Vodka, Lost Loves & Lawsuits! Inside Betty White’s 97 Years Of Secrets & Scandals
Jan. 17 2019, Updated 6:20 p.m. ET
Betty White is celebrating turning 97 on January 17. Through the years, the beloved comedian has weathered everything from the death of her beloved husband to jealous Golden Girls co-stars. Click through RadarOnline.com's gallery to find out more about her many ups and downs.
White attributes her long life to two very secret weapons: vodka and hotdogs! “Probably in that order,” she has said.
As RadarOnline.com reported, White is still bellying up to the bar. Sources exclusively told RadarOnline.com the former Golden Girls star is a familiar face at the Pacific Dining Car in Santa Monica. “Betty has been coming in here for years,” an insider revealed of the actress who “loves her Grey Goose!” The source added, “They’ve had to help her walk out because she’s had a little too much enjoyment.”
In 2016, Anita Maynard sued White, who she worked for as a domestic employee, from February 1994 through March 2016. Maynard claimed she worked without overtime on shifts that lasted longer than 14 hours and was then fired. At the time, the canned helper said she “was not a personal attendant because she spent more than 20 percent of her time performing work other than feeding and dressing a person who needs supervision."
A publicist for White denied the former Golden Girls star mistreated Maynard or any other employee. “Betty has worked with thousands of people over the years and no one has ever had anything but positive things to say about her,” the rep said, adding, “She’s someone who is kind to everyone she meets and remains focused on making others happy.” The case was later dismissed.
White may not have been as chummy with her Golden Girls colleagues as everyone believed. According to Jim Colucci, who wrote Golden Girls Forever, her costar, Bea Arthur, worried after White was the first star on the show to win an Emmy. “There was joking when Betty came in after that: ‘Oh boy, it’s going to be rough around here,’” he said.
As White ages, she’s getting dizzy spells and having a harder and harder time hiding the effects of time.
“This is likely the result of arteriosclerosis," said New York internist Dr. Stuart Fischer, who has not treated the actress. “She’s driving herself too hard and needs a round-the-clock nurse to monitor her condition, or it will likely lead to an imminent and potentially fatal heart attack or stroke."
“Betty needs prayers to not only get over her dizzy spells, but also to help her cope with the life changes she’ll experience when she gives up TV for good,” a friend recently noted.
White was devastated by the 1981 death of her husband of 18 years, former Password host Allen Ludden, who died from stomach cancer.
White later admitted that she still beats herself up over not getting married to him faster. “I spent a whole year, wasted a whole year that Allen and I could have had together, saying, ‘No, I wouldn’t marry him. No, I won’t. No, I won’t leave California. No, I won’t move to New York,’” she has recalled. “I wasted a whole year we could have had together.”
Despite all her ups and downs through the years, White tries to maintain a positive outlook on life. “I know it sounds corny, but I try to see the funny side and the upside, not the downside,” she has said. “I get bored with people who complain about this or that. It’s such a waste of time.”
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