Betty White's Pearls of Wisdom by Patty Sullivan

Author:Patty Sullivan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Forefront Books
Published: 2022-12-13T00:00:00+00:00

PEARL SEVEN ACCEPTANCE

SOME OF OUR MORE ENGAGING conversations over the years centered around potential projects that Betty or Tom were considering, sharing thoughts about book ideas, screenplays, song lyrics, or roles in movies or television series. Discussing future possibilities always brought a spirit of adventure and excitement. “Yes! Let’s do it.” “If you don’t try, you’ll never know.” The two of them often reminded me of the characters played by the young Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland and some of their scenes in the Andy Hardy movie series when they were gonna get everyone together and put on a new show in the barn.

Needless to say, I was somewhat of a bystander to these exchanges, but I loved the lively enthusiasm that brought so much joy to Betty and Tom. They were like kids in a candy store. And while many of the ideas never took wing, their creative juices were flowing. These creative juices might find expression in another form, or another time—and sometimes did.

Of course, Betty’s lifelong career from the time television began brought a healthy balance of wisdom to these exuberant exchanges. She knew from years of experience in front of the camera as well as behind it the ideas that might work and those most likely to get a pass, along with the reasons why. She was a “working” actress and a committed member of the show business community who extended her astute thoughts for Tom to think about. She was an incredible mentor who offered encouragement as well as support when one project or another didn’t go forward. And no one celebrated more jubilantly than Betty when there was a win—the book had a publisher, the song was being recorded, the show had a green light.

She had experienced the struggles of a young starlet laying the groundwork needed for a lifelong career. She went up for many parts whether they were for summer stock, a pilot for a new show, or a new film that was being cast. While the television audience would only be familiar with her many award-winning roles, she was no stranger to losses as well.

Disappointments were as numerous for Betty as for anyone else, but she had the wisdom to accept rejections as life lessons, not life disasters. Simply put, she’d say, “I am not current in choice,” as a way of letting it go and moving on to the next possibility. If it wasn’t meant to be, it wasn’t meant to be. It’s not the end of the world. There will be another opportunity tomorrow. And sure enough, there would be.

“I’m not current in choice” spoke to the trend of the day and what was in vogue—one personality being more in fashion than another at a given time. But Betty was “all-time,” and she always found a way and a new character down the road that she would play to the hilt. She often thanked David E. Kelley profusely for her resurgence on the big screen as well as television in some unforgettable characters that were striking, shocking, and completely delicious.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.