As if her appearance on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” and in a Snickers commercial during the Super Bowl weren’t enough reason to love Betty White, the beloved actress’s memoir “Here We Go Again” gives at least 12 more. The original 1995 tale of life in front of the camera was re-released in September, upon the 88-year-old’s resurgence into mainstream celebrity status.
As many others in my generation, I know Betty only from the second half of her career, as she paraded around Miami with three other sassy senior citizens on the “Golden Girls.” Little did I know, this charismatic, animal-loving lady has been on television since the late 1940s. At a time when television was a minor threat to radio – only a thousand or so homes had a TV set in the Los Angeles area – White was attending weekly casting calls looking for her big break onto the black and white screen, a medium yet to burst into its full potential.
To be honest, if you’re not a lover of pop culture, television or somehow involved in the field of mass communication, “Here We Go Again” may be a struggle to get through.
Personally, I would much rather learn about the beginnings of television from White, instead of the intro to mass communication textbook that’s sitting on a shelf collecting dust.
Because of the actress’ work-a-holic tendencies, the book mainly deals with the events of her professional life, with details of personal endeavors taking a back seat.
“Sure, I get physically tired sometimes – really bushed – but only after the show is over and the makeup and the shoes come off.
Soon, the battery recharges and I’m ready to have at it again. Could be I’m hooked on adrenaline,” she says in Chapter 4 of “Here We Go Again.”
Like I said, don’t expect any juicy, previously unknown details. White is straightforward, without coming across as snooty. We find out that working six days a week on Al Jarvis’ “Hollywood on Television” was the catalyst in ending her second marriage to fellow actor and agent Lane Allen.
I won’t spoil any additional tidbits concerning White’s love life. These little details give the six-time Emmy award winner more of an honest and imperfect human quality, unlike her TV persona, which exudes vibrancy and innocence.
Speaking of innocence, that’s one of the things that makes “Here We Go Again” so great. White comes from a time when it was OK to make friends in Hollywood.
Television show ideas went straight to production and required no drawn-out approval process or contracts. This old school Hollywood camaraderie also serves as a fallback for the memoir as well.
White spends a lot of time name-dropping, listing fellow actors turned friends with whom she still plays poker or has become the godmother to their dog.
Being that I am unfamiliar with her compadres of the mid-20th century, my concentration wavered in several sections.
Although I’ve gone hot and cold for “Here We Go Again,” I ultimately approve of White’s wordy saga about her array of experiences in entertainment. My advice: Get to know the real Betty White by giving this memoir a quick read.
You’ll no longer picture her as the gullible Rose Nyland, the airhead from St. Olaf, Minn., who was always your favorite Golden Girl.
“Here We Go Again” is published by Sribner. Paperback and digital editions of the memoir are available in bookstores and on websites nationwide for about $10.
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