Person One Person I Feel

¶ … Person

One person I feel has succeeded very well in becoming one of the most unusual people in the world today is Betty White. Among her many admirable qualities, the 91-year-old actress continues to work in her long-held and loved career, puts a lot of time and energy into her charity work, and has been married no less than three times. Born in 1922, Betty White's career in television began during the 1950s, when she worked as assistant at a local television station. Soon, she worked with George Tibbles to produce her first series, "Life with Elizabeth. Even during these beginnings, Ms. White showed herself as a uniquely-minded young woman, being one of the first female producers in Hollywood (A+E Television Networks, 2013). During the early years of her career, Ms. White made regular appearances on various talk and game shows. Betty White was catapulted to stardom when she became part of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," in which she played a sharp-witted and often sharp-tongued newsroom employee. She followed this with her next big role as Rose Nylund on "The Golden Girls." This provided her with an opportunity to further exploit her attraction to the unusual. The show was somewhat unique in a decade during which youth was celebrated as the ideal. In his environment, Betty and her co-stars proved that there was an audience for shows with older characters. This also set the stage for later success in guest starring roles such as her recurring appearance on "Boston Legal." Her most recent success came in 2010, when she started working on "Hot In Cleveland," and she has not looked back since. Betty White's career is highly unusual in that she is still as much an audience favorite as she was more than 50 years ago. She is showing no signs of slowing down and serves as an inspiration to millions. Betty White's life away from the cameras is equally fascinating and usual. She is, for example, very passionate about animals. According to her biography, on of the professions listed for her is "animal activist." Specifically, this takes the form of her word with the Los Angeles Zoo and the Morris Animal Foundation. She has worked with both for more than four decades. Knowing how busy she must be between her profession and her charity work, some may be surprised to learn that she is also the author of several books. Her most prolific work was during the 1980s and 1990s, although the new millennium also saw some of her work published. Finally, Betty White was married three times, which is another unusual part of her life and nature, especially for the era in which she lived as a young woman. At a time when divorce and remarriage were almost unheard of, Betty White found the man she refers to as "the love of her life" only the third time around. She was married to Allen Ludden until his death in 1981. Her first two marriages were to Dick Barker, who was a WWII pilot and to Lane Allen, a theatrical agent. In short, what makes Betty White unusual is not only her continued success, but also the energy with which she continues to do her work, even at 91 years of age. She is therefore a true inspiration to millions across the world, including me. I can only hope that, as I progress through the years of my life, that I can do even half as much with my life as Betty White continues to do. What makes life interesting and ultimately worth living is the fact that there are so many unusual and interesting people in the world. Even at a time when the population of the world is exploding, some among us manage to create their own unique brand of being and doing things. I find this truly admirable and can only hope that, when my life is over, I will survive in at least a few memories as a person who was as unique and interesting as it is possible to be. This is what people like Ms. White teach me. Her life and her energy are a true testament to human potential and excellence.