Betty White's career, an unequaled treasure in US comedy 2:58
Editor's Note:
Juan Carlos Arciniegas is a presenter and film critic for CNN en Español.
He is the creator and host of the film space Critical Eye.
The opinions expressed in this comment are solely those of the author.
(CNN Hollywood) -
Although Betty White's career officially began in the 1950s, it was on the popular series "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" in the 1970s that her name really became familiar to audiences.
At the end of that decade he even had his own television program and in the eighties he became part of the cast of the also famous comedy “The Love Boat”.
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The reasons why Betty White will always be a part of our hearts
Precisely in the mid-80s she came to star in the program that in my opinion will be the one that makes her immortal.
In "The Golden Girls", White played the tender and naive Rose, a character that contrasted with those of the other three protagonists, for whom sarcasm, crudeness or impudence was the norm.
By pure chance, in these last rainy, cold and pandemic nights that we are living in Hollywood, Rose and her friends have accompanied me with the so-called "reruns" or repetitions of the seven seasons of "The Golden Girls" that are still broadcast on cable TV. As a friend noted, this series, thanks to the topics covered there and also from the impartial and contemporary gaze of a group of elderly friends, was simply revolutionary. Betty White, by the way, was the last of the Golden Girls to die.
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White has been in the entertainment business for almost 80 years.
It is the world record for the longest television career of an actress.
Take a look at the life and career of the Emmy Award-winning actress who has starred in such popular comedies as "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "The Golden Girls."
(Credit: Elmer Holloway / NBC / Getty Images)
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White was born in the Oak Park suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in 1922. The young actress, here in 1956, had roles on popular radio shows such as "This Is Your FBI" and "The Great Gildersleeve" before landing her first television role. as a co-host of "Hollywood on Television" in 1949. (Credit: Hulton Archive / Getty Images)
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White participated in the Los Angeles Christmas parade in 1955. (Credit: Earl Leaf / Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images)
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White and actor Eddie Albert, center, host a broadcast of "Hollywood on Television," a live daily talk show in Los Angeles in 1952. (Credit: Nigel Dobinson / Getty Images)
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The actress starred in the comedies "Life With Elizabeth" and "Date With the Angels" in the 1950s. This 1957 photo is from the promo for the latter show.
(Credit: ABC Photo Archives / Getty Images)
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The star made a friend on a field trip to the Detroit Zoo in 1957. (Credit: ABC Photo Archives / Getty Images)
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White in "Date with the Angels" in 1957. (Credit: ABC Photo Archives / Getty Images)
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White appears as a guest celebrity on the game show "Password" in 1967. The actress was married to "Password" host Allen Ludden from 1963 until his death in 1981. (Credit: CBS / Getty Images)
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At an age when most acting careers begin to end, White found even greater success as Sue Ann Nivens, the man-starved woman "Happy Homemaker" on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" in the 1970s. She was the perfect match for star Mary Tyler Moore, left, winning two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
(Credit: CBS Photo Archive / Getty Images)
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After her success as Sue Ann Nivens, she starred in her own series, "The Betty White Show," between 1977 and 1978. (Credit: Everett Collection)
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White played Jane alongside Johnny Carson in a Tarzan sketch for "The Tonight Show" in 1981. (Credit: NBCUniversal / Getty Images)
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And, of course, she made several guest appearances on "The Love Boat," including in 1982 with Broadway star Carol Channing.
(Credit: ABC Photo Archives / Getty Images)
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Here with Mickey Mouse at Disneyland in 1988. (Credit: Everett Collection)
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White turned down the role of Blanche Devereaux to play the sweet and slightly goofy Rose Nyland on the long running series "The Golden Girls," which also starred Rue McClanahan, first from left, Estelle Getty and Bea Arthur.
White won the Emmy for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series in 1986 and was nominated six other times, often losing to her co-stars.
(ABC Photo Archives / Getty Images)
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White is a well known animal lover.
Appears here in Lake Placid, New York, in 1999. (Credit: 20thCentFox / Courtesy Everett Collection)
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New generations discovered White in 2009 when he made his return to the screen in the 2009 film "The Proposal."
His chemistry with Sandra Bullock on screen is worth watching.
(Credit: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection)
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White, center, was a guest host on "Saturday Night Live" in 2010, appearing with Amy Poehler, from left, Maya Rudolph, Ana Gasteyer and Will Forte.
He won another Emmy for his efforts on "SNL."
(Credit: Dana Edelson / NBC / Getty Images)
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In this photo, White is joined by her "Hot in Cleveland" co-stars - from left, Wendie Malick, Jane Leeves and Valerie Bertinelli - to accept the award for Favorite Cable TV Comedy at the People's Choice Awards in 2012. ( Chris Pizzello / Associated Press)
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White guest-starred on the series "Anthropology 101" in 2010 as an eccentric teacher on the series.
Here with Danny Pudi on the left and Donald Glover on the right.
(Credit: Chris / Haston / NBC / Getty Images)
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The actress made an appearance on "Bones" in 2015. Two years earlier, Guinness World Records had recognized White for the longest television career for a female artist, at the time 74 years old.
(20th Century Fox / Courtesy Everett Collection)
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White starred in the 2010 film "You Again."
(Credit: Mark Fellman / © Touchstone Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection)
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The actress won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in January 2010. “I'm the luckiest old lady,” she told CNN's Brooke Baldwin in 2017. “I can still get a job, at this age. I'll go to my grave saying, 'Can I come in and read this by tomorrow?'
(Credit: Frazer Harrison / Getty Images)
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The actress presented her book "If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won't)" at what is now the Paley Media Center in Los Angeles in 2011. In it she reflects on her long career.
(Credit: Bob Riha Jr./Getty Images)
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White accepted the Legend Award at the TV Land Awards in 2015 as her "Hot in Cleveland" co-stars watch from the sidelines.
(Credit: Chris Pizzello / Invision / AP)
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White was invited by James Corden to "The Late Late Show" in 2017. (Credit: Terence Patrick / CBS / Getty Images)
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The news of his death took us by surprise, not only as we were preparing for New Years Eve, but because in a little over two weeks, White planned to celebrate her 100th birthday in a very special way.
On January 17, the date of her birth, a special entitled "Betty White: 100 Years Young - A Birthday Celebration" had been planned in 900 theaters. There, personal moments of the artist would be shared, as well as work moments and her mission as a defender of animals, another of her great passions. For this documentary, Hollywood stars such as Ryan Reynolds, Robert Redford, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Clint Eastwood and the also legendary comedian Carol Burnett participated.
In addition to his extensive work on television, White left us several books of his authorship, one of the most recent being one whose title was as funny as his own characters: “If You Ask Me (And of Course You Won't) or "If they ask me (and of course you won't)" in 2011.