Actress Rue McClanahan died today. She was the third of the four principle characters on the sitcom The Golden Girls to pass away, leaving only Betty White.
White is more than 88 years old now, and, arguably, she has never been more in demand than she has been lately. Last month, she hosted Saturday Night Live. In a couple of weeks, she will appear in a brand–new sitcom on TVLand — Hot in Cleveland — in which her co–stars (Valerie Bertinelli, Wendie Malick and Jane Leeves) are between 29 and 39 years younger than she is.
In all, White's career has lasted 70 years. It outlived her three marriages, and now it has outlived her three Golden Girls co–stars.
McClanahan was never the star of her own show. Her career could best be summed up as a collection of supporting roles ...
... at least until she was cast as Blanche Devereaux in The Golden Girls. She had been Bea Arthur's co–star on Maude in the 1970s, but, on The Golden Girls, she was one of four equals. And it earned her an Emmy Award in 1987.
White won an Emmy for The Golden Girls, too, and five others between 1952 and 1996 — and who knows? There may be another one in her future.
I guess we'll need to wait a few weeks to see what kind of response Hot in Cleveland receives.
But we already know that, to borrow a line currently being used in TVLand's promotions for its new show, Betty White is "white hot."
