What would you give to live to be 70? 80? 90?
What would you give to be like the effervescent Betty White at astounding age 91?
Betty White is one of the all-time most beloved American celebrities -- actress, comedienne, singer, author, animal rights activist, television and movie personality. A 2011 poll conducted by Reuters and Ipsos revealed that White is considered to be the most popular and most trusted celebrity among Americans, and in 2012, she won her first Grammy at age 90 for the audio version of her best-selling book.
Betty White has blessed our hearts and homes via TV and movies for nine decades in roles you no doubt remember, including Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Rose Nylund, and she is the only living survivor of The Golden Girls, complementing not only her most recent roles on Hot in Cleveland and host of her latest hit series, Betty White's Off Their Rockers. Hello! That’s a lotta years of stardom!
As if that wasn’t enough notoriety for one woman, according to Wikipedia: “White has won a Grammy as well as seven Emmy Awards (six for acting), receiving 21 Emmy nominations over the course of her career, including being the first woman ever to receive an Emmy for game show hosting (for the short-lived Just Men!) and she is the only person to have an Emmy in all female performing comedic categories.
In May 2010, White became the oldest person to guest-host Saturday Night Live, for which she also received a Primetime Emmy Award. White also holds the record for longest span between Emmy nominations for performances – her first was in 1951 and her most recent was in 2012, a span of 61 years – and has become the oldest nominee as of 2012, aged 90. She has made regular appearances on the game shows Password and Match Game and played recurring roles on Mama's Family, Boston Legal, The Bold and the Beautiful, That 70's Show, and Community.” Holla!
Born January 17, 1922 as Betty Marion White, this superstar is an American icon who began her television career only three months after her high school graduation in 1939. From hosting and producing her first daily talk show, The Betty White Show, on NBC, in 1954 to her 60’s and 70’s fame as hostess and commentator on the annual Tournament of Roses Parade broadcast on NBC, Bette White has consistently maintained a special place in our hearts, and as a beloved celebrity guest on the game show Password, from 1961 through 1975. She not only won our hearts but the heart of the show's host, Allen Ludden, who she married in 1963. Ludden was White's forever love.
Deemed “The First Lady of Gameshows”, in 1983, White became the first woman to win an Emmy Award in the category of Outstanding Game Show Host. From 1985 thru 2000, White went on to star as the terminally naïve Rose in the popular sitcom, Golden Girls.
Betty White’s career continued to blossom through the years, with roles in not only television but movie productions. Unlike anything that one could have imagined, a grassroots social media (Facebook) phonomenon occurred, catapulting White to the forefront and snagging her a guest-host appearance on SNL (Saturday Night Life) on May 8, 2010, at the age of 88 – making her the oldest person to host the show – and earning White yet another Emmy win for the 2010 Primetime Emmy Award for outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series. Not too shabby for an old broad!
According to Wikipedia, “In September 2009, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) announced plans to honor White with the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award at the 16th Screen Actors Guild Awards. Sandra Bullock presented White with the award on January 23, 2010, at the ceremony, which took place at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. She is a Kentucky Colonel. In 2009, White and her now-deceased Golden Girls cast mates Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan, and Estelle Getty were awarded honorary Disney Legend awards. Betty was inducted into the California Hall of Fame in December 2010. In 2010 she was chosen as the Associated Press's Entertainer of the Year.”
Betty White continues to make guest appearances on Leno, Letterman, and Fallon. She continues to actively pursue animal rights. She keeps on keeping on – and is an inspiration to all – not just us “oldies” but all generations.
God Bless You, Betty White, and may you keep on keeping on for as long as humanly possible – and keeping us all remembering to live our lives to the fullest, as you do.
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