Betty White was a television mainstay for more than 60 years, from her time as a man- crazy TV hostess on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" to her time as a loopy housemate on "The Golden Girls." She was 99 years old.
Jeff Witjas, White's agent, confirmed her death in a phone call with Pam Golum. White would have been 100 years old on January 17, 2022.
She began her TV career in daytime talk shows when the medium was still in its infancy and lasted well into the age of cable and streaming. Her combination of sweet and edginess made her a perfect foil for quirky characters in shows from the sitcom "Life With Elizabeth" in the early 1950s to "The Golden Girls" in the 1980s to "Boston Legal" in 2004.
White's fame exploded in 2010 as never before.
She impersonated an energy-sapped football player in a Snickers commercial that aired during the Super Bowl.
One of his friends said that he was playing like Betty White. White was covered in mud and was flat on the ground.
The campaign to get Betty White to host SNL was sparked by the video, which had over half a million fans, and led to her co-hosting the show on Mother's Day weekend. The appearance was nominated for an award.
The first original scripted series on TV Land was called "Hot In Cleveland", which starredValerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves and Wendie Malick as three past- their-prime show-biz veterans who move to Cleveland to escape the youth obsession. White was supposed to play a character in the pilot episode who was meant to be looked after by an elderly Polish widow.
White stole the show, and the salty Elka Ostrovsky became a key part of the series. She was the Entertainer of the Year by The Associated Press.
White said that the honor was ridiculous. I hope they never catch on to me.
White had become the hippest star around, but also a role model for how to grow old joyously.
She told The AP to not try to be young. Don't be afraid to open your mind. Stay interested. There are many things I won't find out about, but I'm still curious about them.
In January 2012 NBC aired a star- studded prime-time special about Betty White's 90th birthday. She gave voice toBitey White in "Toy Story 4," and later appeared in "Bones" and "Fireside chat with Esther."
White's skill at playing naughty and nice kept her youthful. The horror spoof Lake Placid and the comedy The Proposal were marked by her characters' salty language. Her character killed a man with a skillet.
She almost wasn't cast as "Happy Homemaker" Sue Ann Nivens in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" in 1973. She and her husband were close friends of Moore and her husband. It was feared that if White failed on the show, it would be a huge embarrassment for all four. White was declared the logical choice by Winant. The role of Sue Ann was originally planned as a one-shot appearance, but ended up being a comedy about Martha Stewart.
White once said that Sue is a type of piranha. She won two Emmys for her role in the comedy series.
White starred in NBC's "The Golden Girls" in 1985. The cast of mature actresses, playing single women in Miami retirement, presented a gamble in a youth-conscious industry. It lasted until 1992.
Rose was a gentle, dim widow who was able to misinterpret most situations. She used to tell her roommates crazy stories of childhood in a fictional Minnesota town.
She reprised the role in a spinoff called "The Golden Palace."
White said that Arthur taught her how to be brave in playing comedy. I will miss that courage.
White had a number of TV shows, including "Just Men," a game show in which women tried to predict answers to questions directed to male celebrities, and "Mama's Family," in which Vicki Lawrence was the irascible mother.
She won a fourth prime time Emmy in 1996 for a guest shot on "The John Larroquette Show."
She made her film debut as a female U.S. senator in Otto Preminger's 1962 Capitol Hill drama "Advise and Consent."
White began her television career as a sidekick to a local Los Angeles TV personality. She was hired to work on a local daytime show that starred the best-known disc jockey in Los Angeles.
She was given a tip to lie about her age.
She said in an interview with The Associated Press that we are so old in this country. It is the way we are. I was told to take four years off. You will be blessing yourself down the road.
I was born in 1922. I thought I had to remember that I was born in 1926. I would have to do the math. Finally, I decided to fight it.
White was a good choice for the new medium. She was bright, pretty and likable. The Los Angeles Times said that Betty White was TV's Busiest Gal.
She did that show for 412 years. Eddie Albert replaced her as the show's leader when he went to Europe for the film Roman Holiday.
She won her first Emmy for her syndicated series, "Life With Elizabeth", which she created. She did interviews on the Betty White Show in the daytime and also filmed the show at night and appeared on a late-night talk show. She narrated the Pasadena Rose Parade every year.
She was a welcome guest on a number of game shows, including "I've Got a Secret," "To Tell the Truth," "What's My Line" and "Million Dollar Password."
In 1961, she starred in the comedy "Critic's Choice" with a widower with three children, and the next year she toured in summer theater during television's off season.
White, who had claimed to be single since 1947, lost her determination.
She told a reporter that she would never get married again. Allen was ahead of me. The children got in the act when he started in. I surrendered willingly.
His death from cancer in 1981 ended the marriage.
White raised money for animal causes off-screen. She hosted and produced a syndicated TV show called "The Pet Set", in which celebrities brought their dogs and cats. She wrote a 1983 book titled "Betty White's Pet Love: How Pets Take Care of Us" and a book in 2011.
She declined a plum role in the 1997 movie "As Good As It Gets" because she was so devoted to her pets. Jack Nicholson dropped a small dog down a laundry chute.
In her book, White explained the origins of her love for dogs. Her dad made radios to make extra money. He traded his radios for dogs, which were kept in the backyard, at times numbering as many as 15 and made White's happy childhood even happier.
Is there any animal she doesn't like?
White told the AP that was not true. Anything with a leg on each corner.
What about snakes?
I love snakes!
She was born in Oak Park, Illinois, and her family moved to Los Angeles when she was a toddler.
She told The Associated Press in 2015 that her parents never drew a straight line. We sat around the breakfast table kicking it around. My dad was a salesman and he would make fun of himself. He would say, Sweetheart, you can go to school with that one. We had a wonderful time, but I wouldn't take this one.
She wrote her graduation play when she wanted to be a writer.
She was an actress at Beverly Hills High School. Her parents wanted her to go to college, but instead she took roles in a small theater and played in radio dramas.
She explained in 2011 that she only needed four hours of sleep each night because she kept up her frantic pace as an elderly woman.
She said that she made it her business to get along with people so she could have fun. It is that simple.
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Lynn Elber and Bob Thomas were contributors.
