Betty Marion White was born inOak Park, Illinois, on January 17, 1922.[11] She later clarified that "Betty" was her legal name, rather than 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 fromMichigan.[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 toAlhambra, California, and later toLos Angeles during theGreat Depression.[20][21] To make extra money, her father builtcrystal 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 inBeverly Hills,[23] where she attended Horace Mann Elementary School andBeverly Hills High School, graduating from the latter in 1939. Her interest in wildlife was sparked by family vacations to theSierra Nevada. She initially aspired to become aforest 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 idolsJeanette MacDonald andNelson 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 fromThe Merry Widow on an experimental television show, at a time when the medium of television itself was still in development.[25][27][28][29] She found work as a model, and her first professional acting job was at the Bliss Hayden Little Theatre. After the U.S. enteredWorld War II in 1941, she volunteered for theAmerican Women's Voluntary Services. Her assignment included driving aPX truck with military supplies to theHollywood 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]
Career
1951–1969: Early career and breakthrough
First episode ofLife with Elizabeth
After the war, White made the rounds to movie studios looking for work, but was turned down because she was "not photogenic".[31] She started to look for radio jobs, where being photogenic did not matter.[31] Her first radio jobs included reading commercials and playing bit parts, and sometimes even doing crowd noises.[31] She made about five dollars a show. She would do just about anything, like singing on a show for no pay.[14] She appeared on shows such asBlondie,The Great Gildersleeve, andThis Is Your FBI. She was then offered her own radio show, calledThe Betty White Show.[32]In 1949, she began appearing as co-host with Al Jarvis on his dailylive television variety showHollywood on Television, originally calledMake Believe Ballroom, onKFWB and then onKLAC-TV (now KCOP-TV) in Los Angeles.[33][29]
White began hosting the show by herself in 1952 after Jarvis's departure,[33] spanning five and a half hours of livead lib television six days per week, over a continuous four-year span. In all of her various variety series over the years, White would sing at least a couple of songs during each broadcast. In 1951, she was nominated for her firstEmmy Award as "Best Actress" on television, competing withJudith Anderson,Helen Hayes, andImogene Coca; the award went toGertrude Berg. At this point, the award was for body of work, with no shows named in nominations.[34]
White onThe Betty White Show in 1954
The Betty White Show (1952–1954)
From 1952 to 1954, White hosted and produced her own daily talk/variety show,The Betty White Show, first on KLAC-TV and then onNBC (her first television, but second show to feature that title).[33] Like her sitcom, she had creative control over the series, and was able to hire a female director.[35] In a first for American network variety television, her show featured an African-American performer,[36] but the show faced criticism for the inclusion of tap dancerArthur Duncan as a regular cast member. The criticism followed when NBC expanded the show nationally. LocalSouthern stations in theJim Crow era threatened to boycott unless Duncan was removed from the series.[37] In response, White said "I'm sorry. Live with it", and gave Duncan more airtime.[35][38] Initially a ratings success, the show repeatedly changed time slots and suffered lower viewership. By the end of the year, NBC quietly cancelled the series.[39]
Life with Elizabeth (1953–1955)
In 1952, the same year that she began hostingHollywood on Television, White co-founded Bandy Productions with writerGeorge Tibbles andDon Fedderson, a producer.[33] The trio worked to create new shows using existing characters from sketches shown onHollywood on Television. White, Fedderson, and Tibbles created thetelevision comedyLife with Elizabeth, with White portraying thetitle character.[33] The show was originally a live production onKLAC-TV in 1951, and won White aLos Angeles Emmy Award in 1952.[33][12][29][40]Life with Elizabeth was nationallysyndicated from 1953 to 1955, allowing White to become one of the few women in television with full creative control in front of and behind the camera.[33] The show was unusual for a sitcom in the 1950s because it was co-produced and owned by a twenty-eight-year-old woman who still lived with her parents. White said they did not worry about relevance in those days, and that usually the incidents were based on real-life situations that happened to her,Del Moore (who played Alvin), and the writer.[14] White also performed in television advertisements seen on live television in Los Angeles, including a rendition of the "Dr. Ross Dog Food" advertisement atKTLA during the 1950s. She guest-starred onThe Millionaire in the 1956 episode "The Virginia Lennart Story", as the owner of a small-town diner who receives an anonymous gift of $1 million.[33]
