BETTY WHITE IN PERSON

by Betty White ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 2, 1987

Painfully painless sunnytudes by the ever-upbeat TV comedienne. Perhaps the perfect soporific for terminal golden-agers, this is a sheaf of wise saws for the relentlessly optimistic. White's subjects are off the top of her head: On Saving Things, On Name-dropping, On Fans in General, On Laughter, On Imagination, On Superstition, On Moods, On Aging, On Things I Hate, On Sex (""Today, it's a little like walking across a swamp on a footbridge. . .one misstep, and you are in the muck. But one man's muck is another man's humor. . .and it is all a very subjective game""), On Enthusiasm, On Animals. . .Naturally, and so on. Her chat ""On Professional Jealousy"" does work in some storyish autobiographical facts about her famous programs, The Golden Girls and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and she also squeezes out some interest recounting being a surprise guest on This Is Your Life."" Her strongest passage is ""On Grief. . .and Hope,"" in which she tells of her husband's death by cancer and the rallying of her friends, though these few facts are laid out on black velvet: ""Grief, the monster, doesn't just finally go away. It goes into a very light sleep, deep inside you, where, now and then, something unexpected will cause it to stir uneasily. You tread very lightly until it dozes off again."" This rerun should be sold with toothpicks to keep your eyes open.

Pub Date: Oct. 2, 1987

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1987

Categories: NONFICTION