Betty White was one of those people that I thought would live forever. But the sad truth is we must all go at some point in our lives. At 99 years young, Betty White passed on peacefully in her sleep.
My most beloved Golden Girl is no longer on earth. But her smile, Witt, infectious positivity, and ability to stand up for her beliefs will continue to inspire me for the rest of my life.
Betty Marion White (Betty Marion Ludden) was born on January 17, 1922, and passed on December 31st, 2021. Seventeen days shy of her 100th birthday.
Animal lover, Actress, and Comedian; Betty White was a pioneer of early television and enjoyed a successful career spanning over eight decades.
A quick journey through her successful career:
- In the 1940’s worked in radio and was later given her show “The Betty White Show.”
She Co-hosted with D.J Al Jarvis 1949 “Hollywood on Television in Los Angeles.”
- In 1953 Life With Elizabeth debuted and, syndicated around the country, became an immediate hit, winning her first Emmy, which became naturally syndicated.
Betty White appeared as a celebrity player on Password’s daytime game show in 1961, hosted by Allen Ludden. (Allen proposed in 1963 and became her husband).
- 1970’s received nominations for second and third nominations while on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
- In 1983 she became the first woman to win a Daytime Emmy award for NBC show “Just Men.”
- 1985 to 1992 The loveable Rose Nylund on “The Golden Girls.” After the Golden Girls ended, she starred in a series of TV shows, including The Golden Palace (a spin-off of The Golden Girls minus Arthur), Bob, and Maybe This Time. She made cameos in programs including Ally McBeal and That ’70s Show, in which she played Bea Sigurdson, Kitty’s mother.
2005 to 2008 She appeared in Boston Legal.
- 2006 to 2009 The Bold and the Beautiful.
2010 she took on the role of Elka Ostrovsky in Hot in Cleveland.
- In 2011, 2012 and 2013 She was nominated three times for the Screen Actors Guild Award for outstanding performance by a female actor in a comedy series. She won the first two times.
I’m her entire career she was nominated for 21 Primetime Emmys, with five total wins.
Here are some of her sayings and quotes that I’ve enjoyed over the years — each with a lesson to inspire us.
- “Why do people say ‘grow some balls? ‘ Balls are weak and sensitive. If you wanna be tough, grow a vagina. Those things can take a pounding.”
“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.”
- “If you’re walking with your lady on the sidewalk, I still like to see a man walking street-side, to protect the lady from traffic … I still like to see a man open the door. I like those touches of chivalry that are fast disappearing.”
“I just make it my business to get along with people so I can have fun. It’s that simple.”
- “I just care what kind of a decent human being you are.”
“I have no regrets at all. None. I consider myself to be the luckiest broad on two feet.”
- “Well, I mean, if a joke or humor is bawdy, it’s got to be funny enough to warrant it. You can’t just have it bawdy or dirty just for the sake of being that – it’s got to be funny.”
“If one has no sense of humor, one is in trouble.”
- “I’ve worked with the Morris Animal Foundation for over 50 years, I’ve worked with the Los Angeles Zoo for over 50 years … at one point, I said nobody was addressing pain in animals… I said, okay, I’ll start it.”
“I had no idea that I would still be around at this point for one thing, but that I’d still be privileged enough to still be in this business.”
- “There’s no formula. Keep busy with your work and your life. Keep the person in your heart all the time. Replay the good times. Be grateful for the years you had.”
“I am interested in a lot of things – not just show business and my passion for animals. I try to keep current in what’s going on in the world.”
- “One thing they don’t tell you about growing old – you don’t feel old, you just feel like yourself. And it’s true. I don’t feel eighty-nine years old. I am simply eighty-nine years old.”
“I know unless I’m true to myself I couldn’t be happy. Too much emphasis is placed today on externals and too little on character.”
- “Butterflies are like women – we may look pretty and delicate, but baby, we can fly through a hurricane.”
“Friendship takes time and energy if it’s going to work. You can luck into something great, but it doesn’t last if you don’t give it proper appreciation.”
- “I think everybody needs a passion. Whether it’s one passion or a hundred, that’s what keeps life interesting.”
“You know people who are already saying, ‘I’m going to be 30 – oh, what am I going to do?’ Well, use that decade! Use them all!”
- “Don’t try to be young. Just open your mind. Stay interested in stuff. There are so many things I won’t live long enough to find out about, but I’m still curious about them.”
“It’s your outlook on life that counts. If you take yourself lightly and don’t take yourself too seriously, pretty soon you can find the humor in our everyday lives. And sometimes it can be a lifesaver.”
- “Animals are near and dear to my heart, and I’ve devoted my life to trying to improve their lives.”
“I always wanted to be a zookeeper when I was growing up, and I’ve wound up a zookeeper! … my life is divided absolutely in half – half animals and half show business. You can’t ask for better than two things you love the most.”
- “I’m not into animal rights. I’m only into animal welfare and health. I’ve been with the Morris Animal Foundation since the ’70s … I’ve worked with the L.A. Zoo for about the same length of time. I get my animal fixes!”
“Animals don’t lie. Animals don’t criticize. If animals have moody days, they handle them better than humans do.”
- “It’s fun once in a while to do a serious part but I really enjoy doing comedy because I love to laugh.”
“Why retire from something if you’re loving it so much and enjoying it so much … What would I do with myself?”
- “I think older women still have a full life.”
“My mother always used to say, ‘The older you get, the better you get. Unless you’re a banana.’”
- “My philosophy for staying young is [to] act bubbly every day, drink bubbly every birthday!”
“I know it sounds corny, but I try to see the funny side and the upside, not the downside. I get bored with people who complain about this or that. It’s such a waste of time.”
- “You don’t luck into integrity. You work at it.”
“I don’t seem to require a lot of sleep… If I get four, five good hours, I’m fine. But sleeping is sort of dull. There’s a lot of other good stuff that you can do without just lying down and closing your eyes.”
- “You can lie to anyone in the world and even get away with it, perhaps, but when you are alone and look into your own eyes in the mirror, you can’t sidestep the truth. Always be sure you can meet those eyes directly. Otherwise, it’s big trouble, my girl.”
“I was blessed with a mother and father who said “taste the good stuff now and realize how fortunate and how wonderful things are this minute because enough minutes are not wonderful that you have to save up all the good ones to make it balance out.”
- “Friendship takes time and energy if it’s going to work. You can luck into something great, but it doesn’t last if you don’t give it proper appreciation.”
“However, if one is lucky enough to be blessed with good health, growing older shouldn’t be something to complain about. It’s not a surprise, we knew it was coming—make the most of it. So you may not be as fast on your feet, and the image in your mirror may be a little disappointing, but if you are still functioning and not in pain, gratitude should be the name of the game.”
- “It is important that you not believe your own publicity. Be grateful for whatever praise you receive, but take it with a grain of salt.”
“A lady likes to be complimented on her looks, her eyes, her figure. But the personality comments are much appreciated.”
- “The bottom line is, I’m blessed with good health. On top of that, I don’t go around thinking ‘Oh, I’m 90, I better do this or I better do that.’ I’m just Betty. I’m the same Betty that I’ve always been. Take it or leave it.”
Sleep in peace Rose dearest — you will be dearly missed.
