Betty White: An Enduring Sitcom Icon

摘要

THE STORY GOES THAT NBC PROGRAMMING wunderkind Brandon Tartikoff, on a visit to his elderly aunt, noticed how she and her best friend and neighbor bickered humorously, and interacted with love and the more-than-occasional zinger. That was one of several observations by the network's brass that helped give birth to a 1985 sitcom about a group of older women called The Golden Girls. The high anticipation for the series was such that co-star Betty White, by then already one of the most lauded performers in TV history, quipped: "In all the hundred years I've been in this business, I've never seen this kind of pre-hype ... At least they can't miss the fact that we're on. We will not go down by default." It did not go down at all, and White won a Best Actress Emmy for playing sweetly naive Rose Nylund on the incredibly beloved series. In all, White has won seven Emmys. And a People's Choice Award for "favorite TV icon." And a Guinness World Record distinction for "Longest TV Career for an Entertainer (Female)." And the crown for America's Most Appealing Celebrity from Reuters.