What an iconic actress and comedian! As we honor her life, Betty White continues to be well loved across America for many reasons, including her timeless wit and wisdom–what a gal!
While most fans remember her from “The Golden Girls,” “The Betty White Show” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” some might be interested to learn how she was connected to Wisconsin–her husband of 18 years, Allen Ludden was born and buried in Mineral Point, WI. In addition, she was the oldest SNL (Saturday Night Live) host–again–what a gal!
In 2018, documentarian and Appleton, WI native, Steve Boettcher, debuted a film he directed, “Betty White: First Lady of Television.”Boettcher talked about the film in 2019. He mused about discovering during his research that White was literally older than sliced bread, and about her start in show business as a high school student who appeared for camera tests for a new medium, television, in 1939.
“Watching her and being with her, to me she’s the eternal optimist,” Boettcher stated. “She’s tenacious but she’s very genuine. I think that’s what I take from this film and hopefully the audience will see that.
“I think she really embraces what life has to offer and being kind for her has never gone out of fashion.”
As of this writing, they still plan on airing his documentary soon for her upcoming 100th birthday.
Betty was a lesson in how to be human and create joy in our lives–she helped us celebrate truth and women–we could use more of that these days. I wanted to share 20 of my favorite life lessons and funny quotes from Betty:
1. “Get at least eight hours of beauty sleep, nine if you’re ugly,” she said in 2011.
2. “My mother always used to say, ‘The older you get, the better you get. Unless you’re a banana.’”
3. “I may be a senior, but so what? I’m still hot.”
4. “If one has no sense of humor, one is in trouble.”
5. “You don’t luck into integrity. You work at it.”
6. “So you may not be as fast on your feet, and the image in your mirror may be a little disappointing, but if you are still functioning and not in pain, gratitude should be the name of the game,” she wrote in her book, If You Ask Me (And of Course You Won’t).
7. “Anger tears me up inside … My own … or anyone else’s.”
8. “I think older women still have a full life.”
9. “There is even a funny side to aging, if one has a warped sense of humor.”
10. “Since I am turning 99,” she said last year, “I can stay up as late as I want without asking permission.
11. “A lady likes to be complimented on her looks, her eyes, her figure. But the personality comments are much appreciated.”
12. “People say, ‘But Betty, Facebook is a great way to connect with old friends.’ Well, at my age, if I want to connect with old friends, I need a Ouija board.”
13. “All creatures must learn to coexist. That’s why the brown bear and the field mouse can share their lives in harmony. Of course, they can’t mate or the mice would explode.”
14. “Animal lover that I am, a cougar I am not.”
15. “I think everybody needs a passion. Whether it’s one passion or a hundred, that’s what keeps life interesting. If you live without passion, you can go through life without leaving any footprints.”
16. “Animals don’t lie. Animals don’t criticize. If animals have moody days, they handle them better than humans do.”
17. “I’m a health nut. My favorite food is hot dogs with French fries.”
18 “I have a two-story house and a bad memory, so all those trips up and down the stairs take care of my exercise.”
19. “My answer to anything under the sun, like, (i,e, ‘What have you not done in the business that you’ve always wanted to do?’ is, ‘Robert Redford.’”
20. “It’s your outlook on life that counts. If you take yourself lightly and don’t take yourself too seriously, pretty soon you can find the humor in our everyday lives. And sometimes it can be a lifesaver.”
A fun definition of laughter is that it’s a mini vacation–thank you Betty for adding to our vacation time–SO thankful!
Covid19 Humor: Does anyone know the number that parents are supposed to call when we need a substitute teacher?
