Betty White, the self-described “lucky old broad” whose sweetly sarcastic senior citizen characters were a beloved fixture on TV shows and movies such as “The Golden Girls,” “Boston Legal” and “Hot in Cleveland,” died Friday, her agent and close friend Jeff Witjas told Peoplemagazine in a statement. At 99, she was just weeks away from celebrating her 100th birthday on Jan. 17.“Even though Betty was about to be 100, I thought she would live forever,” Witjas said. “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.”
A trailblazer and pioneer in media, Betty had the longest running career for any woman in TV prior to her death — starring in multiple shows over the past 8 decades, starting way back in 1939.
Betty is perhaps most famous for her lead role as Rose Nylund in “The Golden Girls,” which ran from 1985 to 1992. She’d been in TONS of other big hits throughout her life though.
Betty won 5 Primetime Emmy Awards — including 2 for ‘Mary Tyler Moore,’ 1 for “Golden Girls” and 1 for her 1975 ‘SNL’ appearance — along with Screen Actors Guild Awards, American Comedy Awards and even a 2012 Grammy.
She’s been nominated for several Golden Globes and has also been honored with lots of Lifetime Achievement Awards and celebrations through several organizations.
Tributes started to pour in to the beloved icon.
The Culture Keeper-
The Culture Keeper 