'Lost Valentine' showcases seniors

'Lost Valentine' showcases seniors

By TERRY MORROW

Scripps Howard News Service

At 89, Betty White has managed to find something she hasn't done in her long career -- a love story.

White stars in "The Lost Valentine" (8 tonight on CBS), a Hallmark Hall of Fame picture featuring a love story that has senior citizens front and center. She plays a widow who continues to honor the memory of her husband, who vanished during World War II.

Their story is told in flashbacks.

Jennifer Love Hewitt also stars in the movie as a reporter whose own love life is inspired after hearing of the widow.

"It's a lovely story," says White. "I know it sounds like a downer, but it really isn't. It's heartwarming and sweet. It's beautiful."

A widow herself, White's late husband, game-show host Allen Ludden, died almost 30 years ago.

White's career has certainly taken unexpected turns since Ludden's passing. In 2010, she had something of a career revival thanks to a hit Super Bowl candy-bar commercial. Then she landed a TV Land sitcom ("Hot In Cleveland") and hosted "Saturday Night Live" due to an Internet campaign.

She's working on a book, which may be out later this year.

After more than 60 years in show business, White has never been hotter.

If Ludden were alive today, what would he say about White's newfound career surge?

"He'd be the happiest for me," she says. "He'd be in my corner and rooting for me the entire time. That's just the way he was."

Other highlights for the week include:

Tonight

* "Screen Actors Guild Awards" (7 p.m., TNT). You just can't get enough of these Hollywood award shows, right? No? Well, this one has a tribute to Ernest Borgnine, 94. Interested now, right? No? Oh, well.

* "How Beer Saved The World" (7 p.m., Discovery). Give beer credit: It helped forge change in architecture, poetry and medicine. See there? It's not all about getting a cheap buzz.

* "Kennedys' Home Movies" (8 p.m., TLC). Home movies and rare footage of the family are revealed in this new special marking the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's inauguration.

Monday

* "Taken from Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story" (8 p.m., Lifetime). Based on a true story, this drama focuses on a New York schoolteacher who goes to South Korea to reclaim her 7-year-old son, who was taken there by his father.

Tuesday

* "The Thin Man" (10:15 a.m., Turner Classic Movies). The 1934 film was nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Adaptation and Best Director at the Academy Awards. It's being shown as part of the channel's "31 Days of Oscar" movie marathon.

Wednesday

* "Cougar Town" (8:30 p.m., ABC). Valentine's Day comes a little early. Jules (Courteney Cox) is hoping Grayson (Josh Hopkins) will show his true feelings. But she shouldn't hold her breath.

Thursday

* "Million Dollar Listing" (8 p.m., Bravo). Real-estate professional Josh Altman joins the reality show to bring his "East Coast flare" to the Los Angeles market.

* "Parks and Recreation" (8:30 p.m., NBC). Who thinks putting a copy of "Twilight" in a time capsule is a bad idea? OK. This question isn't to be answered by anyone under 12, OK?

Friday

* "Who Do You Think You Are?" (7 p.m., NBC). Vanessa Williams searches for her roots in this reality series that connects famous people with their origins.

Saturday

* "Smooch" (8 p.m., Hallmark Channel). A girl (Kiernan Shipka, better known as Sally Draper on "Mad Men") thinks the perfect man for her lonely mom is a frog.

The story of a widow (Betty White, left) who lost her husband during World War II inspires a reporter (Jennifer Love Hewitt) in "The Lost Valentine," airing at 8 tonight on CBS. -- hallmark/cbs/scripps howard news service

Sunday