Betty White on The Golden Girls.Photo: getty
Google is celebratingBetty White’s birthday with a special tribute to the late star.
Also on Monday, a special film event,Betty White: A Celebration, will be screened in select theaters across the country in honor of her.
The film, which was originally titledBetty White: 100 Years Youngprior to her death, will showcase clips from White’s long career in Hollywood, from her early role in a 1950’s sitcom toGolden Girls, Hot in ClevelandandThe Proposal.
It willfeature Whiteand a star-studded cast of her celebrity friends, includingRyan Reynolds,Tina Fey,Robert Redford,Lin Manuel- Miranda,Clint Eastwood,Morgan Freeman,Jay Leno,Carol Burnett, Craig Ferguson,Jimmy Kimmel,Valerie Bertinelli,James Corden, Wendy Malick andJennifer Love Hewitt.
Steven Boettcher, who produced and directed the one-day-only special, previously told PEOPLE that Whiterecorded her own messagefor the movie just 10 days before she died. He said she was in “great spirits” the day she filmed it.
“She was great, she was funny, she was the adorable Betty White we all know and love,” he said. “I mean, you see her and you just can’t help but love her and she was amazing — just amazing.”
“She was really pointed too about talking to the fans and just saying how much love and admiration she has for them, and it’s so sincere, she really meant it,” Boettcher added. “And this was her idea to do this little video. It was not our idea, so I think that even makes it more special.”
Betty White.getty
Boettcher said he had been working with White on the project for the past decade and grew close to her during that time. He described the finished film as “just truly Betty.”
“People getting together and celebrating Betty is really the most important thing and the reason we went forward with it, because Betty would have wanted it,” he said.
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Ahead of her centennial year, White herselfopened up to PEOPLEabout how she was feeling about turning 100 years old.
According to her, being “born a cockeyed optimist” was the key to her upbeat nature. “I got it from my mom, and that never changed,” she said. “I always find the positive.”
Of course, the actress also cracked a joke about the secret to her long life, telling PEOPLE: “I try to avoid anything green. I think it’s working.”
source: people.com
