White and Ludden had no children together, though she was the stepmother of his three children with Margaret McGloin Ludden, who had died of cancer in 1961. During an interview on Larry King Live, she was asked why she never remarried after Ludden's death.
Sources reportedly told The Daily Star that those closest to White were remembered in her will, but most of her estate otherwise went to charities. Married three times in her life, Betty's third and final husband, Allen Ludden died in 1981.
Following two short-lived marriages, Betty White found true love with game show host Allen Ludden, whom she met while appearing as a guest on Password during the show's third week.
Ludden married Margaret McGloin on October 11, 1943. She died of cancer on October 30, 1961. They had a son, David, and two daughters, Martha and Sarah. He proposed to Betty White, whom he had met on Password, at least twice before she accepted.
She and Ludden were married for 18 years, until Ludden passed away from stomach cancer in 1981 when White was 59 years old. White had no regret about ending her first two marriages, even though she admitted the divorces were probably her fault.
As White told Larry King in 2010, her marriage to Ludden was simply "the best. He was the love of my life." King ventured that she never got over him, and she agreed. "Never," she said.
When Allen Ludden got sick in 1980, Bill Cullen subbed & Tom Kennedy took over hosting duties later. Bill Cullen, Tom Kennedy, Bert Convy & Regis Philbin have each been a celebrity guest on this game show and have gone on to host a version of Password (1961).
Then he was married to Betty White from 1963 until his death in 1981. Ludden died on June 9, 1981 in Los Angeles, California from stomach cancer, aged 63.
As for her relationship with her stepchildren, Betty told People in a past interview that she felt “blessed” to be a stepmother to Allen's three kids. “It turned out great,” she said.
“Betty was private with her private life,” her close friend Patty Sullivan, author of Betty White's Pearls of Wisdom, explains. Born in Oak Park, Illinois, in 1922 and raised in California, Betty was an only child who had a close relationship with her parents, Tess and Horace.
"I'm so compulsive about stuff, I know if I had ever gotten pregnant, of course, that would have been my whole focus." "But I didn't choose to have children because I'm focused on my career. And I just don't think as compulsive as I am that I could manage both," White added.
The home, which was more than 3,000 square feet and had five bedrooms and six baths, was listed by Marlene Okulick of Sotheby's International Realty – Pacific Palisades Brokerage. According to the listing, the property was sold for "land value," meaning it was always set to be torn down once bought.
Betty Marion White was born in Oak Park, Illinois, on January 17, 1922. She later clarified that "Betty" was her legal name and not a shortened version of "Elizabeth" as some people had assumed. She was the only child of housewife Christine Tess (née Cachikis) and lighting company executive Horace Logan White.
Ludden remained unconscious for several weeks after the stroke last fall and was listed in critical condition at Monterey's Community Hospital. He later rallied, according to a family spokesman, and did not suffer any paralysis or speech impairment.
Ludden was born Allen Packard Ellsworth in Mineral Point, Wisconsin, in 1917. His father died of the Spanish flu in 1919 and was buried in the family plot at Graceland Cemetery in the historic mining town of Mineral Point at the southern end of the Driftless area.
The pair, who met on the set of Password in 1961 — Ludden was the host of the game show — went on to tie the knot in 1963. Though the couple had no children together, upon marrying the game show host, White became stepmother of his three kids.
Allen Ludden, born Allen Packard Ellsworth, was an American television personality, emcee and game show host, perhaps most well-known for hosting various incarnations of the game show Password between 1961 and 1980.
At one time in January 1988, a con artist named Kerry Ketchum appeared on the show under an alias (Patrick Quinn). He won $58,600 over four days which included a record-tying $55,000 jackpot win in the Super Password round during his appearance.
Betty White's one true love was Allen Ludden, her husband from 1963 until his death in 1981 , but the iconic actress still had room in her heart for a celebrity crush: Robert Redford.
The late Betty White famously had a massive crush on fellow screen icon Robert Redford, and now the “Natural” actor says he “had a crush on her, too!” Redford recently paid heartfelt tribute to White, who died on New Year's Eve, just weeks shy of her 100th birthday.
Hosts. Password Plus was hosted by original Password host Allen Ludden from its debut until April 1980, when he took a leave of absence after being diagnosed with stomach cancer.
