Our favorite "Golden Girl" turns 91 today!
Is there anything Betty White hasn’t done?
She's been television royalty from the early days of radio, to the quiz show era, and "Golden Girls."
In the past few years, she’s had cameos on everything from “Community” to “30 Rock” and “The Middle,” has brought in record ratings on "Saturday Night Live" and made a television comeback on TV Land's “Hot in Cleveland."
Currently, White has a hit comedy "Off Their Rockers" on NBC where she's danced Gangnam Style with PSY.
However, you probably don't know everything about the Queen of Comedy.
We went through LIFE's illustrated biography of Betty White to find out what you don't know about the woman behind the laughs.
White nearly left the biz before making it big, wasn't proud of all her television roles, and nearly wasn't on the "Mary Tyler Moore Show."
Betty's first work in Hollywood was in a Parkay margarine commercial.
White hung around in producer Fran Van Hartesveldt office until he decided to offer her a job in the commercial.
This led to her appearance on radio show "The Great Gildersleeve," also headed by Hartesveldt.
(Betty White: The Illustrated Biography)
White has never had acting lessons.
White has said they were never her thing.
"I just want to bring as much natural as I can," said White. "I'm not saying that people who take acting lessons are false. They're much better than I am, but it doesn't work for me."
(Betty White: The Illustrated Biography)
1949: White may have never appeared alongside Al Jarvis on "Hollywood on Television" – and later became host in 1952 – if she passed up an unpaid gig.
Before joining "Hollywood on Television," White was asked if she'd be interested in a television special with then-radio disc jockey, Dick Haynes. The free gig led to a call from Jarvis – another disc jockey – to have Betty as his sidekick on "Hollywood on Television."
(Betty White: The Illustrated Biography)
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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