Actress and icon Betty White died Friday at the age of 99. Her career as a comic actress

on TV, on radio, in movies and more lasted more than 80 years.

Among many other things Betty White was a trailblazer, a record-setter, and one of the most

venerated figures in the history of television. I'm Linda Holmes.

And I'm Stephen Thompson. Today we are remembering Betty White on pop culture happy hour from NPR.

It's just us today. Betty White died Friday, just 18 days shy of her 100th birthday. Her

career on television dates back to 1939 before most households even had a TV, and she was

a constant presence on television dating back to the early 50s. She hosted variety and

talk shows. She appeared on three different TV projects called the Betty White Show, and

she earned eight Emmy awards for a wide range of work. She was probably best known for

two major TV roles. In the 70s, she played the lusty sex pot Su-Anne Nivens on the

Mary Tyler Moore Show, and in the 80s and 90s, she played sweet but confused Rose Nyland

on the Golden Girls.

Never fear Dr. Rose's here. I made you both an old-fashioned, sad old-off tonic. Guaranteed

to get you back on your feet and put hair on your chest. That's the one nasty side effect

they could never figure out. Betty White popped up everywhere. She did

comedy's dramas, soap operas, talk shows, and many, many game shows, which we will talk

about. She wrote books. She hosted the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. She raised a lot

of money for animal welfare charities and much more. In 2010, when she was 88, she became

the oldest person ever to host Saturday Night Live. Linda, after all that, I still don't

know where to begin on Betty White's legacy.

Yeah, you know, it's funny. As I listened to you do that intro. It was like, yeah, I forgot

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