Here's why Betty White's humor never got old

We lost Betty White, a true acting and comedy legend, in 2021. Since then, television hasn’t been quite as golden. White was best known for her many roles, including perhaps her most recognizable one, The Golden Girls.

But after The Golden Girls came Hot in Cleveland, another hot hit that premiered in 2010. The series followed three middle-aged best friends from Los Angeles whose plane, en route to Paris, makes an emergency landing in Cleveland.

On the show, White played Elka Ostrovsky, the feisty, tracksuit-wearing housekeeper at the house the women rent. She was a scene-stealer; it seemed like anytime she walked into a room, a joke was required to enter.

According to a 2010 interview with The Times, White said the key to great comedy, especially at age 88, was great writing.

After decades in comedy, White said that humor itself hadn’t changed, but the times and people had. That was true for most comics, but White had a knack for adapting rather than letting her comedy get stuck in the past.

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"I think what’s changed the most is the audience, not the comedy," White said. "The problem is the audience has heard every joke. They know every storyline. That’s hard to write for, and that’s hard to perform for, because that’s a tough audience to surprise. You just have to take your best shot. I find I do better if I just sort of shoot from the hip and hope for the best."

When asked how Hot in Cleveland compared to other series she had been on, White had great love and respect for her co-stars.

"This is a delight," White said. "Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick and Valerie Bertinelli are the three stars, and their chemistry together is wonderful. The pilot got picked up so fast that it blew all of our minds. The three girls come to Cleveland, and they’re renting a house. I have been a housekeeper at that house for 50 years, and they inherit me along with the house. And, of course, I’m a pain in the neck."

The sitcom became TV Land’s first original scripted comedy, running for six seasons and introducing White to a whole new generation of fans.

"I’ve always had a bawdy sense of humor," White said. "My father was a traveling salesman, and he would bring jokes home. My mom and dad had a wonderful sense of humor. We would even get through some of the grim times by at least keeping a little sense of humor. It sure beats the alternative."

From Life with Elizabeth in the 1950s to Hot in Cleveland in the 2010s, White’s career spanned more than 70 years. Whether she was serving cheesecake in Miami or serving sass in Cleveland, she proved that laughter really is the golden ticket.