‘An icon of American television’

Betty White, who passed away in 2021 after a decades-long career in television, will be honored with a postage stamp in 2025, the US Postal Service announced Friday.

The stamp is based on a 2010 photo by Kwaku Alston and was designed by Greg Breeding, art director for the Postal Service.

“Betty White (1922-2021), an icon of American television, shared her humor and warmth with viewers for seven decades – including roles on ‘The Golden Girls’ and ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show,’” the agency said in the announcement. adding that the actor “was also revered as a compassionate advocate for animals.”

The Postal Service said the list of 2025 stamps was a partial list and that additional stamps would be announced at a later date. Other stamps announced Friday include a Keith Herring print, a tribute to the New Orleans R&B legend Allen Toussaintand a new installment in the Lunar New Year series.

Read more: Remembering Betty White: A Look Back at the Golden Career of a Golden Girl

White began her career in radio and then moved to television in 1949 when she co-hosted Al Jarvis’s variety show and eventually took over as full-time host. White went on to host several programs titled “The Betty White Show” – the first a variety show in 1958 and the last a sitcom in 1977–78.

In 1973, White was cast in the first of two signature roles: “Happy Homemaker” Sue Ann Nivens in “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” She joined halfway through the show and stayed until the end in 1977.

A few years later, she landed her career as Rose Nylund, one of four women living together in Miami in “The Golden Girls,” which held a spot in the Nielsen Top 10 for five years.

She was originally cast as the man-hungry Blanche Devereaux, while eventual portrayer Rue McClanahan was set to play the sometimes clueless Rose. But Jay Sandrich, the veteran director of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” who helmed the pilot, worried that viewers would think “she’s Sue Ann in another guise,” White said. The times in 2009.

Read more: What made Betty White the most beloved TV star of her (or perhaps any) generation

In her golden years, White appeared in a Super Bowl commercial, hosted “Saturday Night Live” and became a social media darling with a new audience of young fans.

“It’s so ridiculous at my age that all this is happening,” White said The times in 2010. “I love it.”

Following White’s death in 2021, a documentary celebrating her career was released in theaters on what would have been her 100th birthday. “Betty White: A Celebration” featured behind-the-scenes footage of her numerous acting appearances over the decades and quotes from her final interview.

Several of White’s famous friends starred in the documentary, including Tina Fey and Morgan Freeman. Ryan Reynolds, who jokingly called her his “ex-girlfriend” after starring alongside the acting veteran in the 2009 film ‘The Proposal’, he also appeared in the documentary.

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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.