Image Source: Fanpop, Redbook

The Golden Girls star Betty White passed away on December 31st, 2021 at the age of 99, but a few weeks before her sad demise, the actress and comedian appeared on the cover of People Magazine where her friends and co-stars were invited to share some memories of the actress. 

Betty White started the interview by stating, "I'm so lucky to be in such good health and feel so good at this age. It's amazing." Betty was born a cockeyed optimist, who was described as the key to her upbeat nature, and the actress added, "I got it from my mom, and that never changed," she says. "I always find the positive."

Betty White who is best known for her roles in "The Golden Girls," "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," "Hot in Cleveland," and "The Proposal," lived a quiet life in Los Angeles, enjoying crossword puzzles and card games. Betty White was an advocate for animal welfare and a longtime supporter of the Wildlife Learning Center, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and Actors and Others for Animals. She shared that she loved to watch animal documentaries, Jeopardy!, and sports. The Audubon Nature Institute that operates, New Orleans' zoo, and aquarium shared their story with People, "When the penguins and sea otters were evacuated to @MontereyAqfor Hurricane Katrina, Betty White paid for the plane to relocate them. She did not ask for fanfare; she just wanted to help." Betty White received the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal for her "commitment to wildlife and efforts to create a sustainable planet," in 2017, specifically via her charitable work with zoos and animal rescues.

For her cover story, her friends also shared funny and exciting stories about Betty White. Carol Burnett shared, "She'd come on my show, [The Carol Burnett Show], and if there was a tinge of risqué humour in one of our sketches, she'd roll with it and make it even funnier and add a little wink to show that she was thinking of something sexy. She's not a stand-up. She's not a jokester. It's the way she can twist a line to get a laugh."

Ryan Reynolds, Sandra Bullock, and Mary Steenburgen, who starred alongside the Golden Girl, Betty White in 2009’s successful movie, ‘The Proposal’, also shared their experience while working with the veteran actress. Sandra Bullock said, "Timing isn't easy in comedy, because you have to navigate other people's timing. Betty pivots like I have never seen, making it look seamless. The rest of us just remain silent and pray we're not cut out of the scene."

During the interview, Sandra hoped that Betty White would celebrate her birthday "the same way she has celebrated every day of her life with humor, kindness and a vodka on ice, toasting to the fact that she's a badass who has left us all in the dust."

Betty White in 'The Proposal'. Image Source: Shea Vasser

Ryan Reynolds added to the story and shared that he has been a fan of her work for as long as he can remember. "I heard that scripts for Golden Girls were only 35 pages, which makes sense because so many of the laughs come from Betty simply looking at her castmates", he added. Whereas Mary Steenburgen said, Betty White "puts out so much light into the world and loves to throw her little F-bombs around and does it with this beautifully dimpled smile."

Betty White’s agent and close friend, Jeff Witjas, also shared with the magazine, "Betty lives a life of happiness. She always thinks of others first, and she stays positive no matter what, even when I beat her at our favourite game of gin rummy!"

Betty White and Allen Ludden. Image Source: Outsider 

During the interview, Betty White also remembered her late husband Allen Ludden who passed away in 1981. Carol Burnett who was Betty White’s co-star and a friend told People that she had known Betty before she was married to Allen and when Allen Ludden passed away, Betty White said that she would never marry again because she’d already ‘had the best. Carol added that the couple was ‘terrific together and when Allen fell ill, Betty was working on ‘The Carol Burnett Show and despite her husband being sick, she ‘soldiered through’.

Carol added, "I just felt so bad because we were doing this show, and she would come and rehearse and then leave and go to the hospital. She had to be suffering something awful because they loved each other so much, but she didn't let it hinder coming to rehearsals or during the performance. And she was brilliant as always." Describing the couple the longtime friend said, "She's very funny, and Allen had a great sense of humor. I'm sounding like Pollyanna here, but it was joyful. There's no other way to describe it. They were very very very devoted to each other.

Jeff Witjas confirmed the news of Betty White passing away in a statement, "Even though Betty was about to be 100, I thought she would live forever. I will miss her terribly and so will the animal world that she loved so much. I don't think Betty ever feared passing because she always wanted to be with her most beloved husband Allen Ludden. She believed she would be with him again." Jeff later also clarified that the actress did not pass away due to any covid-19 booster vaccination complication, unlike the rumors that spread out.

Before the unfortunate death of the actress, she had planned to invite her friend and celebrate her 100th birthday on-screen with an hour and 40-minute long movie, 'White's birthday celebration, "100 Years Young".  The film is going to feature cameos from Betty White's friends including Ryan Reynolds, Tina Fey, Robert Redford, Lin Manuel- Miranda, Clint Eastwood, Jimmy Kimmel, and others. The film will is still going to premiere and highlight key moments in the actress's long career and her performances in The Golden Girls, hosting SNL, Hot in Cleveland, The Proposal, and a special lost episode from Betty White's first sitcom.

Source: People