Cloris Leachman Could ‘Get Under Betty White’s Skin,’ Says Costar Wendie Malick

Wendie Malick is looking back on some of her unforgettable moments with the late great Betty White.

The Shrinking actress, 74, appeared on the May 20 episode of Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s podcast Dinner’s On Me, where she rehashed some of her memories of the Golden Girls actress, who was a regular with her on Hot in Cleveland, too. 

And it was one particular episode in 2013 that featured a reunion of White, Cloris Leachman, Georgia Engel, Valerie Harper and Mary Tyler Moore, among others, that still stands out to the star. She called it a “pinch-me moment,” watching the women catch up during a read-through, as Ferguson, who happened to guest star on that episode, too, said he even pulled out his phone to record some of their interactions.

“And then at one point, Betty White was like, what are we doing? Can we move on?” Ferguson, 49, recalled with a laugh. “Like, this was her job.”

For Malick, what was interesting was “to observe the the nuances between them, and seeing, like, oh, Cloris Leachman kind of gets under Betty White’s skin,” she said.

She remembered one particular exchange between the women.

“I was at a few different events with [Leachman] and just before you go out on stage, she’d come up and just mess your hair up,” Malick told Ferguson.

The actress attempted to do the same to Moore, when White seemingly stepped in to stop her.

“I think Betty took her aside and said, ‘Knock it off,’ ” Malick said. “Because you know Mary, this was toward the end, shortly before she died.”

That was the last time The Mary Tyler Moore Show actress appeared on television, Malick said. She died in 2017 from pneumonia complications following a cardiopulmonary arrest.

“She had diabetes and her hair was so fragile,” Malick recalled before continuing, “Everything about her was so fragile, and Cloris just can’t resist, you know, she was one of those people who needed to get attention, clown and was very mischievous.”

The actress went on to talk about other memories of White, including her love for animals.

“She used to do this thing where people would come to her and say, ‘Can I show you a picture of my baby?’ ” Malick told Ferguson. “She’d go, ‘Oh, yes. Love to see it.’ ”

Then, when the person would present a photo of their child, White would respond disappointed with, “Oh, it’s a child.” 

Her love of animals even played into her career plan B, Malick said.

“The other thing she said she always wanted to be, her parents took her camping all the time. But she was thinking she would have been a forest ranger if she wasn’t an actress,” Malick revealed.

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The Just Shoot Me! actress reminisced on hosting the late comedian for lunch at her home many times, too, and told Ferguson exactly what she would make for White.

“She loved to be around [my] animals. And she came for lunch and I’d give her a tuna sandwich, Red Vines, Diet Coke,” the actress said with a chuckle. “That’s what she lived on,” she added, noting how hot dogs were a favorite, too.

Malick said at one point someone proposed to her talking to White about her diet, to which Malick responded, “Are you f—— kidding me? This woman is like 90, she’s still working. She’s gorgeous, she’s hilarious and she’s brilliant.”