Betty White’s ‘Parakeet’ Cadillac on display at AACA Museum

By Larry Edsall
Classic Cars Journal

(January 29, 2021) Much was made recently of actress Betty White’s 99th birthday. But did you know one of her favorite cars, a 1977 Seamist Green Cadillac Seville she named “Parakeet,” resides at the AACA Museum in Hershey, Pa.? The car was a gift from her late husband, television game show-host Allen Ludden. To celebrate its former owner’s birthday, the museum staff staged a 99th birthday party around the car.

In an interview in 2010 with The New York Times, the actress said Ludden surprised her with the car, which she kept until 2002 when she donated it to the Los Angeles Humane Society. A subsequent owner, Nicholas Ferrantino, donated the car as well, still in original condition, this time to the museum.

By the way, the actress said she names all her vehicles after birds. She had a yellow Cadillac named “Canary” and in 2010 was driving a silver Cadillac she called “Seagull.”

Parakeet not only came with custom paint but with an AT&T telephone and a “Betty” nameplate.