Actress Betty White, who capped a career of more than 80 years by becoming America’s geriatric sweetheart after Emmy-winning roles on television sitcoms The Golden Girls and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, died on Friday, less than three weeks shy of her 100th birthday.
The agent, Jeff Witjas, told People magazine: “Even though Betty was about to be 100, I thought she would live forever.” No cause was cited. She won another Emmy in 1986 for The Golden Girls, a sitcom about four older women living together in Miami that featured an age demographic rarely highlighted on American television.
White also was nominated for an Emmy six other times for her portrayal of the widowed Rose Nylund, a sweet, naive and ditzy Midwesterner, on the show, which ran from 1985 to 1992 and was one of the top-rated series of its time.
After a less successful sequel to The Golden Girls came a series of small movie parts, talk-show appearances and one-off television roles, including one that won her an Emmy for a guest appearance on The John Larroquette Show.
By 2009 she was becoming ubiquitous with more frequent television appearances and a role in the Sandra Bullock film The Proposal. She starred in a popular Snickers candy commercial that aired during the Super Bowl, taking a brutal hit in a mud puddle in a football game.
A young fan started a Facebook campaign to have White host Saturday Night Live and she ended up appearing in every sketch on the show and winning still another Emmy for it.
The Associated Press voted her entertainer of the year in 2010 and a 2011 Reuters/Ipsos poll found that White, then 89, was the most popular and trusted celebrity in America with an 86% favorability rating.
White’s witty and brassy demeanor came in handy as host of Betty White’s Off Their Rockers, a hidden-camera show in which elderly actors pulled pranks on younger people.
The world looks different now. She was great at defying expectation. She managed to grow very old and somehow, not old enough. We’ll miss you, Betty. Now you know the secret. pic.twitter.com/uevwerjobS
— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) December 31, 2021
“Who would ever dream that I would not only be this healthy, but still be invited to work?” White said in a 2015 interview with Oprah Winfrey.
White, who had no children, worked for animal causes. She once turned down a role in the movie “As Good as It Gets” because of a scene in which a dog was thrown in a garbage chute.
Y’all, with the passing of #BettyWhite we have lost one of the best humans ever!
— LeVar Burton (@levarburton) December 31, 2021
She looked forward to her milestone birthday, writing on Twitter just three days before her death, “My 100th birthday … I cannot believe it is coming up.”
Can we as a collective agree in solidarity to start 2022 by rounding off #bettywhite‘s age to 100 instead of “Died at 99”? Coz we were all rooting for her to get to 100 which would have been in 17 days anyway.
— Kare 🇰🇪🏳️🌈🇿🇦 (@Homo_diaries) January 1, 2022
Source: Reuters
In other news – Mampintsha releases VIDEO amid Babes Wodumo and Makhadzi drama
Babes Wodumo, Mampintsha and Makhadzi have been trending on social media from yesterday after Babes went ranting on Makhadzi accusing her of bedding her hubby, Mandla ‘Mampintsha’ Maphumulo.
Makhadzi took to social media to address Babes’ allegations denying that she had slept with her husband. Learn more
