Two icons were brought together in Washington on Tuesday. The first was actress Betty White, known for her roles in “The Golden Girls,” “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and, more recently, “Hot in Cleveland.” The second was Smokey Bear, the U.S. Forest Service mascot who made forest fire prevention somewhat cool. The Forest Service decided to make White an honorary forest ranger, complete with badge and hat, at an event Tuesday morning at the Kennedy Center. The reason? “Actress Betty White has stated in numerous interviews that her first ambition as a young girl was ‘to become a forest ranger, but they didn’t allow women to do that back then,’ ” Forest Service spokesman Joe Walsh told Yeas & Nays. (Today women make up 38 percent of the Forest Service work force). “The Forest Service wanted to make Betty White’s dream come true.”White couldn’t be happier. “In my heart I’ve been a forest ranger all my life, but now I’m official,” she told those gathered, according to the Associated Press. She also gave an environmentalist’s warning. “Wilderness is harder and harder to find these days on this beautiful planet, and we’re abusing our planet to the point of almost no return,” White said.
And of course, being a comedian, the 88-year-old actress tried bear-napping the human-size Smokey, but left the press conference with a small stuffed Smokey instead.
Along with White, big-name stars were in and out of the Kennedy Center all morning rehearsing for the night’s 13th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor awards ceremony, including Jimmy Fallon, Steve Carell and Steve Martin, a former recipient of the big prize. This year’s award winner is Tina Fey.
