Betty White, 88, Hollywood’s “IT” Girl

Betty White, 88, Hollywood’s “IT” Girl
Golden Girl latest gis: SNL host, Hot in Cleveland sitcom, You Again film & her own hot dog

Everywhere you look these days you’ll find Hollywood’s latest “it” girl, Betty White. Thanks to the efforts of her growing multi-generational fan-base, you’ll see her hosting NBC’s Saturday Night Live on May 8th.

And she was just seen at the opening of Universal CityWalk’s Pink’s Hot Dog stand. The dedicated animal advocate introduced Pink’s “Betty White Naked Hot Dog,” with proceeds from the special weenies to benefit animal shelters. “I couldn’t be more thrilled,” the Golden Girl gushed as she enjoyed her yummy namesake hot dog.

Among her other recent gigs, Betty was a presenter at the TV Land Awards and brought the star-studded crowd to its feet. She has a new series upcoming on TV Land called Hot in Cleveland. The DVD of the comedy movie The Proposal she did with Sandra Bullock is selling like hot cakes. And she has another big movie coming up this fall, You Again starring Kristin Bell.

 “People are saying that I’m making a comeback, but the truth is, I never went away. I refused to go away. You just can’t get rid of me. I just keep showing up and doing what I can to make people smile,” Betty said sweetly. Getting tackled on the Super Bowl commercial is a great example of doing anything for a laugh.

The feisty gal also shows up to do what she can to help animals. White has been a longtime supporter of animal rights. At the Pink’s Hot Dog event at Universal CityWalk, she explained that the hot dog named in her honor would help support the Los Angeles Department of Animal Services’ animal shelters.

Although Pink’s is famous for its chili dogs and a lot of toppings, Betty told everyone, “I have loved Pink’s hot dogs for ever and ever, so when they said they were going to name one after me, I said, ‘Well, I don’t put anything on it, I just have the wiener and the bun.’ So they said, ‘Well, yours is a naked hot dog.’ I wish they had never thought of that!”

Betty then posed with a little shelter dog named Mustard, who was adopted soon after his picture with White was circulated by the media.

Now White heads to New York to host Saturday Night Live for the first time in her illustrious seven-decade-long career, on May 8th. Lorne Michaels, creator-producer of SNL, said, “I can’t think of a better way to spend Mother’s Day weekend than with Betty White.”

The legendary, six-time Emmy-winning White is best known for her performances as Rose Nylund on NBC’s much-loved The Golden Girls, and as sassy Sue Ann Nivens on the The Mary Tyler Moore Show classic sitcom.

Joining Betty on SNL will be the Grammy-winning Jay-Z. When asked if she had ever heard of the contemporary music mogul, White was shocked at the question. “Of course I do. I haven’t been living in a cave, you know.