Iconic actress and comedian Betty White passed away on Friday, Dec. 31, 2021, her agent Jeff Witjas confirmed to Spectrum News.
White, who was 99 years old, would have celebrated her 100th birthday on Jan. 17.
TMZ was the first to report the news.
"Even though Betty was about to be 100, I thought she would live forever," Jeff Witjas, an agent and close friend of White's, said in a statement. "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."
White was in the entertainment industry for over 90 years, having first appeared at the age of eight years old on an episode of a radio program entitled "Empire Builders" in 1930.
The actor’s long career stretches from 1949’s “Hollywood on Television” to a 2019 voice role in the Disney+ series “Forky Asks a Question,” with “The Golden Girls” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” among the enduring highlights.
Besides starring in sitcoms and making guest appearances in dozens of others, she was a reliably witty game show host and guest; parade emcee (California’s Rose Parade and New York’s Thanksgiving Day parade) and soap opera actor (“The Bold and the Beautiful”). She dabbled in drama on the big screen (including as a U.S. senator in 1962’s “Advise & Consent”) and on TV (“Bones,” “Boston Legal”).
Hosting “Saturday Night Live” in 2010 — at age 88 — earned her a fifth Emmy Award and a new generation of admirers.
White was a pioneer in more ways than one. She starred in and produced the 1953 sitcom “Life With Elizabeth,” becoming the first woman to exert control both in front of and behind the camera.
Her first of two daily talk and variety series, “The Betty White Show,” in 1954 faced criticism for having an African American performer. White, who also produced the show, responded by saying: “I'm sorry, live with it,” and gave Arthur Duncan more airtime.
Tributes to the beloved actress poured in from all corners of the globe after news of her death, including President Joe Biden, who told reporters in Delaware that it was "a shame."
"She was a lovely lady," Biden said. "Ninety-nine years old. As my mother would say, God love her."
"Who didn’t love Betty White?" First Lady Jill Biden told reporters. "We’re so sad about her death."
A longtime pet enthusiast and animal advocate, White worked with many animal organizations, including the Los Angeles Zoo. In 2009, she became president emerita of the Morris Animal Foundation.
White’s devotion to animals went be on display early this yer with the DVD and digital release of “Betty White’s Pet Set,” a 1970s series in which she visited with celebrity guests and their pets as well as wild animals.
A native of Oak Park, Illinois, White was married to game show host and producer Allen Ludden from 1963 until his death in 1981.
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