Following the end ofLife with Elizabeth, she appeared as Vicki Angel on theABC sitcomDate with the Angels from 1957 to 1958.[41] As originally intended, the show, loosely based on theElmer Rice playDream Girl, would focus on Vicki's daydreaming tendencies. However, the sponsor was not pleased with the fantasy elements and was pressured to have them eliminated. "I can honestly say that was the only time I have ever wanted to get out of a show", White later said.[39] The sitcom was a critical and rating disaster, but ABC would not allow White to break her contractual agreement and required her to fill the remaining thirteen weeks in their deal. Instead of a retooled version of the sitcom, White rebooted her old talk/variety show,The Betty White Show, which aired until her contract was fulfilled.[39]
The sitcom did give White some positive experiences: she first metLucille Ball while working on it, as bothDate With the Angels andI Love Lucy were filmed on the sameCulver Studios lot. The two quickly struck up a friendship over their accomplishments in taking on the male-dominated television business of the 1950s. They relied on one another through divorce, illness, personal loss, and even competed against one another on various game shows.[42][43] In July 1959, White made her professional stage debut in a week-long production of the play,Third Best Sport, at the Ephrata Legion Star Playhouse inEphrata, Pennsylvania.[44]
Game and talk show appearances
By the 1960s, White was a staple of network game shows and talk shows: including bothJack Paar's and laterJohnny Carson's tenure onThe Tonight Show. She made many appearances on the hitPassword show as a celebrity guest from 1961 through 1975. She married the show's host,Allen Ludden, in 1963.[33] She subsequently appeared on the show's three updated versions,Password Plus,[45]Super Password,[46] andMillion Dollar Password.[47] White made frequent game show appearances onWhat's My Line? (starting in 1955),To Tell the Truth (in 1961, 1990, and 2015),I've Got a Secret (in 1972–73),[48]Match Game (1973–1982), andPyramid (starting in 1982).[49] She made her feature film debut as fictional Kansas Senator Elizabeth Ames Adams in the 1962 dramaAdvise & Consent;[50] in 2004, on talk showQ&A, hostBrian Lamb remarked on White's longevity as an actress besides the fact she was playing a strong female senator in 1962. He andDonald A. Ritchie noted that viewers would have seen the Senator Adams character to reflectMargaret Chase Smith.[51] In 1963, White starred in a production ofThe King and I at theSt. Louis Municipal Opera Theatre, withCharles Korvin co-starring as the king.[52]
NBC offered her an anchor job on their flagshipbreakfast television showToday. She turned the offer down because she did not want to move permanently to New York City (whereToday is produced). The job eventually went toBarbara Walters.[53] Through the 1950s and 1960s, White began a nineteen-year run as hostess and commentator on the annualRose Parade broadcast on NBC (co-hosting withRoy Neal and laterLorne Greene), and appeared on a number of late-night talk shows, including Jack Paar'sThe Tonight Show, and various other daytime game shows.[33]
White made several appearances in the fourth season (1973–74) ofThe Mary Tyler Moore Show, as the "man-hungry"Sue Ann Nivens.[33] "We need somebody who can play sickeningly sweet, like Betty White", Moore suggested at a production meeting, which resulted in the casting of White herself. Although considering the role a highlight of her career, White described the character's image as "icky sweet", feeling she was the very definition of feminine passivity, owing to the fact she always satirized her own persona onscreen in just such a way.[14]The Mary Tyler Moore Show's producers made Sue Ann Nivens a regular character and brought White into the main cast starting with the fifth season, afterValerie Harper, who playedRhoda Morgenstern, left the program.[54] Arunning gag was how Sue Ann's aggressive, cynical personality was the complete opposite of her relentlessly perky TV persona on the fictional WJM-TV show,The Happy Homemaker. White won two Emmy Awards back-to-back, in 1975 and 1976, for her role in the hugely popular series.[33]
Mary Tyler Moore and her husbandGrant Tinker were close friends with White and her husband Allen Ludden. In a 2010The Interviews: An Oral History of Television interview, Moore explained that producers, aware of Moore and White's friendship, were initially hesitant to audition White for the role, for fear that if she did not work out, it would create awkwardness between the two.[54]
