I was doing an Internet search to see if there was a main page for Betty White's pet group, or Bet's Pets. I came across this article:

http://www.thepetpress-la.com/articles/bettywhite.htm

And there is a section which I had never heard before...

Something else Betty turned down was the role of the mother in the hit film As Good As It Gets. “I turned it down because of little Jill, the adorable little dog, being thrown down the garbage chute (by Oscar winner Jack Nicholson.) Jim Brooks, (one of the creators of The Mary Tyler Moore Show) was kind enough to offer me the role, but I called him and told him that I just couldn’t. He said, ‘but the dog is fine. The dog is safe. The dog is the star of the movie.’ I said, I know that, but there are a lot of kooks out there. They see that and say, oh, how convenient, there’s a dog that barks down the hall that bothers me. I know what I’ll do. And I said they don’t all have happy endings like that. He understood.”


Is this Helen Hunt's mother -- the alcoholic? That's what I would assume it to mean. I thought this was a great movie, that's why I was surprised to see Betty was offered that role.

She's played a variety of roles in her career and showed that she can do pretty much anything, so that's probably why they offered her the role. I have a hard time imagining it though...

Yeah, that is the role she was offered. That story is completely true. She has no problem with profanity; sexual innuendos, etc. But as we all know, Betty draws the line with anything that has four legs!