Not the Way to End 2021: R.I.P. Betty White

Between COVID and its variants, the attack on the capital building, and attacks on the election process that went on way too long, 2021 was not a good year. To end things one of the worst notes we could have had, we lost actress Betty White on New Year’s Eve, only weeks before her 100th birthday. Many people mostly remember her from her years on The Golden Girls. Being Gen-X and being older than a lot of my friends, I have more of a history with her. The first thing I remember her on was The Mary Tyler Moore Show playing Sue Ann Nivens who had more of an openly sexual presence than most characters around that time. Being fairly young at the time, I found this interesting. Then I saw her on Match Game, a game show from the 70s and 80s that often had innuendos and naughtiness (as much as you could on TV at the time) that she seems to easily play into. On the Golden Girls, the naive Rose Nylund view of things that always made things interesting. She was fun to laugh at while enjoying her caring nature. Her comedic nature that seemed to allow her to do and say whatever she felt was right gave her a spot in some great skits on Saturday Night Live as well. An advocate for equal marriage rights, Betty was a gay icon and will be greatly missed. Below are some pictures from the shows I remember her from. Enjoy them while I go back to watching more of the Golden Girls and remember some of the happy times she brought us.