Steve Martin Recalls the Touching Story of the First Time He Met Betty White in 1974
With Betty White approaching her 100th birthday, Steve Martin took to social media to share his memory of the first time he ever met the legendary actress. His story begins 47 years ago in 1974 when he was just beginning his long-spanning comedy career.
"In 1974, I was an obscure opening act for Linda Ronstadt at the Troubadour in Los Angeles. Passing through the lobby before the show, I saw Betty White and her husband Allen Ludden waiting in line," Martin, 76, wrote on Twitter on Thursday. "I loved Betty White, so I went up to them: 'I'm so honored to meet you both.' And then I said, 'Isn't Linda great?' She said, 'We came to see you.' I said, 'Why?' 'Because we heard you were funny.' I was elated."
Martin isn't the only celebrity who has been singing White's praises ahead of her centennial birthday on Monday, Jan. 17. Some of White's past co-stars, including The Proposal stars Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, honored her earlier this week, both praising her comedic chops. Reynolds told PEOPLE that he has been a fan of White's "for as long as I can remember." In the years since The Proposal, which came out in 2009, Reynolds has continued the joke that his onscreen grandmother is his "ex-girlfriend."
"I heard that scripts for Golden Girls were only 35 pages, which makes sense because so many of the laughs come from Betty simply looking at her castmates," he said, before joking that White is "a typical Capricorn" because she "sleeps all day" and is "out all night boozing and snacking on men."
Bullock said that White is a "loving, decent, optimistic, inclusive, hilarious human being" and said that she hopes White spends her big day "the same way she has celebrated every day of her life: with humor, kindness and a vodka on ice, toasting to the fact that she's a badass who has left us all in the dust."
On White's birthday, she will get a big one-night-only tribute special in select movie theaters called Betty White: 100 Years Young. It will feature a star-studded cast, including Reynolds, Tina Fey, Robert Redford, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, Jay Leno, Carol Burnett, Craig Ferguson, Jimmy Kimmel, Valerie Bertinelli, James Corden, Wendy Malick and Jennifer Love Hewitt.
"You'll experience Betty's funniest moments on The Golden Girls, hosting Saturday Night Live, Hot in Cleveland, The Proposal, The Mary Tyler Moore Show – and a lost episode from Betty's very first sitcom," the description reads. "Plus Betty reveals inside stories of her amazing life and career. This is a special one-day-only event; the party awaits."