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Valerie Bertinelli is reflecting on what it was like working with Betty White.
The celebrity chef, who costarred with White on the TV Land sitcom Hot in Cleveland from 2010 to 2015, reminisced about the late television icon during an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show that aired Monday, June 30.
“She was magical. You know, there are people that when they walk into a room, they kind of glow,” Bertinelli, 65, noted, pausing to tell host Drew Barrymore, “You glow, too.”
“Betty had this aura about her of just pure grace and kindness and humor,” she continued of White, who died at the age of 99 on Dec. 31, 2021, less than a month before what would have been her 100th birthday. “I was so lucky, I got to work with her for five years. It was the best job. It was amazing. I learned so much.”
Bertinelli went on to share an anecdote about a sweet surprise she helped plan for White’s 90th birthday in 2012.
“We would never know what to get Betty,” she recalled of White, who was known for her love of animals. “We named an elephant after her. We named wolves after her. We did all this kind of stuff. And one year — this was her 90th birthday — someone on Hot in Cleveland said, ‘We need to get Betty a box of puppies just for the day,’ because she couldn’t get any new dogs. Her dog Pontiac was ill.”
Barrymore pointed out that White was “the big” animal advocate, as Bertinelli agreed.
“In fact, she named my dog and she named my first cat. She named Luna and Nelson, my first cat, because she always wanted a cat named Nelson Eddy, so she gave that to me for Nelson,” Bertinelli said.
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“So we just had a box of puppies, a big pen of puppies, the entire day when we were working,” Bertinelli added. “And she was in heaven.”
Earlier this year, Bertinelli shared praise for Hot in Cleveland in an Instagram post marking 10 years since she shot the show’s finale.
“Not a day goes by where I’m not ridiculously grateful for the opportunity I was given to be in a show with such brilliant writers, show runners, crew, and a cast and guest cast that was made of dreams beyond my wildest imagination,” she wrote on March 30. “What an amazing ride. It’s never lost on me that I am one lucky lady. ♥️”
During an interview with Today.com in November 2021, Bertinelli recalled her first impression upon meeting White when they shot the pilot for Hot in Cleveland.
“I just remember being in awe of her,” Bertinelli said. “And she was just like, ‘Oh, it’s no big deal.’ I mean, she’s Betty White, but she just thinks it’s no big deal. And she wanted to be treated like everybody else. And that was important to her and I never could quite do that though.”
