Someone as prolific and trailblazing as Betty White, of course her personal life was as intriguing as her professional one. On television, she took part in some of the biggest milestones in the medium and broke boundaries everywhere she went. Along the way, White loved, lost, and found something as remarkable as she was with one Allen Ludden. The vows go “til death do us part,” but even after Ludden died, White held onto that love, and when it was her time to pass, his name was the last thing she ever said.
Born on January 17, 1922, White was 39 years old when she first crossed paths with Ludden. She was also a two-time divorcee, who had been very briefly married to Dick Barker in 45′, then tied the knot with Lane Allen from ’47 to ’49. Ludden died in ’81, but from that year to the day she died, White never remarried and never wanted to. Why? The something special between the two that White would call the best of the best, the most cherished and final thing she would think about before leaving this world, as confirmed by White’s long-time friend Vicki Lawrence.
Betty White and Allen Ludden had a sensational start to their unprecedented love story
The password is Password. Betty White’s filmography truly had it all, starting from radio through to feature films. Along the way, she became a very familiar face on America’s growing collection of game shows, eventually becoming a panelist on Password, which relied heavily on the charisma of the celebrity and contestant teams. That White should be included in this show’s lineup was a testament to her sturdy career. It was also instrumental in introducing White to its host, none other than Allen Ludden, in 1961.
Even so, however, this union might not have happened, as at the time, neither was in a place that was conducive to a quick romance. White was dating someone else and Ludden was recently widowed, having lost his wife, Margaret McGloin, that very year to cancer; the two also shared three children: a son, David, and two daughters, Martha and Sarah.
Even so, Ludden was “never too busy to say a warm good-bye after the last show finished,” shared White. His own inherent friendliness kept that bridge upright and then their agents enabled them to bond by booking them together in a 1962 summer stock production of Critic’s Choice. On opening night, Ludden fell in love with White. Words of greeting became “Will you marry me?” at first jokingly, then seriously, even when White was still seeing someone else. So, he bought a stunning, diamond-encrusted ring, which he wore on a cord around his own neck, front and center for White to see, and would only take it off for one reason only: to give it to her.
On June 14, 1963, they officially became husband and wife.
After marrying the best, there’s nothing greater to dream of
“What got us together was his enthusiasm,” shared White on a 2010 episode of Larry King Live. “He was interested in everything. There wasn’t anything that he didn’t want to know more about and hear about. That’s fun to live with. What you saw was what you got. He was one of the nicest, dearest people.”
For years, the continued as they were, as television titans in love, eventually inhabiting a five-bedroom, six-bathroom home in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California. The property’s luxuries would pale in comparison to the memories it would hold and the important place it would have in Betty White’s heart as the house that became a home thanks to Ludden. Then, their story’s untimely end approached; Ludden bowed out of Password in ’80 after he was diagnosed with stomach cancer. The hope was that it would be temporary and he could return after focusing on his health for a bit. Ultimately, he died in ’81, at the age of 63, less than a week before his and White’s 18th wedding anniversary.
Back in 2011, she had been asked by Anderson Cooper why White never remarried after Ludden died. “When you’ve had the best, who needs the rest/” she responded. Jump ahead to 2015, and the esteemed, celebrated, successful, and enduring Betty White said she had one regret: not marrying Ludden sooner.
Decades passed since Ludden died but the bond between them stayed a special, everlasting thing for White, driving her not only to never remarry again, but also to remember him at her most crucial moments. In a January 3, 2021 interview, Vicki Lawrence, White’s companion from The Carol Burnett Show, shared what White’s assistant – who was at the actress’s side in her final hours – revealed as White’s final word before dying on December 31.
“Allen.”
