Betty White Proves She’s the First Lady of TV at the Emmys

Tonight’s Emmys was a special occasion, not just because there was a legit marriage proposal on stage (!). No, it’s also special because it’s the 70th Emmy Awards, and boy oh boy does TV love celebrating its history! And, as a TV devotee, I’m glad they do, because I also love celebrating TV history. And when you want to celebrate the history of television, the living history of television, there’s really only one person you can bring out: Betty freakin’ White.

At 96, Betty has been part of TV from the very beginning, literally. In 1949, she broke into TV by co-hosting a 5.5 hour, 6 days a week program called Hollywood on Television. She then became the show’s sole host in 1951, becoming quite possibly the first solo female TV host ever. So yeah, you bring out Betty White when you wanna talk about the history of TV.

So the Emmys did bring out Betty White, to a much deserved standing ovation (Betty White has deserved a standing ovation upon entering any room for the last 40 years). And then, despite being older than the very awards show honoring her, she brought the jokes.

“Somebody said something the other day about ‘first lady of television,’ and I took it as a big compliment,” said White. “And then I overheard her talking to her daughter a little later and she said, ‘First lady, yeah, she’s that old! She was the first one way, way back when!'”

Did you know that in addition to being the first female TV host, Betty White is also believed to be the first female TV producer? Yeah, she produced the sitcom Life With Elizabeth, which she also starred in, from 1953 to 1955. By the time she was a game show mainstay in the ’60s, she was already maybe the most recognizable female TV star this side of Lucy.

“It’s incredible that I’m still in this business and that you still put up with me,” said White during tonight’s Emmy’s ceremony, to a crowd of adoring onlookers.

Of course we put up with Betty White! Betty, you were in at least two of the greatest sitcoms of all time! Halfway through its run, White joined the cast of the seminal ’70s sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show as the snarky, shade-throwing, sexpot Sue Ann Nivens (the Happy Homemaker). And then ten years later, she returned to TV as Rose Nylund in The Golden Girls, playing the exact opposite of Sue Ann! And Betty didn’t stop there! She just wrapped up another long run on TV Land’s Hot in Cleveland, which ended when she was 93 years old! Ninety-three, people!

During her speech tonight, she kept thanking Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels, in a cheeky and risque way. “I want to thank Lorne Michaels for doing not only this tonight, but all the wonderful things he’s done with me–no, for me.”

In 2010 at the age of 88, Betty White won an Emmy for hosting Saturday Night Live, a gig she got because 1. She’s a legend and 2. Facebook was used to do wholesome fun things in 2010, like get Betty White to host SNL. She became the oldest person to ever win an Emmy, an honor she held until this year.

Betty White got her first Emmy nomination in 1951, at the 3rd annual Emmys! Since then, she’s been nominated 21 times, winning 5. She’s won for The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Golden Girls, a guest spot on The John Larroquette Show, and hosting SNL.

First lady of television? Yeah, you bet. Betty White is television’s history, and the women she has inspired over the past 70 years are the future.