Members of the Associated Press voted 88 year-old comedian Betty White the Entertainer of The Year for 2010. I know that some of you think that Betty has been too ubiquitous this year, but I enjoy seeing her and am glad she’s being honored for her long career. Betty is whip smart and so funny, and I like how her humor is a little dirty and snarky while staying well on the other side of mean. It’s also nice to see a lady who is almost 90 with such an active career. (Whenever I report on Betty I have to look up her age because I know she’s in her 80s, but continue to assume she’s 82 or 83.) Betty beat out the Glee cast by just two votes. Thank goodness.

What Betty White did in 2010 doesn’t usually happen: an 88-year-old actress with more than six decades in Hollywood suddenly became the object of adulation of the Facebook-connected masses, which campaigned for her to host “Saturday Night Live,” boosting the show’s ratings and helping her set ratings records for her own show.

After a year remarkable for a star of any age, White has been voted the Entertainer of the Year by members of The Associated Press.

“It’s ridiculous,” White says of the honor, in an interview from her home in Los Angeles. “They haven’t caught on to me, and I hope they never do.”

But more than acclaim, her unlikely, age-defying success resonated deeply with people who saw in her a spirited, hilarious aberration, a woman not dimmed by age but enhanced by it: The genuine article in a pop culture awash in imitators.

There were 102 ballots submitted from U.S. news organizations that make up the AP’s membership. Voters were asked to cast their ballots for who had the most influence on the entertainment world and culture in 2010. Previous winners include Taylor Swift, Tina Fey and Stephen Colbert.

The final tally was close: White’s 20 votes beat the cast of “Glee,” Fox’s hit musical, by only two votes. Tied for third with 13 votes were Conan O’Brien, James Cameron and Apple’s iPad. Jon Stewart closely followed with a dozen votes.

White’s 2010 began with her acceptance in January of a lifetime achievement award from the Screen Actors Guild. Her speech, in which she thanked SAG “from the bottom of my bottom,” reminded many of her talent — showcased for years on “The Golden Girls” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” — for a sharp comedy cloaked by warm charm.

Gesturing at presenter Sandra Bullock she asked, “Isn’t it heartening how far a girl as plain as she is can go?”…

“She re-entered the hearts of all ages in 2010,” said Mark Vasche, editor and vice president of the Modesto Bee in California, “from parents and grandparents who watched her on `The Mary Tyler Moore Show’ and `The Golden Girls,’ to their kids and grandkids who discovered her spunky octogenarian style in film and used the Internet to petition for her `Saturday Night Live’ appearance.”

All the feting has come as a surprise to White.

“It’s been phenomenal, but everybody keeps congratulating me on my resurgence and my big comeback,” she says. “I haven’t been away, guys. I’ve been working steadily for the last 63 years.”

So what changed?

“I don’t know,” she says. “I’ve had my own following all that time. If they want me to go away, if they get tired of me, just stop asking me because I keep saying, `Yes.'”…

Next month, White will return to the SAG Awards, where she’s nominated for best actress in a comedy series. “Hot in Cleveland” is also up for best comedy ensemble.

Says White: “It’s just been a lovely year, I must admit.”

[From AP via ONTD]

Betty was also named one of the 10 Most Fascinating People by Barbara Walters this year and was interviewed as part of the special. When Barbara asked Betty if she loved animals more than people she said “yes.” She also said that she’s not afraid of dying and recounted something her mother told her about death. “My mother had a wonderful philosophy. She said, ‘Nobody knows what happens at that moment of death.’ So whenever we would lose anybody in the family my mom would always say ‘Now he knows the secret.’ So I kind of find myself thinking ‘I’m curious and I’ll know the secret.‘” That’s touching, but I hope Betty doesn’t find out that secret anytime soon.