Doyenne of US television passes away at 99
LOS ANGELES: Actress Betty White, who made US television audiences laugh for more than seven decades, starring on popular sitcoms The Golden Girls and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, died on Friday at age 99.
The pioneering Emmy-winning comedienne enjoyed one of the longest careers in showbiz history: she began regularly appearing on television in 1949 and had a voice role in Toy Story 4 in 2019.
“Even though Betty was about to be 100, I thought she would live forever,” her agent Jeff Witjas told People magazine in a statement.
“I will miss her terribly.” TMZ, citing law enforcement sources, said she died at her home on Friday. The cause of death was not immediately revealed.
The news sparked an outpouring of tributes, with President Joe Biden tweeting, “Betty White brought a smile to the lips of generations of Americans. She’s a cultural icon who will be sorely missed.”
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which hands out the Oscars, said White was “a legend, trailblazer and cultural icon who blessed generations with her talent and humour. She will be truly missed.”
White was one of the first woman producers on the 1950s sitcom Life With Elizabeth, in which she also starred. Later, as a nonagenarian, she interacted with much younger fans on Instagram.
“It’s incredible that I’m still in this business - and you are still putting up with me!” White said at the 2018 Emmys.
In all, she won five primetime Emmys, two daytime awards including one for lifetime achievement, and a regional Emmy in Los Angeles. White, whose signature halo of white-blonde hair and clear blue eyes were instantly recognisable, adopted a variety of on-screen personas.
She went from playing a 1950s housewife on Elizabeth to a man-hungry 1970s TV personality on Moore to a doeeyed 1980s “Golden Girl” retiree.
In real life, she loved delivering irreverent one-liners.
When asked by late-night host David Letterman about her favourite pastimes, the long-time animal welfare advocate replied: “(I like to) play with animals, mostly. And vodka’s kind of a hobby.”
She was born on January 17, 1922 in the outskirts of Chicago.