Posted on January 17, 2015
Happy 93rd birthday, Betty White!If I am lucky enough to live as long and well as Ms. White, I'd love to have as long a list of nouns after my name. According to Wikipedia, White (who was born on this date in 1922) is an actress, singer, author, producer, radio host, and television personality (with a lot of personality!).
But Wikipedia left some pretty important stuff off. Like “animal lover and advocate.” Betty White has been a long-time trustee of the Morris Animal Foundation and also of the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association. She wrote a book about animals, too!
According to White, she wanted to be a forest ranger or a zookeeper when she was young. But girls couldn't be forest rangers, and girls weren't encouraged to do science-y and outdoors-y professions. She changed her goal to being a writer and then to being a performer.
As you know, it's hard to “make it” in Hollywood – it was when Betty White was young, and it still is now. She was turned down a lot when she was in her 20s. People said that she was “unphotogenic.” She did anything she could, though—totally non-glamorous jobs such as reading radio commercials, playing bit parts, making crowd noises. She did stuff without being paid, even—she would sing on a show or make an appearance on a local game show, without being paid.
Of course you've figured out that all her hard work began to pay off, and Betty White became one of the first people to have creative control in front of AND behind the camera when she produced her own TV series, Life With Elizabeth.She ended up making it, big time, by appearing on long-running popular shows such as The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Golden Girls. She has won awards, set records, and won fame, fortune, and worldwide love and admiration.
And you know what? White actually made her earlier childhood dreams come true, too! Because she tirelessly worked on behalf of animals and donated money to GLAZA and other animal-advocacy organizations, White has become an official honorary forest ranger. And she does so much behind-the-scenes stuff a the L.A. Zoo, she might as well be called a zookeeper as well!So, here is the updated list of today's golden Birthday Girl:
Betty White is an actress, singer, author, producer, radio host, television personality, animal rights advocate, honorary forest ranger, and amateur zookeeper!!!
Betty White is an actress, singer, author, producer, radio host, television personality, animal rights advocate, honorary forest ranger, and amateur zookeeper!!!
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