Hallmark Channel To Honor Betty White With Birthday Marathon

Hallmark Channel is honoring the late Betty White’s incredible legacy with an all-day marathon on January 17, on what would have been her 100th birthday. “The Golden Girls” marathon will showcase the best Rose moments from the series, followed by a special airing of the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie “The Lost Valentine.”

Hallmark Channel has long been home of “The Golden Girls” in syndication, introducing new fans to the iconic and much-beloved 1980s sitcom that ran for seven seasons on NBC. White played Rose, a widow who moves into a Miami home with two other widows and a divorcee.

“The Golden Girls” was unique for its time. In a decade full of decadence, who would have thought that a show featuring four seniors living it up in their Miami home would become a cult classic?

White was joined by Bea Arthur, Estelle Getty and Rue McClanahan. The witty writing, coupled with the actors’ incredible on-screen chemistry, led to some of the funniest moments on television. It’s no wonder the show continues to see success in syndication thirty years later.

Many of White’s best moments featured the talented actor’s ability to deliver lines with wide-eyed innocence; her expressions often carried whole scenes on their own. Her success on “The Golden Girls” followed her equally memorable role as Sue Anne Nivens on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” and it paved the way for future roles in comedies like “The Proposal” opposite Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds.

White’s memorable role opposite Jennifer Love-Hewitt and Sean Faris in 2011’s Hallmark Hall of Fame Movie “The Lost Valentine” garnered a lot of attention, earning her a Screen Actor’s Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie.

The story follows a journalist (Hewitt) who finds more than she expected while writing a story about a woman named Caroline (White), whose aviator husband was declared MIA during World War II. What starts as a straightforward profile turns into something bigger than anyone could have expected.

According to Hallmark’s social media post, “The Lost Valentine” will air with limited commercials at 8pm ET, and it will feature 12 minutes of footage that hasn’t been seen since the movie originally premiered.

White’s passing on New Year’s Eve, just over two weeks ahead of her 100th birthday, was a shock that no one saw coming. In the days following her death, plans to honor her with the “Betty White Challenge” started trending on social media.

White, a lifelong animal lover, was known for her support of animal causes. To continue her legacy of support, fans are encouraged to make donations to an animal foundation of their choosing in her memory.

Several animal sanctuaries are joining in the celebration of her life by naming baby animals after the legendary actor and comedian. So far there is a baby donkey named Betty White, a guide dog puppy named Betty Rose in a nod to her “Golden Girls” role, and a host of shelter cats and dogs who now share her name.