BY BRENDAN FARRINGTON
The United States Postal Service might have found a way to unite a nation bitterly divided after this month’s election: It’s releasing a Betty White stamp.
The beloved actor known for roles in “The Golden Girls,” “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Boston Legal,” and others will be on a 2025 Forever stamp, USPS announced Friday.
White died in late December 2021, less than three weeks before her 100th birthday. The Postal Service hasn’t announced a release date for the stamp.
“An icon of American television, Betty White (1922–2021) shared her wit and warmth with viewers for seven decades,” the Postal Service said in announcing the stamp, which depicts a smiling White based on a 2010 photograph by celebrity photographer Kwaku Alston. “The comedic actor, who gained younger generations of fans as she entered her 90s, was also revered as a compassionate advocate for animals.”
Boston-based artist Dale Stephanos created the digital illustration from Alston’s photo.
“I’d love to send a letter back to my 18-year-old self with this stamp on it and tell him that everything is going to be OK,” Stephanos posted on Facebook.
Regardless of personal politics, self-proclaimed supporters of President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris reacted with delight on social media.
“Betty White was my hero, all of my life! I actually had a doll when I was a little girl I named Betty White,” one Trump supporter posted on X, formerly Twitter.
“Something to make this awful week a little better: We’re getting a Betty White stamp,” posted a pro-Harris X account.
White combined a wholesome image with a flare for bawdy jokes. Her television career began in the early 1950s and exploded as she aged.
“The only SNL host I ever saw get a standing ovation at the after party,” Seth Meyers posted on Twitter after her death. “A party at which she ordered a vodka and a hotdog and stayed til the bitter end.”