In 1975, NBC replaced White as commentator hostess of the Tournament of Roses Parade, feeling that she was identified too heavily with rival network CBS'sThe Mary Tyler Moore Show. White admitted toPeople that it was difficult "watching someone else do my parade",[55] although she would soon start a ten-year run as hostess of theMacy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for CBS. Following the end ofThe Mary Tyler Moore Show in 1977, White was offered her own sitcom on CBS, her fourth, entitledThe Betty White Show[33] (the first of the name running a quarter century earlier), in which she co-starred withJohn Hillerman and formerMary Tyler Moore co-starGeorgia Engel. Running up againstMonday Night Football in its timeslot, the ratings were poor and it was canceled after one season.[56][57]
White appeared several times onThe Carol Burnett Show andThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson appearing in many sketches, and began guest-starring in a number of television movies and television miniseries, includingWith This Ring,The Best Place to Be,Before and After, andThe Gossip Columnist.[33] In 1983, White became the first woman to win aDaytime Emmy Award in the category ofOutstanding Game Show Host, for the NBC entryJust Men![58] Due to the amount of work she did on them, she was deemed the "First Lady of Game Shows".[59]
From 1983 to 1984, White had a recurring role playingEllen Harper-Jackson on the seriesMama's Family,[33] along with futureGolden Girls co-star Rue McClanahan. White had originated this character in a series of sketches onThe Carol Burnett Show in the 1970s.[60] In 1985, White scored her second signature role and the biggest hit of her career as theSt. Olaf, Minnesota nativeRose Nylund onThe Golden Girls.[33] The series chronicled the lives of four widowed or divorced women in their "golden years" who shared a home in Miami.The Golden Girls, which also starredBea Arthur,Estelle Getty, andRue McClanahan, was immensely successful and ran from 1985 through 1992. White won onePrimetime Emmy Award, for "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series", for the first season ofThe Golden Girls[33] and was nominated in that category every year of the show's run[60] (Getty was also nominated every year, but in the supporting actress category).[61]
White had a strained relationship with herThe Golden Girls co-starBea Arthur on and off the set of their television show, commenting that Arthur "was not that fond of me" and that "she found me a pain in the neck sometimes. It was my positive attitude – and that made Bea mad sometimes. Sometimes if I was happy, she'd be furious."[62][63] After Arthur's death in 2009, White said, "I knew it would hurt, I just didn't know it would hurt this much." Despite their differences,The Golden Girls was a positive experience for both actresses and they had great mutual respect for the show, their roles, and the achievements made as an ensemble cast.[64][65]
White was originally offered the role of Blanche inThe Golden Girls, and Rue McClanahan was offered the role of Rose (the two characters being similar to roles they had played inMary Tyler Moore andMaude, respectively).Jay Sandrich, the director of the pilot, suggested that since they had played similar roles in the past, they should switch roles, Rue McClanahan later said in a documentary on the series. White originally had doubts about her ability to play Rose, until Sandrich explained to her that Rose was "terminally naive". White says "if you told Rose you were so hungry you could eat a horse, she'd call theASPCA."[66]
The Golden Girls ended in 1992 after Arthur announced her decision to depart the series. White, McClanahan, and Getty reprised their roles as Rose, Blanche, and Sophia in the spin-offThe Golden Palace.[33] The series was short-lived, lasting only one season. In addition, White reprised her Rose Nylund character in guest appearances on the NBC showsEmpty Nest andNurses, both set in Miami.[33]
1993–2009: Continued roles
AfterThe Golden Palace ended,[33] White guest-starred on a number of television programs includingSuddenly Susan,The Practice, andYes, Dear where she received Emmy nominations for her individual appearances. She won an Emmy in 1996 forOutstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series, appearing as herself on an episode ofThe John Larroquette Show.[67] In that episode, titled "Here We Go Again", a parody onSunset Boulevard, a diva-like White convincesLarroquette to help write her memoir. At one point,Golden Girls co-stars McClanahan and Getty appear as themselves. Larroquette is forced to dress in drag as Bea Arthur, when all four appear in public as the "original" cast members.[60] White also appeared in films such asLake Placid (1999) andBringing Down the House (2003) during this time.
