Betty White
Betty Marion Ludden (née White; January 17, 1922 – December 31, 2021) was an American actress and comedian.[1][2] A pioneer of early television with a career spanning almost seven decades, she was noted for her vast number of television appearances acting in sitcoms, sketch comedy, and game shows. She produced and starred in the series Life with Elizabeth (1953–1955), thus becoming the first woman to produce a sitcom.[3]
Betty White
December 31, 2021 (aged 99)
Betty Marion White Ludden
- Actress
- comedian
1939–2021
After moving from radio to television, White became a staple panelist of American game shows such as Password, Match Game, Tattletales, To Tell the Truth, The Hollywood Squares, and The $25,000 Pyramid. Dubbed "the first lady of game shows", she became the first woman to receive the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host for the show Just Men! in 1983.[4] She then became more widely known for her guest and recurring appearances on shows such as The Carol Burnett Show, Mama's Family, The Bold and the Beautiful and Boston Legal.
White's biggest roles include Sue Ann Nivens on the CBS sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1973–1977), Rose Nylund on the NBC sitcom The Golden Girls (1985–1992), and Elka Ostrovsky on the TV Land sitcom Hot in Cleveland (2010–2015). She had a late career resurgence when she starred in the romantic comedy film The Proposal (2009) and hosted Saturday Night Live the following year, garnering her a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series. The 2018 documentary Betty White: First Lady of Television detailed her life and career.[5][6]
For her lengthy work in radio, television, and film, White twice earned the Guinness World Record for the longest TV career by a female entertainer in both 2014 and 2018.[7][8] She received various awards and nominations, including seven Emmy Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Grammy Award.[9] She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1995.[10]
Early life
Betty Marion White was born in Oak Park, Illinois, on January 17, 1922.[11] She later clarified that "Betty" was her legal name and not a shortened version of "Elizabeth" as some people had assumed.[12][13] She was the only child of housewife Christine Tess (née Cachikis) and lighting company executive Horace Logan White.[14][15] Her father was from Michigan.[16] White's maternal grandfather was Greek, her paternal grandfather was Danish, both of her grandmothers were Canadians of English descent, and her other ancestry included Welsh.[17][18][19] When she was one year old, her family moved to Alhambra, California, and later to Los Angeles during the Great Depression.[20][21] To make extra money, her father built crystal radios and sold them wherever he could. Since it was the height of the Depression and hardly anyone had a sizable income, he would trade the radios for other goods, which sometimes included dogs.[22]
White was educated in Beverly Hills,[23] where she attended Horace Mann Elementary School and Beverly Hills High School, graduating from the latter in 1939. Her interest in wildlife was sparked by family vacations to the Sierra Nevada. She initially aspired to become a forest ranger, but was unable to do so because women were not allowed to serve as rangers at the time.[22][24] She instead pursued an interest in writing; she wrote and played the lead in a graduation play at Horace Mann School and discovered her interest in performing.[25] Inspired by her idols Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy,[26] she decided to pursue a career as an actress.[14]
One month after White graduated from high school, she and a classmate sang songs from The Merry Widow on an experimental television show, at a time when the medium of television itself was still in development.[27][28][25][29] She found work as a model, and her first professional acting job was at the Bliss Hayden Little Theatre. After the U.S. entered World War II in 1941, she volunteered for the American Women's Voluntary Services. Her assignment included driving a PX truck with military supplies to the Hollywood Hills. She also participated in events for troops before they were deployed overseas.[30] Commenting on her wartime service, she later said that it was "a strange time and out of balance with everything".[30]
Death
On December 25, 2021, White suffered a stroke.[125][126] On the morning of December 31, she died in her sleep at her home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles at the age of 99.[127] Her remains were cremated.[114]
White's death was met with statements of sympathy and tributes from many people and organizations around the world. The United States Army released a statement as White had volunteered with the American Women's Voluntary Services during World War II.[128] The Martin Luther King Jr. Center also offered their condolences and praised White for her early support of racial equality.[129] There were additional tributes from numerous media organizations,[130] entertainers,[131][132] political commentators,[133] sports teams,[134] politicians,[135] and other public figures.[131] White's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was flooded with flowers and tributes within hours of the announcement of her death.[136]
White's two California homes in Brentwood and Carmel were sold in April and June 2022 respectively, with her personal belongings sold at auction that September and proceeds donated to several charities.[137] Her estate also donated a substantial portion of her television memorabilia to the National Comedy Center, including wardrobe pieces, annotated notes, and five of her Emmy Awards.[138]
Causes and advocacy
Animal welfare
White was a pet enthusiast and animal welfare advocate, who worked with organizations including the Los Angeles Zoo Commission, The Morris Animal Foundation, African Wildlife Foundation, and Actors and Others for Animals. Her interest in animal welfare began in the early 1970s while she was producing and hosting the syndicated series The Pet Set, which spotlighted celebrities and their pets.[33][139] As of 2009, White was the president emerita of the Morris Animal Foundation, where she served as a trustee of the organization beginning in 1971.[33] She was a member of the board of directors of the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association since 1974.[33] Additionally, White served the association as a Zoo Commissioner for eight years.[33]
According to the Los Angeles Zoo & Botanical Garden's ZooScape member newsletter, White hosted "History on Film" from 2000 to 2002. White donated nearly $100,000 to the zoo in the month of April 2008 alone.[140] White served as a judge at the 2011 American Humane Hero Dog Awards ceremony.[141]
White served as a judge alongside Whoopi Goldberg and Wendy Diamond for American Humane's Hero Dog Awards on the Hallmark Channel on November 8, 2011.[142]
Racial equality
In 1954, as The Betty White Show became national across the United States, White was criticized by many in the Southern states for having Arthur Duncan, a Black tap dancer, on her variety show and was asked to remove him. In the 2018 documentary Betty White: First Lady of Television, White recalled threats to take the show off-air "if we didn't get rid of Arthur, because he was Black." She refused, saying "he stays, live with it".[143]
In 2017, sixty-three years after the show was canceled, Duncan appeared as a surprise guest on the series premiere of the reality talent series Little Big Shots: Forever Young, where he performed and reunited with White, later thanking her again for her support.[144]
LGBT rights
A supporter and advocate of LGBT rights, White said in 2010, "If a couple has been together all that time – and there are gay relationships that are more solid than some heterosexual ones – I think it's fine if they want to get married. I don't know how people can get so anti-something. Mind your own business, take care of your affairs, and don't worry about other people so much."[145] In a 2011 interview, she revealed that she always knew her close friend Liberace was gay and that she sometimes accompanied him to premieres to help him hide it.[62]
Discography
In September 2011, White teamed up with English singer Luciana to produce a remix of her song "I'm Still Hot". The song was released digitally on September 22 and the video later premiered on October 6.[146] It was made for a campaign for a life settlement company, The Lifeline Program, and it is her only commercial single to date, peaking at number 1 on the Dance Club Songs chart. White also covered songs on her live television shows, such as "Nevertheless I'm in Love with You", "It's a Good Day", "Getting to Know You" and "A 'No' That Sounds like 'Yes'".[147]