White Draws Big Audience As Comedy Queen On Snl
By WENNMonday, May 10, 2010
GOLDEN GIRLS legend BETTY WHITE proved to be a big hit with U.S. TV viewers this weekend (08May10), when she poked fun at her age and made jokes about sex as the guest host of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE.
The acting veteran was invited onto the comedy sketch show after fans launched a campaign online to see the 88 year old display her comedy timing on the hit programme.
White showed she could play around just as well as her young colleagues, cracking jokes with SNL regulars Andy Samberg, Seth Meyers and Bill Hadar, and bringing together former stars Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph and Molly Shannon for a special reunion.
Opening the show, White quipped, “When I first heard about the campaign to get me to host Saturday Night Live, I didn’t know what Facebook was. Now that I do know what it is, I have to say, it seems like a huge waste of time.”
No material was off limits for White - the actress happily participated in sketches portraying her as a crazy old lady, while she also played an elderly detective in a spoof of crime drama CSI set in a Florida retirement community.
She also took part in a tongue-in-cheek monologue as a guest chef on a radio cookery show presented by comedians Shannon and Ana Gasteyer, in which they made sexual innuendos about White’s muffin.
She went on to proclaim, “My muffin hasn’t had a cherry since 1934!”
The actress also wished mums a happy Mother’s Day with her death metal rendition of Golden Girls theme song Thank You for Being A Friend, complete with a black ski mask, after expressing her disdain at a sweet tribute to her from the SNL castmembers.
White’s participation has been a big coup for SNL bosses - early estimates indicate the latest episode, featuring Jay-Z as the musical guest, drew the show’s largest TV audience in 18 months. Final audience figures will be unveiled on Monday (10May10).
