It's a crazy reminder that the episode of Saturday Night Live was 11 years, 7 months and 23 days ago, after the campaign to get her on after the Snickers commercial. That episode garnered SNL 14.952 million viewers. It is a reminder that how much Betty White became a national treasure as she got older. Most of us grew up with Betty White doing something in our lives, whether it be acting in sitcoms (Mary Tyler Moore Show, the Carol Burnett Show, The Golden Girls, Hot in Cleveland), making appearances in soaps (3 years on The Bold & the Beautiful), hosting a comedic show (Betty White's Off Their Rockers) and game show (Just Men), or for this site, the majority of the time, as a regular celebrity guest on numerous game shows (Password, Password Plus, Super Password, Tattletales, Hollywood Squares, Pyramid, Match Game, To Tell the Truth, What's My Line, You Don't Say!). Everyone knew her impact in some generation (if you use 19 years as a generation, which is the general definition).
Betty White, from the beginning, exuded utter class, a fast wit and a dedication to her craft. For 80 years (1939 was her first appearance on a television to her last in 2019), she was a face that everyone knew stood for incredible grace. She was always humble to her success and never acted like she was the next big thing. She got along with every person, from the celebrities she hung out with, to US presidents, to the nervous civilian making an appearance on a game show. She had such a calming presence. You don't see a lot of that in television now, and even then either.
The biggest loss that we don't see every day with the passing of Betty White is her dedication to animals, much like Bob Barker has. The amount of money and time she gave to the saving of animals. In a cruel twist, like Bob Barker, 2021 marked 40 years since the passing of her hubby, the great Allen Ludden.
Betty White's legacy will remain as one of grace, humbleness, presence and absolute joy. Her skills are unmatched in being able to do so many different things in front of the camera (acting, hosting, guesting, comedy). We will never see a person like her again, and for that, the world has suffered a great loss. However, I don't think she'd ever want us to be sad. We should take joy in her life and she'd want us to be happy we experienced her effort the last 80 years. Hopefully she has the chicken in case Allen Ludden is on fire wherever he is.
Rest in peace to a legend to who I consider America's grandmother, Betty Marion White Ludden (1922-2021).