“Golden Girls” star Betty White dies at the age of 99
Betty White would have turned 100 on January 17th
Source: WireImage / Amanda Edwards
Famous TV entertainer Betty White is dead. She died at the age of 99. She would have turned 100 on January 17th. US President Joe Biden pays tribute to the “Golden Girls” actress as an icon who “put a smile on generations of Americans”.
D.he actress Betty White, who became world famous with the sitcom “Golden Girls”, is dead. She died at the age of 99 on Friday night, as the US magazines “People” and “Deadline” reported, citing manager Jeff Witjas.
In the series about four elderly women in a shared apartment, White once played the naive widow Rose Nylund. All of her colleagues from back then died before her: serial mother “Sophia” (Estelle Getty) in 2008, “Dorothy” (Beatrice Arthur) in 2009 and “Blanche” (Rue McClanahan) in 2010.
A few weeks ago she said to “People” in an interview: “I’m so lucky to be so healthy at this age and to feel so good.”
From left to right: Bea Arthur as Dorothy Petrillo Zbornak, Rue McClanahan as Blanche Devereaux, Estelle Getty as Sophia Petrillo and Betty White as Rose Nylund
Source: NBCUniversal via Getty Images / NBC
On January 17th, when White would have turned 100, a special program on the news channel CNN is said to commemorate her life. A live switch was actually planned for her birthday party, CNN reported on Friday. “Everyone likes a party – and this one is going to be great,” White announced a week ago. “We are grateful for the decades of joy that they have given everyone,” the broadcaster quoted the producers of the film, Steve Boettcher and Mike Trinklein.
Betty White’s record career
White, born in 1922 in the US state of Illinois, began her career long before the “Golden Girls”, which were broadcast in the USA from 1985 and from 1990 also in Germany.
Immediately after high school, she got her first small roles on television and in the theater in the late 30s and 40s, and later she mainly appeared in talk and game shows. Even after the “Golden Girls” she continued to get roles in TV and cinema. In 2009 she played about the side of Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds in the comedy “Even is the bride”.
Her name is now in the “Guinness Book of Records” as a TV entertainer with the longest career. “There is no secret behind it,” she said once. “I’m just happy that I could have the career that I had. I loved every minute I’m just grateful that people have been so kind to me all these years. I am the happiest old woman on two legs. “
White, who was married three times with no children, also worked as a producer and has won dozens of awards, including numerous Emmys.
She was “blessed with good health,” White told People magazine on her 99th birthday. Also important: “A sense of humor. Seeing the positive side and not thinking too much about the negative side, that takes away too much energy. “
“She is a cultural icon,” writes Biden
The actress with the characteristic white-haired grandma look and the quick-witted humor showed herself to be fit, happy and curious and, despite all her successes, modest.
“I don’t like going out for a fancy meal,” she once told Parade magazine. “I like simple things, hot dogs, hamburgers, french fries, no spices or sauces. I don’t particularly like sweet things either, except for chocolate bars and my girlfriend’s lemon meringue cake. ”White never stopped working, although she didn’t watch much TV or movies herself, as she said,“ I’m too busy. ”
Betty White in 1965
Source: dpa / Anonymous
“Betty White has put a smile on the face of generations of Americans. She is a cultural icon that we will sorely miss, “wrote US President Joe Biden on Twitter after her death became known.
The US military also said goodbye. On the Twitter account, the Army thanked White for her work in the voluntary military service during the Second World War. “A true legend on and off the screen.”
Pop star Cher remembered her first meeting with the multiple Emmy winner on Twitter. Her tears came and she felt like a child again. “What an extraordinary life,” wrote talk show host Ellen DeGeneres. “I’m grateful for every second I had with Betty White.” People laid flowers on White’s star on the Walk of Fame.