The actress and comedian was about to turn 100 on Jan. 17, 2022
The following written content from Melissa Locker
Betty White has been a household name since the 1950s, but it was her work on The Golden Girls that cemented her status as an icon long before she died on Dec. 31 at 99.
“I thought she would live forever,” White’s agent Jeff Witjas told People in a statement. “I will miss her terribly and so will the animal world that she loved so much.
When the show premiered in 1985, White was a natural as the innocent, kind-hearted Rose Nylund—who considered herself a wild woman because she dared to eat raw cookie dough. White cleverly imbued Rose with a gullible naïveté, letting her serve as the foil for Dorothy’s barbs and Blanche‘s eye rolls. Whether telling yet another St. Olaf story or doing one of her many selfless deeds, Rose just “wasn’t one to blow [her] own vertubenflugen.” And it was precisely that mix of humility, sweetness and loyalty that endeared her to viewers for decades.
A Beverly Hills High School graduate, White was as savvy in real life as Rose was seemingly dim-witted, and she enjoyed a decades-long career in Hollywood that continued to flourish when so many of her peers found the opportunities disappear when they reached a certain age.
White started her television career while just a teenager—dancing “the Merry Widow Waltz” on an experimental TV show in 1939, when the medium was still in its infancy—and never really stopped. In fact, she entered the Guinness World Record book in 2014 as the holder for “longest TV career for an entertainer (female).”
As a young actress filled with ambition and tenacity, she landed a spot in a Parkay margarine commercial after reportedly hanging around the office of producer Fran Van Hartesveldt until he caved and offered her a job. She later spent six days a week on the Al Jarvis variety show Hollywood on Television. That led to her producing her own sitcom, which she also starred in, called Life With Elizabeth. It was a feat that was as rare then as it is now, and she earned her first Emmy nomination for the work—just two years after the awards show came into existence.
Later, she had two versions—one a sitcom, one a talk show—of The Betty White Show, starred in The Mary Tyler Moore Show playing the man-crazy Happy Homemaker Sue Ann Nivens, and was a staple on game shows like Password and Match Game. She also had a chance to work with her future Golden Girls cohorts in the years before the iconic show’s debut, earning a few guest spots on Maude with Bea Arthur, and starring alongside Rue McClanahan in Mama’s Family. White said one of the favorite shows she ever worked on was The Pet Set, which she wrote, produced and starred in. She reportedly could feature any creatures she wanted on the show, a huge bonus for the lifelong animal lover and animal welfare advocate. Read more from Time
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The following written content by Maureen Mackey
What was the secret to her longevity? Betty White’s secret to a long, happy, healthy life (Hint: it came from her mom)
In an exclusive statement shared with Fox News Digital on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021, about how she stays happy and healthy — and what keeps her going — she captured so much in such a succinct couple of lines.
“I’ve always been a cockeyed optimist,” Betty White told Fox News. “I got it from my mom. I’m gonna stick with it.”
White was born the only child of her “beloved mother,” homemaker Christine Tess, and her dad, Horace Logan White, a lighting company executive.
As so many millions of American know, the native of Oak Park, Ill., has enjoyed great success in radio, TV, and film over a career that’s spanned more than 75 years.
She’s been called “America’s Sweetheart” and the “First Lady of Television.”
She was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1995, the same year she earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
She’s won eight Emmy Awards in a variety of categories, plus many other awards over the years.
White is best known for her television sitcom roles on “Hot in Cleveland” (2010-2014), “The Golden Girls” (1985-1992), and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” (1970-1977).
She’s also a dedicated animal lover, as well as the author of a number of books.
As Betty White prepares to celebrate her birthday very soon, here are a few of her other great one-liners and wise witticisms she’s delivered over the years, in a variety of venues (some of these are from her 2011 book, “If You Ask Me (and Of Course You Won’t”).
—”I don’t have a sweet tooth, but I do have a cocktail before dinner. I also love French fries and hot dogs.”
—”It’s fun to show appreciation to the ones you love.”
—”So you may not be as fast on your feet, and the image in your mirror may be a little disappointing, but if you are still functioning and not in pain, gratitude should be the name of the game.”
—”Anger tears me up inside … My own … or anyone else’s.”
—”I think older women still have a full life.”
—”I get bored with people who complain about this or that. It’s such a waste of time.”
—”I have no idea what color [my hair] really is, and I never intend to find out.”
—”It is important that you not believe your own publicity. Be grateful for whatever praise you receive, but take it with a grain of salt.”
—”If you live without passion, you can go through life without any footprints.” Read more from Fox.
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