The timeless appeal of Betty White

In the past year, Betty White has become one of my favorite actresses. From hosting “Saturday Night Live” to starring in a Snickers commercial, she’s all over the place. If, for some reason, you’re having trouble thinking of who Betty White is, she played Ryan Reynolds’ grandmother in “The Proposal.”

What amazes me most is that for a woman who’s been in the entertainment business for over 63 years, she’s remained incredibly funny and relevant.

White began her career as a model and radio personality, even hosting her own radio program. During the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s, she frequently appeared on late night talk shows and daily game shows.

She had significant roles in TV shows like “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and “Mama’s Family.”

Her signature role was as Rose Nylund in the 1980s and ‘90s sitcom, “The Golden Girls” (don’t act like you’ve never seen a “Golden Girls” marathon... willingly).

Of the show’s characters, Rose Nylund was my favorite. Rose was incredibly naïve and simple minded, and her limitless St. Olaf stories had almost nothing in common with the topic at hand. Her best lines as Rose most often were when she would ask a stupid question, and everyone would reply with a sarcastic answer. And even with the sarcasm, she still just didn’t get it. Her interactions with Bea Arthur’s character Dorothy were classic. Often after a conversation with Rose, Dorothy would end the conversation with “Oh, shut up, Rose!”

Following the successful eight-year run of “The Golden Girls,” White kept steady work as a guest star on series like “That ‘70s Show,” “Malcolm in the Middle” and “Ugly Betty”. She portrayed memorable characters in “My Name is Earl” as the ‘Witch Lady,’ and “Boston Legal” as the crazy gossiping character Catherine Piper. Both appearances led to Emmy award nominations. She also lent her voice to several animated shows, including “King of the Hill”, “The Simpsons” and “Family Guy”. From 2006 to 2009, she even had a successful stint on the soap opera, “The Bold and the Beautiful”.

But White arguably didn’t become popular with our generation until 2009 in the Sandra Bullock film, “The Proposal,” portraying Ryan Reynolds’ grandmother. Her appeal increased dramatically when she appeared in a Snickers commercial, which aired during Super Bowl XLIV, as a not-so-great football player in which one character yells, “Dude, you’re playing like Betty White out there!” and White comically replies, “That’s not what your girlfriend says!”

In January, a grassroots campaign began on Facebook to get Betty White to host an episode of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live”.

Eventually producers for the show felt it was a great idea, and on May 8, she hosted “SNL”, becoming the oldest person to ever host the program. Her opening monologue was spot-on funny. She poked fun at Facebook, the site that got her on “SNL” in the first place, calling it “an incredible waste of time.” Betty White’s episode of “SNL” became the show’s highest rated episode since 2008.

In June, a new series, “Hot in Cleveland”, featuring White as a sassy caretaker, premiered on TV Land. The show, which is TV Land’s first scripted series, became the highest rated show of TV Land’s 14-year history.

With almost 5 million viewers, TV Land has already renewed “Hot in Cleveland” for a second season.

White has her own 2011 calendar coming soon. There’s a clothing line featuring Betty White coming to stores in August. White will also appear in NBC’s “Community” as an anthropology professor in the fall.

What I love most about Betty White is she’s an extremely funny lady who isn’t afraid of a joke after 80.