For Betty White, belle of the Beastly Ball, it's all happening at the zoo

"It" girl Betty White's name may  be on tongues everywhere in recent months, but at the Los Angeles Zoo, she's old hat, frankly – in the best kind of way. The animal activist has been supporting the zoo for 46 years, and the object of Betty's affection honored her again for her service at the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Assn.'s 40th annual Beastly Ball fundraiser Saturday evening.

"When they said they were honoring me tonight, I said, 'But I'm family. You can't honor family, that's incest,' " quipped White, a zoo board member who was dubbed "Ambassador to the Animals of the City of Los Angeles" by Mayor Antonio  Villaraigosa in 2006. "They said, 'Well, what's wrong with incest?' "

Sing it, sister.

White, who in 2005 defended the zoo's plans to build a $42-million elephant enclosure when protesters branded it too small, talked about Gita the elephant: Gita died at age 48 in 2006 with chronic foot problems and arthritis, two causes of death in captive elephants. White's support helped the zoo win the city's approval to proceed with the project, which zoo officials said would help support the critically endangered population.

"One of my best friends at this beautiful institution was my Gita," she said. "And I would take walks sometimes on Saturday morning before the zoo opened with Gita, and we would just walk around the zoo, and I'd say, 'Gita, trunk up!' And she'd put her trunk up, and I'd stand on my toes because I couldn't reach it, and I'd slap her tongue as hard as I could.

"What I discovered from other zoos is elephants love to have their tongues slapped," White said. "And how many people can come up to a strange elephant and say, 'Hello, sweetheart, put your tongue out. Let me slap your tongue'?

"I've tried it on fellas, it doesn't work as well as it does on elephants."

The star of TV Land's new series "Hot in Cleveland" may be a familiar sight at Beastly Balls, but the 88-year-old hottie attracted some new A-listers to the list of co-chairs lending their names (but not their bodies) to the popular event. Sandra Bullock, her costar in "The Proposal," was one of them; so was Elton John, who met her this year at his Oscar party.

At a recent zoo board retreat, the engaging star bonded with another board member – Slash, formerly with Guns N' Roses, who is currently on tour.

Jeb Bonner, zoo vice president and chief financial officer, told us: "Slash ended up getting in one of the revenue maximization workshops – he's totally read every word of every contract he's ever signed. Slash came on board when we were dealing with the Pachyderm Forest and the City Council. Betty and Slash did a video for it together. They were starstruck with each other. They were tongue-tied. They started comparing what their favorite reptile was. You know, it's so hard for men and women to connect these days, so to find something in common to talk about – their favorite reptiles."

Other all-star animal lovers at the event were host Pauley Perrette, of "NCIS"; Gilles Marini, of "Brothers & Sisters"; Jason Alexander; Stefanie Powers; and Jay Mohr. Also turning out were Villaraigosa and City Council members Tom LaBonge, Jan Perry, Paul Krekorian and Janice Hahn. The evening raised $1.2 million for the zoo.

-- Irene Lacher

Photo: Pauley Perrette, left, Betty White and a friend party down at the zoo. Credit: Jamie Pham 

Want the headlines? Follow the Ministry of Gossip on Twitter (we're @LATcelebs), or Like us into your news feed when you visit our Facebook page.

Comments

[Linda Anderson]

Betty White has been a friend to animals for decades, and we were thrilled when she wrote an endorsement for the book my husband and I wrote, Angel Animals Book of Inspiration (New World Library). Betty commented that it was a book people would enjoy reading to their pets. And as it turns out, she was right. People wrote to us that they followed Betty's advice and read the stories to their pets. She's so much fun and uses humor and her fame to bring attention to the serious subjects of animal welfare.

[CDZ from the Ministry]

Christie D'Zurilla here from the blog with a reminder that we don't publish comments that include profanity.

//cdz

[Allen Nyhuis]

God bless Betty White! When so many other Hollywood types were playing the politically correct zoo-bashing game, Betty was out there defending the wonderful Los Angeles Zoo and its new elephant habitat. Now, thanks to White's efforts (and those of many others), LA's elephants will soon have a spectacular new home, and LA residents will still be able to enjoy them. Good for Sandra Bullock too! I hope the LA Zoo generates all the fund-raising income they need at this Beastly Ball.

Allen Nyhuis, Coauthor: America's Best Zoos

[KATHI FRANCHVILLE]

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE WHAT U DO FOR ANIMALS. I THINK ITS GREAT. I GREW UP ON A SMALL FARM IN SOUTHERN INDIANA. NOT IN ST. OLAF. LOVED GOLDEN GIRLS, HAVE EVERY EPISODE ON DVD. ME AND THE KIDS HAVE BEEN WATCHING THE SHOWS OVER AND OVER AND OVER.......I HAVE HAD SEVERAL PETS IN MY PAST. A COW NAMED ROXI WHO HAD HER FIRST CALF WITH HER HEAD LAYING ON MY LAP. MY PIG DOLLY WHO HAD THE PRETTIEST EYELASHES, AND TOOK NAPS WITH HER IN THE BARN. SHE NEVER STUNK A BIT.MY CHICKENS,GEORGE, HENRY AND MARTHA THAT WOULD RUN TO ME FROM A BARN THAT WAS AROUND 100 YARDS AWAY, AND FLY UP ON MY ARM. MARTHA LADED AN EGG ON MY LAP. NOW THATS JUST GREAT. WE HAVE SEVERAL PETS IN OUR LIVES, AND I HONESTLY THINK SOMEONES LIVE IS NOT COMPLETE IF THEY DONT HAVE A PET OF SOME KIND. WE HAVE TWO FERRETS. WHICH R VERY ADORABLE. ME AND THE KIDS THINK U R SO AWESOME. ESPECIALLY THE KIDS. THEY TALK ABOUT U ALL THE TIME. THE KIDS WOULD LOVE TO MEET U MORE THAN ANYTHING, THEY ARE 10 AND 13 AND GREAT GREAT GREAT FANS OF THE GOLDEN GIRLS. IT WOULD MAKE MY LIFE COMPLETE FOR THEM TO GET TO MEET U.THEY LAUGH EVERYTIME THEY SEE U ON T.V. I HAVE TAUGHT THEM WELL. MY DAUGHTER REMINDS ME SO MUCH OF ME WITH ANIMALS, THERE IS NOTHING ELSE THAT IS SWEETER THAN THE SMILE OF AN ANIMAL. THEY FILL THAT VOID THAT CAN SOMETIMES B IN YOUR LIFE. JUST LOOK INTO THE EYES OF ANY ANIMAL.