The compliment goes something like this:
Betty White may be 87, but she doesn't look a day over 78.
"I love it," White said, cracking up.
"But I'm actually 87 and a half!"
Betty White, left, with Sandra Bullock in a scene from "The Proposal." Touchstone Pictures
OK, White is 87 and a half, but the important thing is that she's working as hard and probably more frequently than most actresses half her age. She enjoyed long, Emmy-winning stints on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" (1973-1977) and "The Golden Girls" (1985-1992), and put in guest shots on everything from "Mama's Family" (1983-1986) and "The John Larroquette Show" (1996) to "The Bold and the Beautiful" (2006-2008) and "Boston Legal" (2005-2008). She also has penned several popular books and appeared either as a contestant or as a host on numerous game shows.
"Don't ask me why I'm so busy," White said, speaking by telephone from her Los Angeles home. "They may catch onto me one of these days, but they haven't caught onto me yet."
And now White has returned to the silver screen for the first time in several years with "The Proposal." Released last Friday, the comedy stars Sandra Bullock as Margaret, a hard-driving boss who compels her mild-mannered assistant, Andrew (Ryan Reynolds), to marry her in order to help her avoid being deported to her native Canada. White steals all her scenes as Andrew's potty-mouthed Grandma Annie.
"The script was so cute," White said. "You get a lot of scripts sent to you that leave a lot to be desired, but this was very cute. And then, when I heard it was with Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds and Mary Steenburgen and Craig T. Nelson, I just couldn't resist it. And I'm so glad I didn't, because we had a wonderful time.
"We went back to do an extra scene that they wrote in for us toward the end of the movie, and it was such fun to see everybody so delighted to see each other. Not just the actors, but the hair and the makeup people and the crew. It was like a school reunion where you really love each other.
"And I have to tell you, Sandy Bullock is one in a million. She's not only beautiful and talented and funny, but she is the most down-to-earth, lovely human being I think I have ever met. She's just a delight, and we're going to be friends forever."
Up next for White is "You Again," a comedy that will star Kristen Bell, Jamie Lee Curtis and Sigourney Weaver. Production is set to begin later this summer.
"I'll be playing Grandma What's-Her-Name," White said, laughing. "I always play Grandma Somebody.
"But I have to tell you, acting is only half my life. I'm the luckiest old broad on two feet, because my life is divided absolutely in half. It's half show business and half animal welfare. I have to stay in show business to pay for my animal business. I'm joking about that, but my animal-welfare work takes just as much time as my show-business stuff, and maybe even more energy.
"I work with Morris Animal Foundation," White explained. "I'm a trustee and president emeritus of Morris, and we fund humane health studies in the specific health problems of dogs, cats, horses and zoo and wildlife. I've worked with them for 40 years, and I've also worked with the Los Angeles Zoo for 40 years.
"It's a lot of work, but fortunately I'm blessed with good health. I feel wonderful. I have a lot of energy. I get up every morning at 6 and I go to bed at midnight."
White's longevity is a blessing, but it's not without its downside. She has outlived too many friends and loved ones to count, most notably her husband of 18 years, game-show host Allen Ludden, who passed away in 1981. She has also lost two of her three "Golden Girls" co-stars in the past year: Estelle Getty, who died last summer, and Bea Arthur, who succumbed to cancer in April.
"It doesn't get any easier," White said softly. "But I still have many deep and dear friends that I've had for many, many years. (Game-show producer) Bob Stewart is a dear friend, and so are Millie and Marc Alexander. She was the British mother-in-law on 'Frasier' (2000-2003), and they've been my friends for maybe 40 years. Naturally you lose friends, but you make new ones along the way and, hopefully, you keep the ones you have (for as long as possible)."
Talking about Arthur, White alternates between choking up and sounding cheerful.
"When I think of Bea I think of talent and love, and it was tough to lose her," White said. "But we had to let her go. She was so ill. She really was in bad shape, so it was a blessing when she went. She went very peacefully at 3 in the morning.
"Bea was such a talent and a good friend, and we had so many laughs together. It's hard to say goodbye, but it's lovely that she's at peace now."
The accolades rolled in as soon as Arthur's death was announced. One day, hopefully not for many years, White will be receiving those accolades. She chuckles when asked what people will have to say about her.
"I don't care what they say about me," White said cheerfully. "My mother taught me a wonderful attitude toward death. She said that we find out the answers to almost everything under the sun, but there's one thing we don't know, that nobody knows, which is the secret of what happens when you die. My mom, whenever we would lose somebody, would say, 'Well, now he knows the secret.'
"It made death kind of a positive thing, instead of a negative, and that's still my attitude." [rc]
© 2009 Reading Eagle Company
June 22, 2009
USA: Staying positive keeps actress Betty White, 87, happy and busy
.
