Betty White will be celebrating her 99th birthday in quarantine, but the ever-optimistic television legend will still be making the most of her big day. In the interest of staying safe, Betty White has largely kept to herself over the past year, practicing social distancing by staying at home and working on crossword puzzles. Last year, her publicist reported that White was “doing very well” with her animal friends helping to keep her company.
Now, with White turning 99 on Sunday, The Golden Girls star recently revealed her birthday plans while speaking with ET. As White explains, her focus is mostly on getting her classic series The Pet Set re-released on modern platforms next month. She will also continue to feed the ducks that have spent the past year coming to see White outside her home during the pandemic.
“You probably didn’t ask, but I’ll tell you anyway,” White said of her birthday plans. “What am I doing for my birthday? Running a mile each morning has been curtailed by COVID, so I am working on getting The Pet Set re-released, and feeding the two ducks who come to visit me every day.”
The Pet Set originally aired on television in 1971 with White producing and serving as the host. Highlighting celebrities and their pets, hosting the series was a perfect gig for an animal health advocate like White. Some of the other celebrities to appear on the show include Burt Reynolds, Mary Tyler Moore, Carol Burnett, Doris Day, and James Stewart. In addition to spotlighting the pets of famous people, White also had discussions about pet care, ecology, and wildlife preservation.
“The Pet Set is one of my favorite shows,” White said while promoting the re-release of the classic series. “I’m thrilled it’s going to be seen again after all these years.
While The Pet Set is among White’s proudest accomplishments, she is perhaps best known for starring as Rose Nylund on the popular sitcom The Golden Girls. Maintaining a large cult following over the years, the show is widely regarded as one of the best sitcoms of all time. Also starring in the show’s ensemble cast were Bea Arthur as Dorothy Zbornak, Rue McClanahan as Blanche Devereaux, and Estelle Getty as Sophia Petrillo. Though she was the oldest of the four cast members, White is the sole surviving lead actress from the show.
After The Golden Girls, White has continued to appear in a wide variety of television shows and movies. At the age of 88, she was again cast in a recurring role on a sitcom as Elka Ostrovsky on Hot in Cleveland in 2010. Between 2012 and 2014, she also hosted her own hidden camera prank show Betty White’s Off Their Rockers, following senior citizens playing practical jokes on younger people. More recently, White lent her voice to a toy tiger named Bitey White in the acclaimed Pixar movie Toy Story 4.
The Pet Set will be released on DVD and streaming platforms courtesy of MPI Media Group on Feb. 23. You can also check out The Golden Girls streaming on Hulu. White is also set to appear in a Christmas movie for Lifetime later this year, so as long as it’s safe to film. This news comes to us from ET Online.