BETTY White’s Saturday Night Live episode is set to re-air tonight as stars from Sandra Bullock to Robert Redford pay tribute to the late star.
The Golden Girl’s star – whose Hollywood career spanned almost nine decades – passed away early on New Year’s Eve, just weeks before she was due to celebrate her 100th birthday on January 17th.
In tribute to the star, NBC will re-air the 2010 episode of Saturday Night Live that was hosted by Betty on New Year’s Day at 11.30pm ET.
The episode was originally aired on May 8 and featured special guest Jay-Z.
Betty was chosen to host after a Facebook campaign to get her on the show took off.
However, Betty had initially declined offers to host the hit comedy show in the past.
“After three rejections, I stopped asking,” SNL executive producer Lorne Michaels told Entertainment Weekly at the time. “But it seemed amusing to me as the Facebook thing started.”
White referenced the campaign in her opening monologue, saying: “When I first heard about the campaign to get me to host Saturday Night Live, I didn’t know what Facebook was.”
Read our Betty White blog for the very latest news and updates…
However, Betty remained reluctant, according to an interview with the outlet at the time.
“I told my agent, ‘Thank them so much, I appreciate it, but no thank you,’. People have had such an overdose of me — they don’t need me anymore! And he said, ‘You’ve got to do it. If you don’t do it, I’ll divorce you!’,” Betty said.
During the show, Betty portrayed an old woman who vexes a census taker – who was played by Tina Fey.
The Golden Girl also played a prisoner’s grandmother and a baker on NPR’s Delicious Dish.
THE SHOW WILL GO ON
It was also announced on Saturday that a movie showcasing Betty’s incredible life will still be shown in theatres to commemorate would have been her 100th birthday later this month.
The release of a special tribute filmed ahead of the celebration, Betty White: 100 Years Young, will still go ahead as planned, the film’s producers Steve Boettcher and Mike Trinklein have assured.
In a statement to the NY Post, the pair said: “Our hearts mourn today with the passing of Betty White. During the many years we worked with her, we developed a great love and admiration for Betty as a person, and as an accomplished entertainer.
“We are thankful for the many decades of delight she brought to everyone. Betty always said she was the ‘luckiest broad on two feet’ to have had a career as long as she did. And honestly, we were the lucky ones to have had her for so long.”
“We will go forward with our plans to show the film on Jan. 17 in hopes our film will provide a way for all who loved her to celebrate her life — and experience what made her such a national treasure.”
The documentary special will profile White’s incredible eight-decade career on the small screen and will feature special appearances from a bevy of stars, including Ryan Reynolds, Tina Fey, Lin Manuel Miranda, and a number of others.
It will revisit some of her most famous performances from The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Golden Girls, in addition to clips from her first sitcom, The Life with Elizabeth, which first aired in 1953.
STAR DIED ON NEW YEAR’S EVE
Betty White died at her Los Angeles home early on Friday morning aged 99.
A source close to the star said she didn’t have any illnesses and she was not battling any particular ailment. It’s believed she passed away from natural causes.
Her agent and friend Jeff Witjas said in a statement to PEOPLE: “Even though Betty was about to be 100, I thought she would live forever.
“I will miss her terribly and so will the animal world that she loved so much. I don’t think Betty ever feared passing because she always wanted to be with her most beloved husband Allen Ludden. She believed she would be with him again.”
Fans of the beloved actress have paid tribute to White online over the last 24 hours in their thousands.
Her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame has also drawn big crowds, with mourners leaving behind candles, flowers, cards and stuffed animals.
TRIBUTES POUR IN
Star-studded tributes came flooding in shortly after the heartbreaking news broke.
Sandra Bullock told People magazine that she would honor Betty by indulging in some of the 99-year-old’s favorite things.
“I don’t drink vodka. But I will tonight, on ice, with a slice of lemon with a hot dog on the other side and just be okay being sad,” Bullock said.
Actor-director Robert Redford also told the outlet: “Betty lived life devoted to her craft and her love of animals. She made us all laugh, including me.
Betty would joke about her crush on the star, so the final part of Redford’s statement would likely have shocked her.
“I had a crush on her, too!” he said.
Fellow icon Dolly Parton also issued a touching tribute, where she said the star will “live forever.”
“While watching the news last night I learned of Betty White’s passing. Betty will live forever not only in this world but the world here after. I will always love her as we all will!” Dolly said.
