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Betty White circa 1950

Updated Mar 25, 2024
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Betty White circa 1950
A photo of Betty Marion White Ludden (born January 17, 1922) when she was about 28. She is so talented and so well known now, that many people think of her as she looks now, not as she looks when she first began in show business.

She was born to Tess Curtis (née Cachikis) and Horace Lawrence White in Oak Park, Illinois, but her family moved to Los Angles in the 1930's (during the Depression).

Her first television appearance was in 1939(!) on an early television station in Los Angeles!
Date & Place: in Los Angeles, California USA
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Betty White
Betty was the only child of Horace Logan White and Tess (Cachikis) White. She was born in Illinois but the family moved to Los Angeles CA when she was young. In the 1930 federal census, Betty was living with her father, age 36, and her mother, Tess, in Los Angeles CA. Betty was 8 years old and in school. They owned their home which was worth $10,000 In the 1940 federal census, Betty was 18 and still living with her parents in Los Angles. She had graduated high school but was still listed as going to school. Her father, Horace, was still a sales representative in the electric industry. In the 1950's, she produced and starred in her sitcom "Life with Elizabeth", the first woman to do so. That lead her being named honorary Mayor of Hollywood in 1955, Betty was married to Dick Barker (an Army Air forces aircraft pilot) for less than a year. In 1947, she married Lane Allen, a talent agent. That marriage last around 2 years and ended when he wanted her to give up show business and be a homemaker. Her last marriage was to Allen Ludden, most famously host of the tv gameshow "Password". They married on June 14, 1963 - their marriage lasted until his death on June 9th, 1981, from stomach cancer. From Wikipedia: "When asked by James Lipton on Inside The Actor's Studio that should Heaven exist, what would she like God to say to her when she walked through the Pearly gates, White replied: "Hello Betty. Here's Allen."

Age in photo:
28
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My parents were Wade Hamilton Crotts and Minnie Sue (Waller) Crotts, have a a brother Wade Elmer Crotts and a sister Darlene (Crotts) Avent. The Crotts and Waller families were mainly from Woodleaf, Cooleemee, Mocksville, Cleveland and Salisbury, NC area. Since I do not remember my grandparents from either side of the family I am not sure were originally they were from have heard rumors Scotland and Ireland not sure of date. All my Aunts and Uncles I knew were land holders, farmers and one owned a dairy outside of Cooleemee and today most of that land is not farmed anymore and the Crotts and Waller families have most passed away. The last time I was there was in 2010 for a few months everyone and everything I once knew and loved about that area was gone.
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