Allen Ludden
June 9, 1981 (aged 63)
Graceland Cemetery, Mineral Point, Wisconsin, U.S.
Game show host, television personality, actor, singer
1949–1981
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Margaret McGloin(m. 1943; died 1961)
3
Early years[edit]
Ludden was born on October 5, 1917, in Mineral Point, Wisconsin, the first child of Elmer and Leila M. (née Allen) Ellsworth. Elmer was a Nebraska native who worked as an ice dealer, while Leila was a Wisconsin native and housewife. Elmer Ellsworth died on January 6, 1919, at age 26, from the Spanish flu.[1]
When Ludden was about five years old, his mother married Homer J. Ludden, an electrical engineer. Homer J. Ludden was the son of Franklin C. Ludden, a merchant and then the superintendent of the electric plant in Mineral Point, Wisconsin.[2][3] Allen was given his adoptive father's name and became Allen Ellsworth Ludden. The family lived briefly in the Wisconsin cities of Janesville, Elkhorn, Antigo, and Waupaca before moving to Texas when Ludden was nine years old.[4] The Ludden family resided in Corpus Christi in 1940, appearing in the City Directory, where Allen is listed as a student, Homer an engineer, and Homer and Leila's son, Franklin C. Ludden, a mail clerk.[5][6]
Death[edit]
After Ludden was diagnosed with stomach cancer in early 1980, he took a month-long leave of absence from Password Plus for chemotherapy treatment, with Bill Cullen filling in as host. On October 7, 1980, he slipped into a coma while on vacation in Monterey, California.[16] It was initially reported that he had a stroke, but the coma was actually caused by high levels of calcium from medication taken to help fight the cancer. Tom Kennedy assumed duties as host of Password Plus, and although Ludden hoped to return to the show, his cancer grew worse and he never returned. He died in Los Angeles on June 9, 1981, at age 63.[7] Ludden was buried beside his father in the Ellsworth family plot in Graceland Cemetery in his hometown of Mineral Point, Wisconsin.
Legacy[edit]
A walkway at the Los Angeles Zoo was named in his memory (Betty White was a board member at the Zoo), and an artificial lake in Mineral Point was named Ludden Lake in his honor.[17] Betty White also donated a Labrador Retriever named "Ludden" to Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael, California, in memory of her late husband.[18]
Ludden's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is located on the north side of the 6700 block of Hollywood Boulevard, next to Betty White's.[19] White accepted Ludden's posthumous star on April 19, 1987, during an appearance on This Is Your Life.[20] The star was formally unveiled in a ceremony on March 31, 1988.[21]
When Betty White was asked in an interview on Larry King Live whether she would remarry, she said, "Once you've had the best, who needs the rest?"[22] She never remarried and died in 2021 at age 99.[23]
Archive[edit]
The Allen Ludden Papers collection is located at the Free Public Library in his native Mineral Point, Wisconsin. The items include letters written or received by Ludden, typed radio scripts, newspaper and magazine clippings by or about Ludden, publicity photographs and personal photographs, and a broken pair of horn-rimmed glasses. The collection was donated by Betty White.[24]