“My mother always used to say, the older you get, the better you get, unless you're a banana!” – Betty White
There are few actors more iconic than Betty White, who passed away just a few weeks shy of her 100th birthday. She holds the record for the longest career in television for a woman, having started in Los Angeles in 1939 singing on an experimental TV show. In 2010, she hosted Saturday Night Live after a Facebook campaign urged the show to put her on. In her opening monologue, White playfully thanked Facebook and joked, “I didn’t know what Facebook was, and now that I do know what it is, I have to say, it sounds like a huge waste of time.” That was Betty!
What can a woman born in 1922 who grew up during the depression and WWII teach us today? As it turns out, a lot. Her formula for longevity? “I try to avoid eating anything green. I guess it’s working”
- Love like there’s no tomorrow: “Once you’ve had the best, who needs the rest?” White married three times, the first two marriages were short-lived, and it wasn’t until she met Allen Ludden, host of the game show Password on which she appeared, that she found her soul mate. Ludden had to propose three times before she finally accepted after sending her a giant Easter bunny with diamond earrings and a note that read, “Please say yes!” Ludden passed away in 1981 after 18 years of marriage and Betty never married again. They have adjoining stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and she once said, “Don’t be surprised if in the wee hours of the morning our stars are fooling around.” While relationships can get comfortable, it’s important to never take them for granted. Surprise dates, small gifts, quick texts when you’re apart as a reminder you love them, and love notes are ways to keep the love strong. Thirty years after his death, White continued to blow a goodnight kiss out her window to Allen each night and was once asked what she would like God to say to her when she walked through the Pearly gates. She replied, "Come on in, Betty. Here's Allen."
- Give your all to your passions: “Everybody needs a passion. That’s what keeps life interesting. If you live without passion, you can go through life without leaving any footprints.” Betty’s first career choice was to be a forest ranger until she learned they didn’t hire women rangers. Her passion was always animals, and she gave her all to help them throughout her life. She served on various boards that promoted animal welfare and donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to animal groups. She once said, “Animals don't lie. Animals don't criticize. If animals have moody days, they handle them better than humans do.” She turned down a role in the movie, As Good as it Gets with Jack Nicholson because of a scene where Nicholson’s character throws a dog down a trash chute. “There isn’t an animal on the planet that I don’t find fascinating and want to learn more about.” Ironically, in 2010, the Forest Service named her honorary forest ranger at a ceremony in Washington, DC and she noted, “In my heart I’ve been a forest ranger all my life, but now I’m official.” Whether your passion is your work or a hobby, give it your all because passion is the fuel for inspiration and creativity.
- Age shouldn’t be a barrier. “Retirement is not in my vocabulary. They aren’t going to get rid of me that way.” When most people are enjoying their twilight years by resting, White kept at it. After hosting SNL in 2010, at age 88, a whole new generation found her and she continued to work regularly. Carol Burnett once called her the Energizer Bunny and in 2019, at 97, she was the voice of Bitey White, a toy tiger, in Toy Story 4. A New England Journal of Medicine article in 2018 notes humans are most productive between 60-70 years of age, with the second most productive stage being between 70 and 80. While health issues may sometimes intervene, don’t ever let your age dictate whether or not you can do something. Take it from White, who said, “Why would I think of retiring? What would I do with myself?”
- Use the power of laughter to stay young: “Laughter keeps everyone feeling wonderful.” White never took acting lessons, but had amazing comedic timing, according to those she worked with. She realized the power of humor and used her sense of timing and her naughty sense of playfulness to generate the best laughs. She compared her timing for comedy to those who have an ear for music, you have it or you don’t. The health benefits of laughter are well documented including reducing stress, boosting the immune system, and combating depression.
Betty was in good health until the end and credited her sharp mind to solving the daily crossword puzzles she loved, watching animal documentaries, and the TV show Jeopardy. But it was her wittiness and whimsical attitude that helped her stay young, often quipping she was a teenager trapped in an old body.
Below are some of her good-natured bits of advice to help us live a better, more enjoyable life while reminding us not to take ourselves too seriously. As she told an interviewer late in life, “I have no regrets at all. None. I consider myself to be the luckiest broad on two feet.”
On exercising: “I have a two-story house and a bad memory, so I'm up and down those stairs all the time. That's my exercise.”
On success: “That’s when you have to remember that image in the mirror and not let success get to you. It is important that you not believe your own publicity. Be grateful for whatever praise you receive, but take it with a grain of salt.”
On coexisting with others: "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.”
On using social media: “Avoid tweeting any photos of your private parts.”
On friendship: “Friendship can be so comfortable, but nurture it, don’t take it for granted.”
On women’s inner strength: “Butterflies are like women— we may look pretty and delicate, but baby, we can fly through a hurricane.”
On her favorite foods? “Hot dogs and Red Vines and potato chips and French fries are my favorite foods. And my favorite drink? Vodka with a splash of grapefruit juice.”
And finally, her take on negative people: “I know it sounds corny, but I try to see the funny side and the upside, not the downside. I get bored with people who complain about this or that. It’s such a waste of time.”
Goodbye Betty, and thanks for the laughter, joy, and inspiration you brought to this earth for just shy of 100 years. And thanks for summing it up for us: “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.”
Steve Woodburn started hustling early in life, landing his first on-air radio gig when he was just 20 and spending the next 20 years as a DJ, news anchor, talk show host and traffic reporter. He found the promotional products business totally by accident (as do most) working 29 years on the distributor side and five as a supplier. Steve won multiple sales awards along the way and volunteered his time with his local association, the Regional Association Council (RAC) and served on the PPAI Board of Directors. He's currently the Chief Adventurer of Marvelous Moosey Adventures, a company he and his wife created, and pursues acting, writing and voice-over work. Connect with Steve on Linkedin or via email at successnow09@gmail.com