READING, Pennsylvania / The Reading Eagle / Arts & Entertainment / June 22, 2009
By Ian Spelling
New York Times Syndicate
The compliment goes something like this:
Betty White may be 87, but she doesn't look a day over 78.
"I love it," White said, cracking up.
"But I'm actually 87 and a half!"
Betty White, left, with Sandra Bullock in a scene from "The Proposal." Touchstone Pictures
OK, White is 87 and a half, but the important thing is that she's working as hard and probably more frequently than most actresses half her age. She enjoyed long, Emmy-winning stints on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" (1973-1977) and "The Golden Girls" (1985-1992), and put in guest shots on everything from "Mama's Family" (1983-1986) and "The John Larroquette Show" (1996) to "The Bold and the Beautiful" (2006-2008) and "Boston Legal" (2005-2008). She also has penned several popular books and appeared either as a contestant or as a host on numerous game shows.
"Don't ask me why I'm so busy," White said, speaking by telephone from her Los Angeles home. "They may catch onto me one of these days, but they haven't caught onto me yet."
And now White has returned to the silver screen for the first time in several years with "The Proposal." Released last Friday, the comedy stars Sandra Bullock as Margaret, a hard-driving boss who compels her mild-mannered assistant, Andrew (Ryan Reynolds), to marry her in order to help her avoid being deported to her native Canada. White steals all her scenes as Andrew's potty-mouthed Grandma Annie.
"The script was so cute," White said. "You get a lot of scripts sent to you that leave a lot to be desired, but this was very cute. And then, when I heard it was with Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds and Mary Steenburgen and Craig T. Nelson, I just couldn't resist it. And I'm so glad I didn't, because we had a wonderful time.
"We went back to do an extra scene that they wrote in for us toward the end of the movie, and it was such fun to see everybody so delighted to see each other. Not just the actors, but the hair and the makeup people and the crew. It was like a school reunion where you really love each other.
"And I have to tell you, Sandy Bullock is one in a million. She's not only beautiful and talented and funny, but she is the most down-to-earth, lovely human being I think I have ever met. She's just a delight, and we're going to be friends forever."
Up next for White is "You Again," a comedy that will star Kristen Bell, Jamie Lee Curtis and Sigourney Weaver. Production is set to begin later this summer.
"I'll be playing Grandma What's-Her-Name," White said, laughing. "I always play Grandma Somebody.
"But I have to tell you, acting is only half my life. I'm the luckiest old broad on two feet, because my life is divided absolutely in half. It's half show business and half animal welfare. I have to stay in show business to pay for my animal business. I'm joking about that, but my animal-welfare work takes just as much time as my show-business stuff, and maybe even more energy.
"I work with Morris Animal Foundation," White explained. "I'm a trustee and president emeritus of Morris, and we fund humane health studies in the specific health problems of dogs, cats, horses and zoo and wildlife. I've worked with them for 40 years, and I've also worked with the Los Angeles Zoo for 40 years.
"It's a lot of work, but fortunately I'm blessed with good health. I feel wonderful. I have a lot of energy. I get up every morning at 6 and I go to bed at midnight."
White's longevity is a blessing, but it's not without its downside. She has outlived too many friends and loved ones to count, most notably her husband of 18 years, game-show host Allen Ludden, who passed away in 1981. She has also lost two of her three "Golden Girls" co-stars in the past year: Estelle Getty, who died last summer, and Bea Arthur, who succumbed to cancer in April.
"It doesn't get any easier," White said softly. "But I still have many deep and dear friends that I've had for many, many years. (Game-show producer) Bob Stewart is a dear friend, and so are Millie and Marc Alexander. She was the British mother-in-law on 'Frasier' (2000-2003), and they've been my friends for maybe 40 years. Naturally you lose friends, but you make new ones along the way and, hopefully, you keep the ones you have (for as long as possible)."
Talking about Arthur, White alternates between choking up and sounding cheerful.
"When I think of Bea I think of talent and love, and it was tough to lose her," White said. "But we had to let her go. She was so ill. She really was in bad shape, so it was a blessing when she went. She went very peacefully at 3 in the morning.
"Bea was such a talent and a good friend, and we had so many laughs together. It's hard to say goodbye, but it's lovely that she's at peace now."
The accolades rolled in as soon as Arthur's death was announced. One day, hopefully not for many years, White will be receiving those accolades. She chuckles when asked what people will have to say about her.
"I don't care what they say about me," White said cheerfully. "My mother taught me a wonderful attitude toward death. She said that we find out the answers to almost everything under the sun, but there's one thing we don't know, that nobody knows, which is the secret of what happens when you die. My mom, whenever we would lose somebody, would say, 'Well, now he knows the secret.'
