Television Academy Pays Tribute to Betty White

On Thursday, August 7, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences held a special event in honor of 86-year-old Betty White and her impressive sixty-year television career. Not only did White star on seminal shows such as Mary Tyler Moore (1970–1977) and The Golden Girls (1985–1992), but also TV series like Life with Elizabeth and Date with Angels that go all the way back to 1953.

Special guests at this week’s California ceremony included White’s former colleagues and fellow entertainers Ed Asner, Craig Ferguson, Valerie Harper, Susan Harris, Cloris Leachman, Gavin MacLeod, John McCook, Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Stewart, and Tom Sullivan. There was a special musical performance courtesy of Michael Feinstein, as well.

So many were eager to attend the tribute to one of the television industry’s most beloved and respected stars, it sold out in advance. Anyone and everyone can take a look at the many photos from the occasion that follow the jump, however. It must have been very touching for White to see the big crowd at North Hollywood’s Leonard H. Goldenson Theatre coming just for her.

Incidentally, White’s other longtime Mary Tyler Moore co-star Ted Knight wasn’t at the event because he passed away in 1986 due to cancer.