Finally, wasting time on Facebook pays off. Betty White will host Saturday Night Live on May 8. The 88-year-old was tapped after a grassroots Facebook campaign caught national attention and gained close to half a million followers.
USA Today reports that Betty will host the Mother’s Day episode, which will also feature a reunion of former cast members Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Molly Shannon, Maya Rudolph, Ana Gasteyer and Rachel Dratch. So many funny ladies in one place, I think I might actually die laughing.
SNL Executive Producer Lorne Michaels said the “groundswell” of support for Betty recently helped convinced them it was time for her to host the late-night comedy institution. He said the Facebook campaign “validated that, ‘Oh, that’d be fun.’ … It was the outpouring of affection from fans, and we feel the same way.”
The appearance will make Betty the show’s oldest host in its 35-year-history. There had been talk before her confirmation that she would co-host, but Michaels assures everyone that she is the solo host and can do as many sketches as she wants. And Betty assures us that she is more than up for the task: “I’ve got so much energy, it’s ridiculous. I love working. My schedule is a feverish one, and I’m used to that.”
After more than six decades on TV and making us laugh, in roles from Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show to Rose Nylund on The Golden Girls, the six-time Emmy winner has more than earned her shot to scream “Live, from New York, It’s Saturday Night!” Michaels called her “the mother of us all in comedy” and promised the show would be “a celebration of Betty White.”
I can’t wait. In fact, I’m trying to figure out if I can program my DVR two months in advance, as we speak.
