Betty White has been referred to alternately as the first lady of comedy or the first lady of television. Alongside Lucille Ball she was a pioneer in TV history, as one of the the first women to have her own comedy show. She went on to star in our favorite shows for decades from The Mary Tyler Moore Show to The Golden Girls, making a “comeback” at age 88 with her guest appearance on Saturday Night Live. Like so many stars of her youth, White started her career on the radio and then moved to TV in the 1950s. This means White worked with some of the greatest talents of the past century! Now she’s got her own Forever Stamp from the United States Postal Service and the stamp tells a story.
We know White as the talented actress we saw her on TV as, but she got her start in radio in the 1940s. Back then radio plays and comedy shows, as well as dramas and music, dominated the airwaves. She rode all these trends to become a household name, relevant in every decade thanks to her comedic wit and excellent timing. But, she was on TV even before that, as she was part of a test broadcast for an early TV format in 1939 as a teenager. She later went on to host a long-format daytime talk show called Hollywood on Television, where she filled the pre-primetime hours with adlib banter about the stars for a whopping 5 hours a day, 6 days a week.
One thing some don’t know about her is that she was a fierce defender of animals, and her dogs were like family to her. When White died in late 2021 at the age of 99 she left much of the fortune she made in life to the animal numerous charities she supported during her lifetime (in the form of trusts).
When Boston artist Dale Stephanos was asked to illustrate the new stamp of White, he jumped at the chance. Knowing her deep love of animals he created a subtle feature on the image. It’s so small you might not be able to see it too clearly. But, this tiny detail is a paw print earring peeking out from under her hair. If that’s not a fitting tribute we don’t know what is.
The new stamp costs 73ยข each or $14.60 for a sheet of 20. And as with all other Forever Stamps it will be good indefinitely, even if the the cost of postage goes up in the future.
Stephanos told NBC that the Betty White stamps also have significant meaning for him personally since his mother passed away just after the stamp design was completed though she lived long enough to see the success her son had this his design. The artist also said he wanted to the stamp to portray the positivity and light that White brought to the world. What a fitting tribute to the queen of TV.
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