Betty White Would’ve Turned 100 Today And She Had A Final Message To Her Fans
There will be various birthday celebrations for the late actor who passed away just days before reaching her centenary.
Today is Betty White's birthday and the late actor and icon would have turned 100.
The world was shocked and saddened when it was revealed the star passed away on New Year's Eve 2021 and was so close to reaching her centenary.
There was a huge party lined up for White and her fans for January 17.
A film titled Betty White: 100 Years Young - A Birthday Celebration was due to be released in cinemas all over America for one day only.
That movie will still be shown, however the producer has dropped the last three words from the title out of respect to Betty's passing.
According to USA Today, Betty sat down on December 20 to record a message to her fans, which was going to be included in the film.
100 Years Young producer Steven Boettcher said: "The video was Betty's idea. Betty wanted to be gracious and say thank you to her fans. So she got 'glammed up,' as she called it, and went on camera.
"Literally that's the last thing that I, or any of us, heard from Betty. So it's obviously bittersweet."
He said there was a discussion of potentially cancelling the movie rollout.
"But Betty's team was adamant that it go on, that Betty would want this to go forward," he added. "This is one of those really unique moments that just brings us together."
The message that she filmed for her fans will be the last we get to hear from the icon.
The guest list for the film is set to include Ryan Reynolds, Tina Fey, Robert Redford, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, Jay Leno, Carol Burnett, Craig Ferguson, Jimmy Kimmel, Valerie Bertinelli, James Corden, Wendie Malick and Jennifer Love Hewitt.
The Hallmark Channel will host a marathon of 40 straight episodes of The Golden Girls, NatGeo Wild will run Betty White Goes Wild, which focused on her animal advocacy efforts, and other channels will play their shows featuring the 99-year-old.
In a career that spanned over 80 years, she proved that age is certainly just a number.
She is best known for her Emmy-winning roles on television sitcoms The Golden Girls and The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
The 99-year-old recently featured on People magazine's front cover to discuss her longevity ahead of her birthday and said that her mother installed a positive attitude in her which is what lead to a long and happy life.
She said: "I got it from my mom, and that never changed. I always find the positive."
Featured Image Credit: DisneyTopics: Betty White, Entertainment, Celebrity
Stewart Perrie