)
In-universe information
Full nameElizabeth Jean Rubble (née McBricker)
SpeciesCavewoman
GenderFemale
OccupationHousewife
Newspaper reporter[1]
Caterer[2]
FamilyBradley "Brad" McBricker (brother)
Jean McBricker (mother)
Brick McBricker (father)[3]
Sissy [McBricker] Sandstone (sister)
SpouseBarney Rubble(husband)
ChildrenBamm-Bamm Rubble(adopted son)
RelativesMarblehead Sandstone Sr. (brother-in-law)
Marblehead Sandstone Jr. (nephew)[4]
Pebbles Flintstone(goddaughter/daughter-in-law)
Roxy Rubble (granddaughter)[5]
Chip Rubble (grandson)[5]

Betty lives in the fictionalprehistorictown ofBedrock,a world where dinosaurs coexist withcavepeopleand the cavepeople enjoy primitive versions of modern conveniences such astelephones,automobilesandwashing machines.She speaks with a Midwestern accent.

Betty's personality was based on thestock characterof the lead character's best friend's wife, commonly seen in 1950s television (other prominent examples includingTrixie NortonofThe Honeymooners,which by conflicting accounts was a major inspiration forThe Flintstones,andEthel MertzofI Love Lucy). Much like Trixie or Ethel, Betty spent a lot of her time socializing with Wilma, and the two would often end up working together to bail their husbands out of whatever scheme of Fred's had landed them in trouble, sometimes scheming with each other.

Character

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Betty typically follows the lead of Barney or Wilma, so may appear to be the least developed character in the show. In spite of this, Betty is portrayed as having a distinctly emotional marriage with Barney, which often includes pet names and more obvious affection than the dynamic and energetic interaction between Fred and Wilma. Occasions when Betty leads the action are extremely scarce: one episode centers around her working undercover as a gentle old lady to earn money for a present for Barney; in another, the plot focuses on her and Wilma's suspicions of Barney being involved with another woman (who turns out to be Fred in a disguise in order to attend a ball game free of charge). This lack of protagonism (her continuous presence almost becoming a backdrop for supporting characters Pebbles, Bamm-Bamm and Dino) makes Betty less of the lead than the show's general concept might imply.

Biography

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Betty is a friend of Wilma since their childhood. As a child, she lived with her parents who ran aconvenience storeand her older brother, Brad. She also has a married sister with a baby son named Marblehead Sandstone.[6]

As young adults, Betty and Wilma were employed ascigarette girls/waitresses at a resort. There, they first met and fell in love with their future husbands, Fred and Barney. Eventually, Betty and Barney were married, presumably not long after Fred and Wilma.[7]

Betty became ahomemaker,keeping house with such prehistoric aids as a babymammothvacuum cleaner,pelicanwashing machine,and so forth. Betty, much like Wilma, also enjoyed volunteering for various charitable/women's organizations in Bedrock, shopping, and (occasionally) meeting the celebrities of their world, including "Stony Curtis","Cary Granite",and"Ann-Margrock".Betty at one time also had a job working for an 'old lady' who turned out to be a young lady in disguise and who was using Betty to pass counterfeit money; this was the only episode centered principally around Betty.[8]Despite her cheerful nature, she has occasions to be angry at Barney[9]and once knocked out crooks with her stone purse who tried to kill Barney.[10]

In the fourth season of the original series, Betty and Barney found an abandoned infant on their doorstep, by the name of "Bamm-Bamm." After a court battle for possession of Bamm-Bamm (in which the Rubbles faced the opposition's noted prehistoric lawyer "Perry Masonry"), the couple were allowed to adopt Bamm-Bamm.[11]The Rubbles never had biological children. The story depicted Betty as despondent over their inability to conceive, which was a surprisingly serious topic for any cartoon. It is unknown if this was due to a medical reason or simply bad luck, though after adopting Bamm-Bamm they never tried again.

When Bamm-Bamm was a teenager, Betty gained employment as areporterfor one of Bedrock'snewspapers,theDaily Granite(presumably a parody of theDaily PlanetofSupermanfame), under the editorial guidance of Lou Granite (presumably a parody ofLou Grantof the contemporaneouseponymous series,and formerly ofThe Mary Tyler Moore Show). While employed there, she shared various adventures with prehistoricsuperheroCaptain Caveman, who (in asecret identity) also works for the newspaper.[1]

Later still, after Bamm-Bamm grew up and left home, Betty started a successful catering business with her neighbor and friend Wilma, before becoming agrandmotherto Bamm-Bamm's twin children, Chip and Roxy.[5]

Portrayal

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June Forayvoiced Betty in a 1959Flintstonespilot titledThe Flagstones,butBea Benaderetwas cast for the series and voiced Betty for the first four seasons before stepping down in 1964 (due to her scheduling conflicts withPetticoat Junction).Gerry Johnsontook over the role for the last 2 seasons.B.J. Wardhas since performed the role in laterFlintstonesmedia since 1986–2000.Grey DeLislestarted voicing Betty inThe Flintstones: On the Rocksand voiced her inThe Flintstones & WWE: Stone Age SmackDown!.InThe Flintstones: Welcome to Bedrock,Betty's voice was provided by Dina Monaco-Boland.[12][13]In the scrapped seriesBedrock,Betty was going to be voiced byNicole Byer.[14][15]

Inthe 1994 film,Betty was portrayed byRosie O'Donnell,[16][17]who reportedly won the role because she captured the high-pitched laugh at her audition.Jane Krakowskireplaced O'Donnell in the 2000 prequelThe Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas,in which Betty's maiden name is "O'Shale".

Animated media

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Television shows

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Films and specials

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References

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  1. ^abThe Flintstone Comedy Show,1980-82, NBC
  2. ^I Yabba Dabba Do,1993, ABC
  3. ^"Day of the Villains",The Flintstone Kids,1987
  4. ^"The Surprise",The Flintstones,season 3
  5. ^abcHollyrock-a-Bye Baby,1993, ABC
  6. ^"The Surprise"
  7. ^"Bachelor Daze",The Flintstones,season 4
  8. ^"Old Lady Betty",The Flintstones,season 4
  9. ^"The Flintstone Flyer"; "The Diner"; "Peek a Boo camera"
  10. ^The Soft Untouchables
  11. ^"Little Bamm-Bamm",The Flintstones,season 4
  12. ^"Dina Monaco-Boland".Backstage.RetrievedNovember 24,2023.
  13. ^"PSX#913 With Professional Actress Dina Boland".Facebook.RetrievedNovember 24,2023.
  14. ^"Elizabeth Banks Leads Voice Cast of 'The Flintstones' Animated Series 'Bedrock' as Comedy Scores Pilot Presentation at Fox".10 March 2023.
  15. ^"Adult Flintstones Sequel Bedrock No Longer in Development at Fox".
  16. ^Page, Janice (1994-03-24)."ROSIE: She Cuts Through the Rubble and Tells It Straight Up: The Comic-Turned-Actress Is a Real-Life Rizzo Who Says What's on Her Mind".The Los Angeles Times.Retrieved2010-11-10.
  17. ^Page, Janice (1994-03-29)."A New Stage in Her Career: O'Donnell's Made It in Movies, but Broadway Was Her Dream".The Los Angeles Times.Retrieved2010-11-10.