Remembering Betty White
Celebrities
By Andrew Parker - January 4, 2022

Betty White, one of the most universally loved celebrities, passed away this past Friday. The “Golden Girls” star died at the age of 99, just a few weeks before what would have been her 100th birthday. She had a seven-decade career in Hollywood and appealed to almost every generation. She was an extremely hard worker for most of her life, and her final career role was Bitey, the stuffed tiger, in “Toy Story 4.” In a statement to The Post’s Michael Starr in 2018, White said, “I’m just grateful to be working and that starts at the beginning. When you start out you’re so grateful to have a job . . . and you carry that feeling through your whole career. At least I have.”

Getty Images/Getty Images Entertainment/Joe Scarnici

From the beginning of her career, the actress always showed us who true self. She was fun, bubbly, kind-hearted, and never faked a laugh. She enjoyed her line of work and everyone knew her name. her older fans might remember her from “The Betty White Show,” a variety talk program from 1954, which was the same year that “The Tonight Show” came out. She and Steve Allen were part of creating the format that doesn’t look much different than it did back then, which includes good banter, jokes, and a bandleader. but fans fell in love with her character Rose on “The Golden Girls.” It depicted her living with three other single women in Miami, Bea Arthur’s Dorothy, Rue McClanahan’s Blanche and Estelle Getty’s Sophia. They dated men, gossiped, and went against each other in talent shows.

Even after the show was canceled in 1992, she gained a new following of fans when the Lifetime channel aired reruns for years. Fast forward to 2010, she was given a role in “Hot in Cleveland” where she eventually became a series regular. Everything she touched turned to gold. That year, she also hosted “Saturday Night Live,” becoming the oldest person ever to host at 88 years old. Even during her last days, she knew how much her fans adored her. Her agent and friend, Jeff Witjas told PEOPLE, “Betty lived a great life and she lived a life that she chose. She was happy. Every time I told her, ‘Betty, you’re loved,’ she would look at me with a wry smile and say, ‘Really?’ I hope she knew. I think she did. It was something beyond love.” He continued saying, “Her work speaks for itself,” Witjas adds, joining millions who now mourn White. “Her legacy was sealed. It was sealed years ago.”