I’ve always found some celebrities intriguing. That’s momentous considering that I view Hollywood and most celebrities in general as overpaid, overtly worshiped, and poor role modeling persons who lack genuine talent. It seems if you have a pretty face, or you have stage charm, someone in the entertainment business will churn you like replicated Barbie dolls out into the media world and exploit your earning potential. Honestly, why does the paparazzi follow these people night and day like they are earthly gods when those who serve our country and die for our freedom get the cold shoulder and poor salaries?
Even with that in mind, some celebrities do catch our hearts and seize our adoration for their admirable works. One of them is Betty White. I believe wholeheartedly it is because she still holds onto a fragment of the passing in history when people didn’t sleep around to gain attention; they didn’t act like jackasses in public, and didn’t squander their money away on foolish enterprises. Betty White looks and acts eerily similar to my dear late great aunt Shirley, who just passed away a few months ago. I sure miss her so! Betty White is only a year older than Shirley was too.
Who is this talented artist who has aged gracefully before our eyes throughout the decades? The following facts will flesh this inquiry out. Since there is so much information out there on Betty White, I have decided to condense this information into bulleted text. These are the facts I found most noteworthy.
* Betty White was born in Oak Park, Illinois, U.S.A., January 17, 1922.
* Betty White has been married three times: Dick Barker, a U.S. Army Air Corps pilot in 1945; Lane Allen, a Hollywood agent in 1947; and Allen Ludden in 1963.
* Betty White attended public schools in Beverly Hills, California. She had an average upbringing!
* Betty White’s most popular film for which she had a leading role: Advise and Consent, 1962.
* Betty White has starred in 12 TV series:
1953-55 Life With Elizabeth
1954-58 The Betty White Show
1957-58 A Date with the Angels
1970-77 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
1971 The Pet Set
1977-78 The Betty White Show
1979 The Best Place to Be
1980 The Gossip Columnist
1985-92 The Golden Girls
1992-93 The Golden Palace
1993 Bob
1995- Maybe This Time
* Betty White never had any children and has been a widow since 1981.
* Betty White is a vegetarian.
* Betty White was offered the role of Helen Hunt’s mother in “As Good as It Gets,” but turned it down because she objected to the treatment of the dog in the film.
* Betty White is a leading contributor to charities, most notably for animal rights.
* Betty White has published two books:
Betty White in Person. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1987.
Here We Go Again: My Life in Television. New York: Scribners, 1995.
* Betty White was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1995.
* Betty White won the 46th Annual Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award.
* At age 88, Betty White is the oldest person to host SNL.
SEE VIDEOS OF BETTY WHITE ON SNL
* When WW II broke, Betty White joined the American Women’s Volunteer Service. Her acting career took a hiatus.
* Betty White is the president emerita of the Morris Animal Foundation.
* The American Veterinary Medical Association awarded Betty White with its Humane Award in 1987 for her charitable work with animals.
* Betty was the first woman to ever receive an Emmy for hosting a game show.
* As I am sure you already know, Horace L. White, Betty White’s father, was a traveling salesman and electrical engineer.
* Betty White’s nickname given to her by her family is ‘Betz’.
* Female TV roles in the 1950’s typically portrayed women with plunging necklines and scored ratings with their sex appeal. Betty White shattered conventional cookie-cutter female stereotypes by wearing neck-hugging attire and was still considered America’s Sweetheart and a heart throb to many bachelors.
SEE BETTY WHITE ON THE MERV GRIFFIN SHOW IN 1966
SEE BETTY WHITE ON THE LIAR’S CLUB IN 1969
Do you know what is so amazing? Betty White aged gracefully despite the rigors and awesome pressures of being in the Hollywood spotlight. She is the same woman today as she was 60 years or so ago. The same unique and giddy laugh and voice resonates from her mouth then and now, making it seem that your eyes are playing tricks on you because she obviously doesn’t look the same today as she did many decades ago. She is a true American treasure and television icon!
