Wendi Malick, Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, and Betty White are 'Hot in Cleveland'
Bob Heath remembers the Montrose Drive-In.
He remembers the swim club, the Freez and the horse farm on the hill. All of those places are gone, replaced by outlet stores, chain restaurants, movie theaters and more.
“Nothing was there,” says Heath, who grew up in West Akron. “It’s amazing how it’s changed.”
Change is amazing. And it’s the driving force behind the four main characters on Hot in Cleveland, TV Land’s first original sit-com. Heath serves as the show’s producer.
'Hot in Cleveland'? Tell me more
Hot in Cleveland follows the misadventures of three L.A. women in their 50s: hopeless romantic Melanie (Valerie Bertinelli), cynical businesswoman Joy (Jane Leeves), aging actress Victoria (Wendi Malick). The women wind up in Cleveland when their plane makes an emergency landing at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.When they discover the men in Cleveland think they’re hot, they decide to forgo the West Coast for the Northcoast. The trio are joined by housekeeper Elka, played with great verve by the legendary Betty White.
“We’re so lucky to have these three actresses,” Heath says. “Casting was a stroke of genius. And what can you say about Betty White? We knew we wanted her and hired her before her popularity exploded – again.”
Making the script stick, from printed word to post-production

You’ll catch Heath’s “produced by” credit near the end of the roll. Keep your eye on the “by” – it tells the whole story of Heath’s day-to-day work.
“I’m in charge of all the physical production of the show,” Heath says. “The writers finalize a script and then it’s my job to make that script stick to video. I take it from the printed word to the set to post-production, managing the entire process along the way.”
It’s an enormous role. Sit-coms shoot on a weekly schedule, and Heath oversees each week’s events. He manages the week’s many read throughs, during which actors and writers sit around a table and read through the script to see what works and what doesn’t so it can be tweaked and rewritten before production. He works with cast and crew through Thursday’s pre-shoot, where scenes are blocked for the cameras and the show is rehearsed before Friday’s live event.
“Then on Friday, we bring in a live audience and shoot the show,” he says. “It’s wonderful; kind of like photographing a play. Then we put a period on the show and start all over again on Monday.”
Comments