Allen Ludden, Betty White’s third husband: 5 quick facts

Wikimedia Commons

Betty White and her husband Allen Ludden in 1963

Betty White is America’s sweetheart and is also known as the Television First Lady. White’s real passion in life, as she often said in her acceptance speeches, is running a business she cherishes. But in White’s heart there is also a lot of love. She has been married three times, but she calls her third husband, Allen Ludden, the love of her life.

Betty White passed away on December 31, 2021, at the age of 99, each TMZ.

Find out more about the man who won one of the most beloved women to ever grace the entertainment industry in our fact sheet below.

1. Betty White’s husband, Allen Ludden, is best known for hosting the ‘Password’ Game Show

Allen Ludden is famously successful in the entertainment industry as a game show host. He is best remembered as the host of the show Password started in 1960, as New York Times reported. Ludden is back with another 160 episodes when there’s an improved version, Password Plus, launched in 1979.

Ludden meets White for the show. She appeared on Password as a celebrity contestant in 1961 and said she was immediately attracted to Ludden. A 2018 PBS white special that includes footage from Password in there she’s flirting with Ludden. He asked her about her summer plans, and White boldly replied, “Well, what were you thinking, Allen?”

Before taking his job at Password, Ludden’s first big gig as host GE Bowl University on CBS. It’s a quiz game where students from different universities compete against each other for scholarships. Ludden hosted eight episodes from 1959 to 1962. He left the College Bowl to work Password full time, follow Television Academy Organization.

According to him IMDB . Profile, Ludden also hosts programs including Win with the stars, Outriggers and Allen Ludden’s Gallery. He appeared as a guest or panelist on shows like Match, What is my line, Performance by Mike Douglas and Tonight’s show. Ludden’s acting résumé includes television appearances including Love boat, Fantasy Island, Batmanand the 1975 TV series It’s a bird… It’s an airplane… It’s Superman!

2. Ludden’s staged performances for troops in the Pacific during World War 2 & Land Archives after the War’s end

Sul Ross State UniversityAllen Ludden attended Sul Ross State in the 1930s.

Ludden was born Allen Ellsworth in Mineral Point, Wisconsin, on October 5, 1917. His father died during a flu epidemic in 1919. His mother remarried and Ludden legally changed his surname to that of his stepfather, Biographer David Baber writes in TV game presenter: Biographies of 32 stars. The family moved to Corpus Christi, Texas, when Ludden was nine.

After graduating from high school, Ludden first attended Sul Ross State in Alpine, Texas. By school library archivesLudden majored in Speech and was an active member of the music club Theta Gamma, the student council, and the drama club Mask and Slipper.

Ludden transferred to the University of Texas in 1938 with a major in English. He earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from school before the start of World War II.

Ludden enlisted in the army during World War II and got the chance to use his theatrical talents. According to him New York Times obituary, Ludden was assigned to be in charge of entertainment at the Pacific theater. He organizes concerts and social events for soldiers as part of Army Special Service in Hawaii.

Ludden became good friends with British actor Maurice Evans during this deployment. After the war ended, Ludden represented Evans as his manager. I also fill in for Evans in lecture tours from time to time. It was from one of these events that Ludden received his first break as a performer. WTIC has hired Ludden to host a series called Pay attention to your manners for teenagers. Ludden has won an honorary award Peabody Award For program.

In 1952, Ludden began working for the New York City Board of Education. He has produced and hosted two educational programs called Inside our school and On the conveyor belt. The second show airs on CBS on Saturday mornings and is described as News magazine for children.

3. Ludden married her high school sweetheart, Margaret McGloin, in 1943 and she recovered from cancer in 1961.

Wikimedia CommonsAllen Ludden, Jack Klugman as Oscar and Tony Randall as Felix from the TV show Odd Couple. In this episode, Oscar and Felix appear on the TV game show Password.

Ludden attended Corpus Christi High School and according to his biography The Life (and Wife) of Allen Ludden, which is where he met his childhood sweetheart, Margaret Frances McGloin. Biographer Adam Nedeff wrote that the McGloin family had deep roots in Texas and that she was known for hosting “luxury parties and lunches that made headlines in the social section of the local newspaper. direction”.

Ludden graduated from high school in 1934. At the suggestion of his stepfather, he quit his job before enrolling in college in 1936. He worked as a salesman during those two vacant years. McGloin, meanwhile, attended Corpus Christi Junior College.

Ludden graduated from college and worked as a Teacher of high school before the start of World War II. He enlisted and was sent to Fargo, North Dakota, for training. He asked McGloin to marry him and they knot on October 11, 1943, before he moved to the Pacific.

Ludden and McGloin have a son named David and two daughters, Martha and Sarah. McGloin battled cancer and passed away on October 30, 1961. She had just turned 45 years old.

White explained in one 2010 interview that Ludden started working on the program Password when his wife was dying of cancer. He will come to the set after visiting his wife in the hospital. White said years later she discovered that McGloin had died the same week that White first appeared on the game show.

4. White initially rejected Ludden’s proposal

White and Ludden first met on set Password but they didn’t really connect until they starred in a play together. White explained in one 2010 interview that the following summer their respective agents had booked them parts in a play called Critics’ Choice in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

White said that she knew Ludden’s three children and that they were introduced to her two dogs that summer. “Somehow, we became friends in an instant.” White said that during the three weeks of making the play, Ludden stopped saying “hello” to her and would instead say, “Will you marry me?” White said it started as a joke and she laughed it off. Based on Almost weekly, Ludden later admitted, “I fell in love with her opening night.”

Ludden returned to New York and White returned to Los Angeles after the play ended. Despite the distance, Ludden continues to pursue White and will visit her in California whenever he has time off. Password. White repeatedly refused his marriage proposal. Ludden even bought a ring and wore it around his neck as a reminder that he wanted to marry her. White has finally been accepted after Ludden sent her a stuffed Easter bunny in the mail with a note that said “Please say yes”. They were married in Las Vegas on June 14, 1963.

Years later, White explained that turning down Ludden was the biggest regret of her life. She told Oprah in 2015, “I spent the whole year, wasted the year that Allen and I could have together, saying, ‘No, I’m not going to marry him. No I will not. No, I’m not leaving California. No, I’m not moving to New York. ‘ I wasted a whole year we could have had together.”

5. Ludden died of stomach cancer in 1981

YouTubeBetty White and Allen Ludden

Ludden battled stomach cancer for about a year and a half in the final stages of his life. In the fall of 1980, Ludden fell into a brief coma because of an “imbalance” caused by cancer therapy, UPI reported. He woke up but did not return to work after that. Ludden died on June 9, 1981, at the age of 63. He was buried in his hometown of Mineral Point, Wisconsin.

Ludden was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1988. His star is at 6743 Hollywood Boulevard, according to Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. The star of white right next to Ludden’s.

White was married twice before she met Ludden but she decided never get married again after he died. She told Anderson Cooper in 2011, “I’ve got the love of my life. Definitely. Allen Ludden… If you already have the best, who needs the rest? ”

CONTINUE READING: Who was Dick Van Dyke’s first wife?