Betty White’s co-star reveals ‘naughty jokes’ on her 100th birthday
]
Betty White didn’t get to turn 100 on Jan. 17, but her legacy — and her “naughty jokes” — will live on forever.
The showbiz icon for more than eight decades died at the age of 99 on Dec. 31.
To commemorate what would have been White’s milestone birthday, her “The Mary Tyler Show” co-star Joyce Bulifant is looking back fondly on her time working with America’s eternal golden girl in the 1970s.
“We all felt that Betty was going to live forever,” Bulifant, 84, told Fox News. “But she will live forever in all of our hearts because wherever she went, she just made you feel fun and joyous.”
Bulifant played Marie Slaughter, the wife of news writer Murray Slaughter (Gavin MacLeod), on the sitcom. White portrayed hyper-erotic homemaker Sue Ann Nivens in the series.
Candles burn at a memorial to actress Betty White next to her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Dec. 31, 2021, in Hollywood. AFP via Getty Images
“We were together on set, but also on game shows, too,” Bulifant continued. “We appeared on ‘Match Game,’ and I sat in the same seat that she did to keep it warm for her until she came back. I just remember her being so warm, joyful and welcoming to me. She was always so kind, not just to me, but to everyone she met.”
She then recalled the fun times she had with White during filming. “One thing I loved about her is that she gave me permission to tell naughty jokes,” Bulifant revealed. “She said that whenever I told her naughty jokes, it sounded like a nursery rhyme. So that gave me permission.”
Of the animal advocate’s role as saucy Sue Ann, Bulifant remembered how “she brought her own wonderful sense of humor to that role.” She said, “She made Sue Ann flirtatious and deliciously fun for everyone. She was able to make innuendos without being salacious. She certainly had a gift.”
Joyce Bulifant in 1976 and Betty White in 2015. “With Betty, I think we all thought she was going to live forever,” Bulifant said. “I miss her warmth and kindness.” Getty Images/WireImage
Bulifant revealed that she kept in touch with White as the years went on and she had hoped to visit her before her passing.
White portrayed Sue Anne Nivens on iconic 1970s sitcom “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” CBS via Getty Images
“I felt awful because I had moved to Colorado and lost track for a while,” she said. “And then when I came to LA for a visit, I wanted to see her. I called and the lady who took care of making arrangements for her answered. I told her I wanted to see her, and she said, ‘Oh yes, Betty would love that. She would love to see you. I’ll get back to you. Please call me again on this day so we can schedule it and make it happen.’ I wrote down the number she gave me and I lost that slip of paper. And then my husband had been diagnosed with cancer. So I was certainly not in a good frame of mind to keep anything together.”
“I lost track,” Bulifant said. “That makes me very sad … you just never know how much time you have with someone. And with Betty, I think we all thought she was going to live forever. I miss her warmth and kindness.”
In honor of White’s 100th birthday, fans have been undertaking the #BettyWhiteChallenege. The virtual event is taking place on her b-day and asks fans to donate $5 to animal rescues or shelters in her name.
Betty White adored animals, so shelters and zoos are celebrating her 100th birthday
]
There are also photographs of her cradling a boa constrictor at the L.A. Zoo, which she started frequenting when it opened in 1966, then became member of the board of trustees in 1974. Her first act was to do a TV special with her friends from “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” which greatly raised awareness about the zoo in Los Angeles. Every time she’d come, says Jacobson, she’d travel around the zoo on a tour with a docent, making two stops every time. One was to Allen Ludden Plaza, where she would go to the plaque with his name on it, dust it off, kneel down and say a few quiet words to him. And then she’d always say hi to Elka, the orangutan who’s named after White’s character, Elka Ostrovsky, in “Hot in Cleveland.” Like Betty and Allen the porcupines, Elka is thriving and turning 10.
For years, bar patrons bought beers for Betty White hoping she’d come claim them. The funds are now going to animal charity.
]
While Zupke still wishes White could have stopped by for a hug and a cold beer, he believes the way in which the people of Mineral Point and beyond have come together to honor her is perhaps even more meaningful. He likes to call the town “Betty White’s adoptive home,” whether it’s an exaggeration or not.
Happy birthday, Betty White! Late ‘Golden Girl’ would have turned 100 on Monday
]
Even though Betty White isn’t here to see it, fans of the legendary and beloved actress will still honor what would’ve been White’s 100th birthday on Jan. 17.
The lovable “Golden Girls” and “Mary Tyler Moore Show” actor died from a stroke she had six days before her Dec. 31 death at age 99. She passed at her home in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles as the result of a Dec. 25 cerebrovascular accident, the medical term for a stroke.