White at the premiere forThe Proposal in June 2009
In December 2006, White joined the soap operaThe Bold and the Beautiful in the role of Ann Douglas (where she would make 22 appearances), the long-lost mother of the show's matriarch,Stephanie Forrester, played bySusan Flannery.[68] She also began a recurring role in ABC'sBoston Legal from 2005 to 2008 as the calculating, blackmailing gossip-monger Catherine Piper, a role she originally played as a guest star onThe Practice in 2004.[33]
White appeared several times onThe Tonight Show with Jay Leno andThe Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson appearing in many sketches and returned toPassword in its latest incarnation,Million Dollar Password, on June 12, 2008, (episode #3), participating in the Million Dollar challenge at the end of the show. On May 19, 2008, she appeared onThe Oprah Winfrey Show, taking part in the host'sMary Tyler Moore Show reunion special alongside every surviving cast member of the series.Beginning in 2007, White was featured in television commercials forPetMed Express, highlighting her interest in animal welfare.[69]
Following the success of the Snickers advertisement, a grassroots campaign on Facebook called "Betty White to Host SNL (Please)" began in January 2010. The group was approaching 500,000 members when NBC confirmed on March 11, 2010, that White would in fact hostSaturday Night Live on May 8. The appearance made her, at age 88, the oldest person to host the show, beatingMiskel Spillman, the winner ofSNL's "Anybody Can Host" contest, who was 80 when she hosted in 1977.[73][74] In her opening monologue, White thanked Facebook and joked that she "didn't know what Facebook was, and now that I do know what it is, I have to say, it sounds like a huge waste of time."[21] The appearance earned her a 2010 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.[75] White andJean Smart are the only actresses to have wins in all three comedy Emmy categories.[76]
White with PresidentBarack Obama in the Oval Office, June 2012
In June 2010, White took on the role of Elka Ostrovsky, the house caretaker onTV Land's original sitcomHot in Cleveland along withValerie Bertinelli,Jane Leeves, andWendie Malick.Hot in Cleveland was TV Land's first attempt at a first-run scripted comedy (the channel hasrerun other sitcoms since its debut). White was only meant to appear in the pilot of the show but was asked to stay on for the entire series.[77] In 2011, she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award forOutstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Elka, but lost toJulie Bowen forModern Family.[78] The series ran for six seasons, a total of 128 episodes, with the hour-long final episode airing on June 3, 2015.[79]
White also starred in theHallmark Hall of Fame presentation ofThe Lost Valentine on January 30, 2011 (this presentation garnered the highest rating for aHallmark Hall of Fame presentation in the previous four years and according to theNielsen Media Research TV rating service won first place in the prime time slot for that date),[80] and from 2012 to 2014, White hosted and executive producedBetty White's Off Their Rockers, in which senior citizens play practical jokes on the younger generation.[81] For this show, she received three Emmy nominations.
A Betty White calendar for 2011 was published in late 2010. The calendar features photos from White's career and with various animals.[82] She also launched her own clothing line on July 22, 2010, which features shirts with her face on them. All proceeds go to various animal charities she supported.[83]
White at theLA Times Festival of Books in April 2012.
White's success continued in 2012 with her firstGrammy Award for Best Spoken Word Recording for her bestsellerIf You Ask Me. She also won theUCLAJack Benny Award for Comedy, recognizing her significant contribution to comedy in television, and wasroasted at theNew York Friars Club.[84] A television special,Betty White's 90th Birthday Party, aired on NBC a day before her birthday on January 16, 2012. The show featured appearances of many stars whom White worked with over the years as well as a message from then sitting presidentBarack Obama.[85] In January 2013, NBC once again celebrated White's birthday with a TV special featuring celebrity friends, including former presidentBill Clinton; the special aired on February 5.[86]
On August 18, 2018, White's career was celebrated in aPBS documentary calledBetty White: First Lady of Television.[88] The documentary was filmed over a period of ten years, and featured archived footage and interviews from colleagues and friends.[35] In 2019, White appeared inPixar'sToy Story 4, providing the voice of Bitey White, a toy tiger that was named after her.[89] The other toys she shared a scene with were named and played byCarol Burnett,Carl Reiner, andMel Brooks. White commented that "It was wonderful the way they incorporated our names into the characters ... And I'm a sucker for animals, so the tiger was perfect!"[89]
Following White's death, producers Steve Boettcher and Mike Trinklein of the event distributorsFathom Events announced in a Facebook post that the pre-filmed production would be going ahead as scheduled.[93]
