Huge Crowd Gathers to See Actress Betty White Saturday

Sunday, October 17, 2010

 

It was like any other red carpet celebrity event – photographers jostling for the best spot, PR people trying to organize the chaos, police and rescue personnel on hand in case of an emergency and a seemingly endless throng of breathless people, cameras in hand, waiting to catch a glimpse of their favorite star.

The only difference was Saturday’s red carpet was laid out on Williamsburg’s Duke of Gloucester Street, not somewhere in Hollywood.

 

Hundreds of people packed in a dense crowd outside Binns of Williamsburg – many of them clutching their trembling pets to their chest – in the hopes of seeing Emmy Award-winning actress Betty White, who was signing animal ornaments by Joy to the World Collectibles at Binns to benefit a cause dear to her heart, animal welfare. Hundreds more stood in a line stretching from Binns' door to as far as the eye could see down the cobbled street.

Amid chants of “We Love You, Betty,” and one man who yelled, “Will you marry me, Betty,” White pulled up in a Colonial Williamsburg horse-drawn carriage and looked surprised at the huge, excited crowd.

After slowly disembarking the carriage and greeting various city officials, White smiled charmingly at the fleet of cameras pointed at her and was guided along the red carpet towards a waiting contingent of well-groomed dogs brought by Joy to the World staff to greet her.

Once White was whisked into the store to begin hours of ornament-signing and fan-greeting, the crowd slowly dispersed. Fan Claire Leatherwood of Hampton was excited that she’d gotten a front-row spot to see White, but she was a bit disappointed that she couldn’t get a photo of her now-deceased dog Blue autographed by White.

“I just love her,” Leatherwood gushed. “I’ve been watching her since I was a girl. She looks just like my mom. I brought this picture of my dog Blue for her to sign,” she said, holding up a photo.

Cindy and Steve Craft brought their aging white Chihuahua Little Face, wrapped in a cozy blanket, to see if White might sign their dog. “We’re both big ‘Golden Girls’ fans,” said Cindy, echoing a common theme in the crowd.

Of the dozens of folks WYDaily talked to at the event, nearly all of them loved White most for her Rose Nylund character from the long-running sitcom “The Golden Girls.” They generally mentioned White’s stint on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” as an afterthought, and no one seemed too interested that White has become more famous recently thanks to her recent guest role hosting “Saturday Night Live” after a successful Facebook campaign. To them, she was already worth waiting for.

One woman held a sign with the words “I am Betty White, too,” written in red lipstick. This Betty White, now Betty White Radcliffe, is a Williamsburg resident and had been hovering near the red carpet for two hours before White was slated to show.

“I just want to see her so much,” Radcliffe said. “I love ‘The Golden Girls’!”

Though White didn’t interact with the crowd on her way into the store, fans seemed glad to have been close to her and to have a chance to purchase pre-signed ornaments (the line for those lucky enough to see White sign their ornaments in person filled up during preregistration prior to the event).

Leatherwood stood with Neil Drummond, a man from Newport News, and Paul Ledford, of Hampton. Though all three came from generally the same area, they met by chance at the event and said they enjoyed getting to know one another while waiting to see White.

“It’s like the theme song for ‘Golden Girls,’ ‘Thank You for Being a Friend’,” said Ledford. “And here we are, making friends!”

Drummond and Ledford both were in the crowd to see Queen Elizabeth II when she visited Williamsburg for the 2007 celebration. That was very exciting, both agreed, “but I just enjoyed seeing Betty more than the Queen!” said Ledford.

For his mother’s 80th birthday in 1987, Ledford wrote to White and she sent an autographed picture for a gift, he recalled with pride.

“What a great comedienne,” Leatherwood said, looking wistfully at the crowd pouring into Binns. “They just don’t make ‘em like that anymore.”

See more photos and video of Saturday’s event on Joy to the World’s Facebook page.