The curious case of Betty White

When the 17th Annual Screen Actors nominations were announced on December 16, many observers pointed out at Hilary Swank's nod in the Best Film Actress category for her performance as Betty Ann Waters in Conviction as the biggest surprise of this year's awards.

The theatrical motion pictures categories outshine those for primetime television, so up to a point it is understandable that people took little notice of one of the most interesting selections by the SAG: the nomination of Betty White in the Best TV Comedy Actress for her performance in the series Hot in Cleveland. Last year White received the Life Achievement Award from the SAG, an acknowledgement that tends to symbolize the end of an active career.

The curious case of Betty White intrigues us in part because the idea of a nonagenarian getting regular work in show business and obtaining competitive award recognition seems a curiosity of our era.

Trying to take stock of Betty White's complete television resumé could be fascinating as an exploration of American television history itself, but it would be at the same time an attempt at biographical elaboration of what is essentially two names: Sue Ann Nivens and Rose Nylund. Although nothing describes better White's career than longevity, those are the two roles for which, for better or worse, she will always be remembered.

Even in that she has managed to be extraordinary, being typecast as two diametrically opposed characters. Her man-hungry Sue Ann Nivens in the extremely popular Mary Tyler Moore Show is the antithesis of the naive Rose of The Golden Girls. In fact, White was originally offered the role of oversexed Blanche Deveraux, while Rue McClanahan was supposed to play Rose, a similar role of the one she had previously played in Maude, but a producer suggested the role switch to avoid the typecast.

Award recognition has never eluded Betty White. She has received a total of 20 Emmy nominations and has taken the trophy home seven times. However, the recent infatuation of industry and audience with White remains a pleasant curiosity.

After The Golden Girls and its short-lived spin-off The Golden Palace ended, White guest-starred on numerous popular TV shows like Ally McBeal, The Practice or, most famously, The John Larroquette Show, and had regular or recurring roles in series like The Bold and the Beautiful or Boston Legal.

Her phenomenal comeback to public attention, however, took place in 2009. She not only starred in The Proposal, together with Sandra Bullock, and guest-starred in 30 Rock, but was also the object of an unprecedented grassroots fan campaign on Facebook to host Saturday Night Live. As the campaign was approaching half a million followers, NBC confirmed that White would indeed host SNL. Her appearance in the show made her the oldest person ever to host SNL and became an instant television classic. It was not a perfect piece of acting in the classical sense, but her turn was hilarious and memorable in its own way. Emmy voters recognized that fact by giving the veteran performer her seventh Emmy.

Nothing fascinates the public more than longevity and, in the case of Betty White, the term takes a subtle meaning of survival. For a whole generation (the one that makes Facebook campaigns), Betty White's persona is unavoidably associated to the fate of three other women. Following the deaths of Estelle Getty in 2008, Bea Arthur in 2009 and Rue McClanahan in 2010, Betty White, the eldest of the original Golden Girls cast, became for many a survivor.

Like Brad Pitt's character in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Betty White's career seems to advance in reverse and, as she approaches the age of 90, tha actress is in the prime of her life.

When she received the Life Achievement SAG last year, few could imagine she would be back the following year in competition for an acting award.

The SAG will be presented on January 30, 2010.