'Golden Girls' star, TV legend Betty White passes away at 99

Betty White the Emmywinning TV star who had a remarkable latercareer resurgence in films TV commercials and the hit series The Golden Girls and Hot in Cleveland has passed away aged 99The Los Angeles Police Department responded to a death investigation on the 500 block of N Carmelina Ave in Los Angeles at 930 am Friday morning reports varietycomWhite would have celebrated her 100th birthday on January 17 White is believed to have died Thursday night at her Brentwood homeWhites agent and close friend Jeff Witjas confirmed her deathEven though Betty was about to be 100 I thought she would live forever Witjas said in a statementI will miss her terribly and so will the animal world that she loved so much I dont 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 againWitjas emphasised that White had not been ill but had been extremely cautious during the pandemic She spent most of the past two years at the home she loved with her many pets She had roundtheclock caretakers in her final years Witjas saidWhites work schedule had slowed considerably as she reached her late 90sWhite who played SueAnn Nivens on aThe Mary Tyler Moore Show in the 1970s and Rose on The Golden Girls from 198592 was a staple on TV for more than 60 years having started as the sidekick on a local Los Angeles daytime show that kept her on live TV five hours a day five days a weekIn her 80s White was still stealing scenes in film comedies such as The Proposal You Again and Bringing Down the House as well as making regular appearances on late night talk shows where she delighted audiences with her quickfire repartee with Jay Leno Craig Ferguson and other hostsIn 1999 an appearance in David E Kelleys monster crocodile movie Lake Placida renewed attention on White She lampooned her love of animals by playing a smiling but foulmouthed woman who protects the predator thats dispatching humansHer wellreviewed turn alongside Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds in 2009s The Proposal boosted her profile and suddenly she was everywhere starring in the wellreceived Super Bowl commercial spot for Snickers and hosting Saturday Night Live after a fan campaign to land her the job started on Facebook White had actually been offered the gig years before but turned it downShe was a television phenomenon in the 2000s guesting as herself on Ugly Betty as well as in animated form on both The Simpsons and Family Guy and providing voices for many animated films and TV showsWhite recurred on soap The Bold and the Beautiful from 200609 on That 70s Show and as Catherine Piper both on The Practice and on Boston LegalIn 2010 she became the oldest person ever to host Saturday Night LiveIn January 2012 the NBC special Betty Whites 90th Birthday A Tribute to Americas Golden Girl was the mostwatched program on the nightWhite hosted and produced the hiddencamera reality show Off Their Rockers in 201213 earning two more Emmy nominationsHer most recent book If You Ask Me And of Course You Wont was published in 2011 She won a Screen Actors Guild life achievement award in 2010This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever