Interviewing Betty White Was One Of The Best Moments Of My Life
2021 just had to get in one last dig, didn't it? Betty White passed away on New Year's Eve 2021, despite all the calls to wrap her in the softest cotton to keep her safe. I think she would have laughed at all of this. Of course she would have. Betty White had the greatest sense of humor, ever. I was lucky enough to interview her on the red carpet for the film "You Again."
Even though the video doesn't exist anymore (it was sponsored so it disappeared), you can tell how happy I am even in the intro shot. How could I not be? Betty White was a legend, a lover of animals, and one of the funniest people to ever grace our screens.
What I remember most about that interview was her grin. I don't get star-struck after all the years I've worked in this business, but every once in a while, someone legendary pops out at you. Betty White was that person. I'd been watching her since I was little, marveling over her silliness and pure innocence as Rose in "Golden Girls," and her dusty muffins skit on "Saturday Night Live." This woman would say anything for a laugh, and screw decorum; it was the joy she got from those laughs that boosted that smile.
Dusty Muffins
I remember the moment she walked up the carpet. I watched her chatting with people, laughing and tossing her hands around as though everything we said as interviewers was the funniest thing she'd ever heard. When she approached, I felt a feeling like I did when my grandmother was coming over as a kid. We chatted about the movie, but you could see in her face that she just knew I was having an inner nervous giggle fit. When our couple of minutes was done (you don't get much on a red carpet), she grabbed my free hand and patted it. She said (and I'll never forget this), "You did a great job, honey! You're funny!"
I'm funny? I am a piece of dust on an ant next to the skyscraper that is Betty White! The joy this woman had in a happy cloud around her was palpable. She also had something I've only ever seen working with Stan Lee: a love for her fans that made every answer to a question or photo she took with someone look like it was the best thing she'd done all day.
This is who I want to be when I grow up. I want to be someone who is so full of happiness, right up until the end. I want to be Betty White. We should all be Betty White. The world would be a much nicer place.