TheAmerican Veterinary Medical Association awarded White with its Humane Award in 1987 for her charitable work with animals.[33] The City of Los Angeles further honored her for her philanthropic work with animals in 2006 with abronzecommemorative plaque near the Gorilla Exhibit at theLos Angeles Zoo.[33] The City of Los Angeles named her "Ambassador to the Animals" at the dedication ceremony.[33]
In September 2009, theScreen Actors Guild (SAG) announced plans to honor White with the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award at the16th Screen Actors Guild Awards. ActressSandra Bullock presented White with the award on January 23, 2010, at the ceremony, which took place at theShrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.[33] She was aKentucky Colonel.[100] In 2009, White and herGolden Girls cast mates Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan, and Estelle Getty were awardedDisney Legends awards. White was inducted into the California Hall of Fame in December 2010. In 2010, she was chosen as theAssociated Press's Entertainer of the Year.[101]
On November 9, 2010, theUSDA Forest Service, along withSmokey Bear, made White an honorary forest ranger, fulfilling her lifelong dream.[102][103] White said in previous interviews that she wanted to be a forest ranger as a little girl but that women were not allowed to do that then. When White received the honor, more than one-third of Forest Service employees were women.[104]
In January 2011, White received a SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series for her role asElka Ostrovsky inHot in Cleveland. The show itself was also nominated for an award as Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series, but it lost to the cast ofModern Family.[105] She won the same award again in 2012 and later received a third nomination.[106]
In October 2011, White was awarded an honorary degree and a white doctor's coat byWashington State University at the Washington State Veterinary Medical Association's centennial gala inYakima, Washington.[107]
A 2011 poll conducted byReuters andIpsos revealed that White was considered the most popular and most trusted celebrity among Americans, beating the likes ofDenzel Washington, Sandra Bullock, andTom Hanks.[108]
In 2017, after 70 years in the industry, White was invited to become a member of theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. At age 95, this made her the oldest new member at the time.[109]
In 2025, theUnited States Postal Service unveiled a new stamp that features White on it. It is a Forever stamp and features White with the words "Forever USA" under her.[110]
While volunteering with theAmerican Women's Voluntary Services, White metAir ForceP-38 pilot Dick Barker.[65][111] After the war, they were married in 1945 and moved toBelle Center, Ohio, where Barker owned a chicken farm; he wanted to embrace a simpler life, but White did not enjoy doing so. They returned to Los Angeles and divorced within a year.[60][112] She married Hollywoodtalent agent Lane Allen in 1947,[111] and they divorced in 1949 because he wanted to start a family but she wanted to focus on her career rather than having children.[113]
On June 14, 1963, White married television hostAllen Ludden, whom she had met as a celebrity guest on his game showPassword in 1961.[114] Her legal name was changed to Betty Marion Ludden.[115] He proposed to her at least twice before she accepted, and they remained married until he died fromstomach cancer in Los Angeles on June 9, 1981.[13] The couple appeared together in an episode ofThe Odd Couple featuring Felix's and Oscar's appearance onPassword.[116]
WriterJohn Steinbeck was in White and Ludden's group of high-profile friends, and White wrote about the friendship in her 2011 bookIf You Ask Me (And of Course You Won't). Ludden had attended the same school as actressElaine Anderson (Steinbeck's future wife) and Steinbeck later gave an early draft of hisNobel Prize in Literature acceptance speech to Ludden as a birthday gift.[53][117] The couple also had a close friendship with blind musician and motivational speakerTom Sullivan, whom they had met in 1968 while Sullivan was singing in a small club at the same time that White and Ludden were performing in a play onCape Cod.[118] White and Sullivan co-wrote a book,Leading Lady, about Sullivan's firstseeing eye dog, who lived with White after being retired.[118][119][120]
White and Ludden had no children together, though she was the stepmother of his three children with Margaret McGloin Ludden, who had died of cancer in 1961.[121][122] During an interview onLarry King Live, she was asked why she never remarried after Ludden's death. She replied, "Once you've had the best, who needs the rest?"[123] When asked byJames Lipton onInside the Actors Studio in 2010 what she would like God to say to her ifHeaven exists, she replied, "Come on in, Betty. Here's Allen."[124]
On December 25, 2021, White suffered astroke.[126][127] On the morning of December 31, she died in her sleep at her home in theBrentwood neighborhood ofLos Angeles at the age of 99.[128] Her remains werecremated.[115]
