If You Ask Me - Betty White [7]
We had also been nominated for the show itself, for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. That was the one I wish we had won rather than the individual, but my castmates didn’t seem to care one bit.
My beloved castmates couldn’t have celebrated more.
Actors tend to take the bows for their performances and forget to share the credit with those who put the words on the page. Where would we be without them? To be blessed with good writing is such a privilege, and I have been so lucky. Shows like The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Golden Girls have lasted over time thanks to some of the best writing in the business, and I am ever grateful.
The morning after the SAG Awards, we had a table read for Hot in Cleveland. Suzanne Martin, the creator of the show, who does a lot of the writing, walked in and said, “Welcome to the award-winning Hot in Cleveland !”
It was a great moment.
Completely stunned at the 2011 Screen Actors Guild Awards!
KEVIN WINTER/GETTY IMAGES
NAME-DROPPING
At the 2010 SAG Awards, I was honored with the Life Achievement Award.
I got up from the table, and once again I had that moment of sudden contrast—when I got up to the podium, I turned around, and here’s this enormous Shrine Auditorium audience. It’s just overwhelming.
When I gained my composure, I tried to explain that being in show business is like living in a small town.
Your paths really cross and cross again through the years.
Even if you’ve not seen someone in a long time, all of a sudden you’re working with him or her again.
I talked about how two show-business people who encounter each other might not know each other, but they’re automatically in the same club, and they greet each other like friends.
And I talked about how I’ve never gotten used to running across a celebrity. I’m always impressed. I’ve never outgrown it. I still remember the thrill I had the day I came home and there was a message that Fred Astaire had called. Fred Astaire!
So I said to the audience ...
“I look out here and everybody is famous. And I’ve had the privilege of knowing many of you and working with some of you—I’ve even had a few of you! You know who you are.”
Afterward, as I was led back to my table, George Clooney was at the podium. He saw me walking across the room and said, “And while I’m here, I’d like to thank Betty White for her discretion.”
At the 2010 Screen Actors Guild Awards. My friend Sandra Bullock presented me with the Life Achievement Award.
KEVIN WINTER/GETTY IMAGES
TURNING DOWN ROLES
I’m often asked if there are roles I was offered that I regret turning down.
The answer is No.
Sure, I’ve turned down parts in movies that went on to be successful.
One was As Good as It Gets.
But in that movie, there was a scene in which a character throws a dog down a laundry chute. When I read the part, I told the director, James Brooks, who is amazingly talented, “I just can’t do that!” I know it’s for laughs, but given my feelings about animals and my work for animal welfare, I just didn’t find it funny. I didn’t think it would be a good example to people who might try it in real life.
I was hoping that Jim would change it! But Jim had fallen in love with the scene and wouldn’t change it. So I said, “Sorry, I can’t do it. But thank you very much!”
Another script was sent to me, and it started with a truly disgusting scene in which a drunken Santa Claus is vomiting all over a stack of toys. I didn’t find that funny, either. The scriptwriters were these really talented guys, but I said, “Thank you but no thanks!”
So the answer is, more than regretting not taking a role, I feel good that I’ve turned down roles for the right reasons.
With Leslie Nielsen in Chance of a Lifetime.
PHOTO BY ALICE S. HALL/MPTVIMAGES.COM
OLD FRIENDS,