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Aug 15 – Aug 22, 2010 Edition Putnam Wins Auction to Publish Actress Betty White

New York, New York, August 18, 2010 … Betty White, the Emmy Award-winning actress, whose singular talents and universal appeal have garnered her millions of fans around the world, will write two books for G. P. Putnam’s Sons, it was announced today by Ivan Held, President, G. P. Putnam’s Sons. The first book, titled Listen Up!, will draw upon life lessons learned during her incredibly varied, decades-long career in Hollywood, with an emphasis on the extraordinary past 15 years of the star’s life.

With her unique brand of irreverent wit and wisdom, Ms. White will offer her personal observations on a wide range of topics, including television, aging, life, love, sex, and celebrity, as well as her most recent resurgence, including her headline-making turn as the guest host of “Saturday Night Live.” The second book, titled The Zoo and I: Betty and Her Friends, will be filled with stories and photographs capturing the daily life of her animal friends at the zoo. Ms. White is a long-time member of the board of the Los Angeles Zoo, and she has been a passionate supporter of animal health and welfare her entire life.

North American hardcover and paperback rights as well as audio and eBook rights to the two titles were acquired in a highly competitive auction by Marysue Rucci, Vice President, Editorial Director, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, from literary agent Loretta A. Barrett, President of Loretta Barrett Books, Inc. Putnam is planning to publish the first book in hardcover in Spring 2011 and the second book in hardcover in 2012. Berkley will publish the paperback editions thereafter.

Mr. Held commented, “Betty White is a national treasure. We are tremendously excited that she will be writing these two books for Putnam. Her wide-ranging appeal and irrepressible humor transcends generations, readers and cultures. She truly is one of a kind.”

Ms. White said, “Much as I love what I do for a living in show business, I love writing even more – so I am thrilled to be working on not only one new book but two of them.”

Betty White’s illustrious, award-winning career in television and film spans seven decades.

Nominated for twenty Emmy Awards, she has won six – including her first in 1952 for the comedy series, “Life with Elizabeth,” which she produced; two Best Supporting Actress Emmy awards during her tenure as Sue Ann Nivens, the Happy Homemaker, in “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” (1974-5 and 1975-6); a Best Daytime Game Show Host Emmy in 1983 (the first ever awarded to a woman) for “Just Men;” the Best Actress Emmy for her role in “The Golden Girls” in 1985 (she was nominated seven times); and an Emmy for Best Guest Actress in a Comedy Series in 1996 for her work on “The John Larroquette Show.” She was also nominated for an Emmy for Best Guest Actress in a Comedy Series in 1997 for her role in “Suddenly Susan.”

In recent years, Ms. White had recurring roles on “That ‘70s Show,” “Boston Legal,” and on the daytime drama, “The Bold and the Beautiful.” She currently is playing a character in the series “Hot in Cleveland,” which earned TV Land its highest ratings in the network’s history when it debuted in June 2010.

Ms. White is the author of five previous books: Betty White’s Pet Love; Betty White in Person: The Leading Lady; Dinah’s Story, co-authored with Tom Sullivan; Here We Go Again: My Life in Television; and Together, co-authored with Tom Sullivan.

She was married for eighteen years to Allen Ludden, host of television’s “Password” game show, until his death in 1981. She lives in Brentwood with her golden retriever, Pontiac.