White's death was met with statements of sympathy and tributes from many people and organizations around the world. TheUnited States Army released a statement, as White had volunteered with theAmerican Women's Voluntary Services duringWorld War II.[129] TheMartin Luther King Jr. Center also offered their condolences and praised White for her early support of racial equality.[130] There were additional tributes from numerous media organizations,[131] entertainers,[132][133] political commentators,[134] sports teams,[135] politicians,[136] and other public figures.[132] White's star on theHollywood Walk of Fame was flooded with flowers and tributes within hours of the announcement of her death.[137]
White's two California homes in Brentwood andCarmel were sold in April and June 2022 respectively, with her personal belongings sold atauction that September and the proceeds donated to several charities.[138] Her estate also donated a substantial portion of her television memorabilia to theNational Comedy Center, including wardrobe pieces, annotated notes, and five of her Emmy Awards.[139]
Causes and advocacy
Animal welfare
White was a pet enthusiast andanimal welfare advocate, who worked with organizations including theLos Angeles Zoo Commission, TheMorris 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 seriesThe Pet Set, which spotlighted celebrities and their pets.[33][140] As of 2009, White was the presidentemerita of the Morris Animal Foundation, where she served as atrustee 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'sZooScape 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.[141] White served as a judge at the 2011American Humane Hero Dog Awards ceremony.[142]
In 1954, asThe Betty White Show became national across the United States, White was criticized by many in the Southern states for havingArthur Duncan, a Black tap dancer, on her variety show and was asked to remove him. In the 2018 documentaryBetty 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".[144]
In 2017, sixty-three years after the show was canceled, Duncan appeared as a surprise guest on the series premiere of the reality talent seriesLittle Big Shots: Forever Young, where he performed and reunited with White, later thanking her again for her support.[145]
LGBT rights
A supporter and advocate ofLGBT 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."[146] In a 2011 interview, she revealed that she always knew her close friendLiberace was gay and that she sometimes accompanied him to premieres tohelp him hide it.[62]
Discography
In September 2011, White teamed up with English singerLuciana 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.[147] It was made for a campaign for alife settlement company, The Lifeline Program, and it is her only commercial single to date, peaking at number 1 on theDance 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'".[148]
White published several books. In August 2010, she entered a deal withG.P. Putnam's Sons to produce two more books, the first of which,If You Ask Me (And of Course You Won't), was released in 2011.[149] In February 2012, White received aGrammy Award forBest Spoken Word Recording for the audio recording of the book.[150]
Books
Betty White's Pet-Love: How Pets Take Care of Us. W. Morrow. 1983.
^White, Betty (1995).Here we go again : my life in television. New York: Scribner. pp. 14–16.ISBN068480042X.The first time anybody paid me to show up on television was in the summer of 1949--forty-six years ago as of now. However for my initial performance on the tube, I have to go back some ten years earlier. It took place about two months before NBC did its first regular broadcast of the new medium at the New York World's Fair. It also happened to be about one month after I graduated from Beverly Hills High School in January of 1939, although that didn't make the papers ... Shortly after we graduated, our senior class president, Harry Bennett, and I were invited to take part in an experimental television transmission taking place at the old Packard Building in downtown Los Angeles. It was to be a capsule version of Franz Lehár's durable operetta The Merry Widow, which delighted me because my idol, Jeanette MacDonald, had once starred in the role on the screen.
^France, Lisa Respers (February 9, 2010)."Cool Betty White is red-hot".CNN.Archived from the original on January 19, 2015. RetrievedOctober 13, 2013.According to an oral history interview White conducted in 1994 for the Archive of American Television, she broke into the business three months after graduating from Beverly Hills High School in 1938 at an early age, as part of an experimental television show.
Tucker, David C. (2007).The Women Who Made Television Funny: Ten Stars of 1950s Sitcoms. Jefferson, NC: McFarland.ISBN978-0-7864-2900-4
Armstrong, Jennifer (2021).When women invented television: the untold story of the female powerhouses who pioneered the way we watch today. New York: Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers.ISBN978-0-06-297330-6.OCLC1241185819.
Bernstein, Paula (October 5, 2021).How to Be Golden: Lessons We Can Learn from Betty White. Running Press.ISBN978-0-7624-7460-8.
Stoner, Andrew E. (2012).Betty White: The First 90 Years. Blue River Press.ISBN978-1-935628-23-1.
External links
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