"It made death kind of a positive thing, instead of a negative, and that's still my attitude." [rc]
© 2009 Reading Eagle Company
The compliment goes something like this:
Betty White may be 87, but she doesn't look a day over 78.
"I love it," White said, cracking up.
"But I'm actually 87 and a half!"
Betty White, left, with Sandra Bullock in a scene from "The Proposal." Touchstone Pictures
OK, White is 87 and a half, but the important thing is that she's working as hard and probably more frequently than most actresses half her age. She enjoyed long, Emmy-winning stints on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" (1973-1977) and "The Golden Girls" (1985-1992), and put in guest shots on everything from "Mama's Family" (1983-1986) and "The John Larroquette Show" (1996) to "The Bold and the Beautiful" (2006-2008) and "Boston Legal" (2005-2008). She also has penned several popular books and appeared either as a contestant or as a host on numerous game shows.
"Don't ask me why I'm so busy," White said, speaking by telephone from her Los Angeles home. "They may catch onto me one of these days, but they haven't caught onto me yet."
And now White has returned to the silver screen for the first time in several years with "The Proposal." Released last Friday, the comedy stars Sandra Bullock as Margaret, a hard-driving boss who compels her mild-mannered assistant, Andrew (Ryan Reynolds), to marry her in order to help her avoid being deported to her native Canada. White steals all her scenes as Andrew's potty-mouthed Grandma Annie.
"The script was so cute," White said. "You get a lot of scripts sent to you that leave a lot to be desired, but this was very cute. And then, when I heard it was with Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds and Mary Steenburgen and Craig T. Nelson, I just couldn't resist it. And I'm so glad I didn't, because we had a wonderful time.
"We went back to do an extra scene that they wrote in for us toward the end of the movie, and it was such fun to see everybody so delighted to see each other. Not just the actors, but the hair and the makeup people and the crew. It was like a school reunion where you really love each other.
"And I have to tell you, Sandy Bullock is one in a million. She's not only beautiful and talented and funny, but she is the most down-to-earth, lovely human being I think I have ever met. She's just a delight, and we're going to be friends forever."
Up next for White is "You Again," a comedy that will star Kristen Bell, Jamie Lee Curtis and Sigourney Weaver. Production is set to begin later this summer.
"I'll be playing Grandma What's-Her-Name," White said, laughing. "I always play Grandma Somebody.
"But I have to tell you, acting is only half my life. I'm the luckiest old broad on two feet, because my life is divided absolutely in half. It's half show business and half animal welfare. I have to stay in show business to pay for my animal business. I'm joking about that, but my animal-welfare work takes just as much time as my show-business stuff, and maybe even more energy.
"I work with Morris Animal Foundation," White explained. "I'm a trustee and president emeritus of Morris, and we fund humane health studies in the specific health problems of dogs, cats, horses and zoo and wildlife. I've worked with them for 40 years, and I've also worked with the Los Angeles Zoo for 40 years.
"It's a lot of work, but fortunately I'm blessed with good health. I feel wonderful. I have a lot of energy. I get up every morning at 6 and I go to bed at midnight."
White's longevity is a blessing, but it's not without its downside. She has outlived too many friends and loved ones to count, most notably her husband of 18 years, game-show host Allen Ludden, who passed away in 1981. She has also lost two of her three "Golden Girls" co-stars in the past year: Estelle Getty, who died last summer, and Bea Arthur, who succumbed to cancer in April.
"It doesn't get any easier," White said softly. "But I still have many deep and dear friends that I've had for many, many years. (Game-show producer) Bob Stewart is a dear friend, and so are Millie and Marc Alexander. She was the British mother-in-law on 'Frasier' (2000-2003), and they've been my friends for maybe 40 years. Naturally you lose friends, but you make new ones along the way and, hopefully, you keep the ones you have (for as long as possible)."
Talking about Arthur, White alternates between choking up and sounding cheerful.
"When I think of Bea I think of talent and love, and it was tough to lose her," White said. "But we had to let her go. She was so ill. She really was in bad shape, so it was a blessing when she went. She went very peacefully at 3 in the morning.
"Bea was such a talent and a good friend, and we had so many laughs together. It's hard to say goodbye, but it's lovely that she's at peace now."
The accolades rolled in as soon as Arthur's death was announced. One day, hopefully not for many years, White will be receiving those accolades. She chuckles when asked what people will have to say about her.
"I don't care what they say about me," White said cheerfully. "My mother taught me a wonderful attitude toward death. She said that we find out the answers to almost everything under the sun, but there's one thing we don't know, that nobody knows, which is the secret of what happens when you die. My mom, whenever we would lose somebody, would say, 'Well, now he knows the secret.'
"It made death kind of a positive thing, instead of a negative, and that's still my attitude." [rc]
© 2009 Reading Eagle Company
