Betty White was a national treasure, and the world is a lesser place without her in it. The First Lady of Television was part of the American fabric for over eighty years. Sadly, we lost her mere weeks before her 100th birthday in 2021. While she may be gone, she’s certainly not forgotten. And we don’t just mean because of the endless reruns of The Golden Girls on cable TV. According to NPR, the USPS has announced that White will feature in a new postage stamp next year. The image they are using is the same one on the book cover of White’s biography, by photographer Kwaku Alston.
Betty White received anywhere from hundreds to thousands of individual pieces of fan mail each week. So perhaps more than any other TV celebrity, it makes sense the USPS would honor her with a postage stamp of her own. Apparently, she received the majority of her letters at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Probably because folks now stuck at home marathoned old episodes of The Golden Girls, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, or any of the number of television series that White starred in. She was always a comforting presence in a chaotic time, and during the pandemic, even more so.
Betty White won’t be the only pop culture icon getting a USPS stamp next year. The Postal Service has already announced that for 2025, New Orleans musician, producer, and songwriter Allen Toussaint will also receive a stamp. The USPS is announcing other iconic names getting stamps over the next few months. But if we may be so bold, can we advocate for postage stamps for Bea Arthur, Estelle Getty, and Rue McClanahan? What’s good for one Golden Girl from Miami should be good for the rest of them if you ask us.
