BELOVED comedy legend Betty White passed away on December 31, 2021, at the age of 99.
In honor of her long-standing career, Saturday Night Live is re-airing the only episode the Golden Girls actress ever hosted.
When did Betty White host Saturday Night Live?
On May 8, 2010, Betty White hosted Saturday Night Live for the first time, after years of showrunner Lorne Michaels asking her to join the cast onstage.
“After three rejections, I stopped asking,” Michaels said, according to Entertainment Weekly.
She finally agreed to appear as a host after a Facebook campaign launched to get Betty on the show.
“I told my agent, ‘Thank them so much, I appreciate it, but no thank you,”‘ Betty said to EW at the time.
“People have had such an overdose of me – they don’t need me anymore!,” she continued. “And he said, ‘You’ve got to do it. If you don’t do it, I’ll divorce you!”‘
According to former SNL star Seth Meyers, Betty was “the only SNL host I ever saw get a standing ovation at the afterparty.”
In a tribute to the late actress, he continued: “A party at which she ordered a vodka and a hotdog and stayed til the bitter end.”
How can I watch Betty White’s episode of SNL?
On January 1, 2022, NBC is re-airing the episode of Saturday Night Live hosted by Betty White.
The show will air at its usual time, 11.30pm ET and 8.30pm PT.
Reruns of SNL are also available for viewing on Hulu, Peacock, and the NBC website.
Betty’s hosting debut saw her perform alongside the likes of Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Maya Rudolph.
The musical guest at the time of her hosting gig was rapper Jay-Z.
Is there a Betty White documentary special?
On Saturday, January 1, 2022, it was also announced a movie celebrating Betty’s long life will still be shown in theatres on what would have been her 100th birthday, despite her death at 99.
Betty White: 100 Years Young, will release in theatres on January 17, 2022.
In a statement to the NY Post, film’s producers Steve Boettcher and Mike Trinklein 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 statement continued.
Included in the documentary will be special appearances from numerous stars, such as Ryan Reynolds and Lin Manuel Miranda.
The movie will cover her eight-decade long career, and will revisit some of her most famous performances from The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Golden Girls, among others.
What was Betty White’s cause of death?
Sources told TMZ that the iconic star passed away at her home on the morning of New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2021.
The source added that she didn’t have any illnesses and she was not battling any particular ailment, and it is believed she died of natural causes.
“Even though Betty was about to be 100, I thought she would live forever,” Betty’s agent, Jeff Witjas, said in a statement to PEOPLE.
“I will miss her terribly and so will the animal world that she loved so much,” he continued.
“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.”
