betty white, beloved actress and comedienne passed away friday. just days before her 100th birthday. with a hollywood career that spanned over eight decades she became one of the most enduring and iconic faces of television. cnn s stephanie elam looks back at her incredible and extraordinary career. reporter: betty white s cheerful hollywood career began in her teens and by her 20s she was a fixture on television with her own daily talk show. ahead of the times, white co-founded her own production company in 1952. she worked on a variety of television and film projects over the years before burning a 1973 guest appearance on the mary tyler moore show into a permanent role. white was a scene steeler as the man hunger sue ann nivens. i think a man should be viral and macho and just reeking with
affection. this is such an extraordinary heart-felt loss for people because we felt like we really knew her and we did. this is exactly who she was, the nicest person you would ever want to meet and sometimes i think we tend to polish the halos of those who have passed but in this case betty white well deserved of every tribute and accolade and there are so many. she certainly seemed to really embody goodness on every level. so when you think about now with all the interactions that you have had with her, are there any in particular that really stand out, one more treasured moment than the next? well, i remember on the set of hot in cleveland and one thing that was so interesting, commonality between sue ann nivens and the character she played on hot in cleveland these were roles originally written as a one off. she was to appear once but she was so popular with mary tyler moore and hot in cleveland that she became a permanent character, a fixture on the show. i remember on t