Entertainment
Cher pays tribute to Betty White with heartfelt cover of Golden Girls theme song for TV special
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Cher has honoured Betty White in a heartwarming way, performing a stunning rendition of the Golden Girls theme tune for an upcoming TV special in commemoration of the Hollywood legend.
On New Year’s Eve, it was announced that White had died at the age of 99, just a few weeks away from what would have been her 100th birthday.
Tributes poured in from across the world, with fans continuing to pay tribute in the weeks in various ways including leaving flowers outside her home, Saturday Night Live airing a special episode in her honour and the airing of a documentary, which showed her final on-screen appearance.
At the end of the month, NBC is set to air a TV special called Celebrating Betty White: America’s Golden Girl, which will feature guest stars including President Joe Biden, Drew Barrymore, Tian Fey, Ted Danson and Goldie Hawn as they commemorate the late icon.
Ahead of the airing of the special, Cher released a 36-second clip of her singing Thank You For Being A Friend, the famous theme tune for Golden Girls, on which White played Rose Nylund.
The song was originally written and recorded by Andrew Gold in the 1970s, before being covered by Cynthia Fee for the Golden Girls theme.
Such a beautiful tribute (Picture: Instagram/Cher/Facebook/Betty White)
Cher’s rendition was performed on the original soundstage for the sitcom, as the singer donned black trousers, a white top and a cream blazer for the clip.
Several Instagram users praised the musician’s take on the classic song, with one commenting: ‘Your voice feels like a warm blanket wrapped around me.’
‘Beautiful tribute, I love this version!’ someone else said, while another wrote: ‘I shouldn’t be crying rn but…’
On Twitter, Cher described her role in the special as ‘a great honour’, saying she has ‘loved’ White since she was seven years old.
She also recalled the song they performed together on the Sonny & Cher show, saying that White ‘taught me to speak like a Southern’.
White’s assistant, Kierstein, recently shared a video online that the actor filmed just a few days before her death, where she thanked her fans for all of their love and support.
More: US TV news
‘I just want to thank you all for your love and support over the years,’ she said in the heartfelt video, before adding: ‘Thank you so much, and stick around.’
The video was originally meant to be released to mark her 100th birthday.
Celebrating Betty White: America’s Golden Girl will air on NBC in the US on January 31.
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