White had anticipated celebrating her centennial birthday. In a People cover story on White’s upcoming 100th birthday, the magazine’s Jan. 10 issue touted White’s secrets for longevity and quoted her as saying, “Funny never gets old.”
RELATED: Iconic TV actress, comedian Betty White passes away at 99
“My 100th birthday… I cannot believe it is coming up, and People Magazine is celebrating with me!” she tweeted on Dec. 28 in what would be her last post.
A film honoring White on her birthday will be released as planned for a one-day showing in more than 900 theaters nationwide, said Steve Boettcher and Mike Trinklein, producers of “Betty White: 100 Years Young — A Birthday Celebration.”
Fans, along with many organizations, plan to pay homage to White on Jan. 17 by donating to an animal shelter or rescue mission in her honor in what’s called the “Betty White Challenge.” White was a lifelong animal lover who worked tirelessly to raise money and support various causes.
RELATED: Remember Betty White with these free-streaming Tubi movies, TV series
“Betty’s love for animals as she says started in the womb….She had an uncanny way of communicating with all types of 4-legged creatures…The animals just knew through Betty’s voice and body movement that she meant no harm,” Jeff Witjas, White’s agent previously told FOX Television Stations. “In fact, there may have been a few times she would make a funny face and the animal would show signs of smiling….Betty always knew how to work her audience. I plan on Betty’s birthday to do a number of personal and private things to celebrate her fabulous life.”
Purina and Petfinder announced last week they will join fans in taking on the #BettyWhiteChallenge by donating a split $15,000 between two animal organizations.
White began her television career as $50-a-week sidekick to a local Los Angeles TV personality in 1949. She was hired for a local daytime show starring Al Jarvis, the best-known disc jockey in Los Angeles. Her combination of sweetness and edginess gave life to a roster of quirky characters in shows from the sitcom “Life With Elizabeth” in the early 1950s to oddball Rose Nylund in “The Golden Girls” in the ’80s to “Boston Legal,” which ran from 2004 to 2008.
RELATED: Betty White: Fans seek to honor late animal lover with donations to shelters, rescues
But it was in 2010 that White’s stardom erupted as never before.
In a Snickers commercial that premiered during that year’s Super Bowl telecast, she impersonated an energy-sapped dude getting tackled during a backlot football game.
“Mike, you’re playing like Betty White out there,” jeered one of his chums. White, flat on the ground and covered in mud, fired back, “That’s not what your girlfriend said!”
The instantly-viral video helped spark a Facebook campaign called “Betty White to Host SNL (please?)!,” whose half-million fans led to her co-hosting “Saturday Night Live” in a much-watched, much-hailed edition that Mother’s Day weekend. The appearance won her a seventh Emmy award.
RELATED: Betty White Challenge: Purina, Petfinder donate $15k to support animals
A month later, cable’s TV Land premiered “Hot In Cleveland,” the network’s first original scripted series, which starred Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves and Wendie Malick as three past-their-prime show-biz veterans who move to Cleveland to escape the youth obsession of Hollywood. They move into a home being looked after by an elderly Polish widow — a character, played by White, who was meant to appear only in the pilot episode.
But White stole the show, and the salty Elka Ostrovsky became a key part of the series, an immediate hit. She was voted the Entertainer of the Year by members of The Associated Press.
FILE - Actress Betty White poses at the celebration of her 93rd birthday on the set of “Hot in Cleveland” held at CBS Studios - Radford on January 16, 2015 in Studio City, California. (Photo by Mark Davis/Getty Images for TV Land) Expand
“It’s ridiculous,” White said of the honor. “They haven’t caught on to me, and I hope they never do.”
By then, White had not only become the hippest star around, but also a role model for how to grow old joyously.
“Don’t try to be young,” she told the AP. “Just open your mind. Stay interested in stuff. There are so many things I won’t live long enough to find out about, but I’m still curious about them.”
And when asked how she had managed to be universally beloved during her decades-spanning career, she summed up with a dimpled smile: “I just make it my business to get along with people so I can have fun. It’s that simple.”
Advertisement
The Associated Press and Stephanie Weaver contributed to this report. This story was reported from Los Angeles.
Betty White and ‘The Golden Girls’ groundbreaking impact on the LGBTQ community
]
When Colorado Public Radio reporter Vic Vela found out he was HIV+ in the 1990s, he found comfort in an episode of “The Golden Girls” that helped him deal with his diagnosis.