Ludden Family History & Genealogy

Allen Ludden Born Allen Packard Ellsworth October 5, 1917 Mineral Point, Wisconsin, U.S. Died June 9, 1981 (aged 63) Los Angeles, California, U.S. Cause of death Stomach cancer Alma mater University of Texas Occupation Game show host, television personality, actor, singer Years active 1949–1981 Spouse Margaret McGloin (m. 1943; d. 1961) Betty White (m. 1963) Children 3 Allen Ludden (October 5, 1917 – June 9, 1981) was an American television personality, emcee and game show host, perhaps best known for having hosted various incarnations of the game show Password between 1961 and 1980. Early years Allen Ludden, born Allen Packard Ellsworth, was the first child of Elmer Ellsworth, a Nebraska native living in Mineral Point, Wisconsin and working as an ice dealer; and his wife Leila M. Allen, a Wisconsin native and housewife. Elmer Ellsworth died the next winter at age 26, a victim of the worldwide Spanish flu epidemic, on January 6, 1919. When Allen was about five years old, his mother remarried, to Homer Ludden, Jr., an electrical engineer and the son of H.D. Ludden, the town physician, a Chicago native who had practiced in Mineral Point since 1906. 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 Allen was still a small child. An English and dramatics major at the University of Texas, Ludden graduated with Phi Beta Kappa honors in 1940 and received his Master of Arts in English from the same university in 1941. He served in the U.S. Army as officer in charge of entertainment in the Pacific theater, received a Bronze Star, and was discharged with the rank of captain in 1946. During the late 1940s and early 1950s he carved out a career as an adviser for youth in teen magazine columns and on radio. His radio show for teenagers, Mind Your Manners, received a Peabody Award in 1950. Ludden hosted many game shows, including the GE College Bowl, but he was most well known for hosting both the daytime and prime time versions of Password on CBS and ABC between 1961 and 1975. His opening TV catch phrase, "Hi doll," was directed toward his beloved real-life mother-in-law, Tess White, mother of Betty White. He ended Password with a "password of the day," and then "So long, see you tomorrow, I hope." Ludden began hosting an updated version of the game, Password Plus, on NBC, in 1979, but chemotherapy treatments for stomach cancer forced him off the show in late October 1980. Other shows hosted by Ludden include Liar's Club, Win with the Stars, and Stumpers! He also hosted the original pilot for The Joker's Wild and hosted a talk-variety show, Allen Ludden's Gallery. As a panelist he appeared regularly on The Gong Show. At the request of the publishers Dodd, Mead & Co., Ludden wrote and published four books of "Plain Talk" advice, plus a youth novel, Roger Thomas, Actor (1959), all for young readers. He received the 1961 Horatio Alger Award. He released an album called Allen Ludden Sings His Favorite Songs on RCA Records in 1964. Family Ludden with wife Betty White (1963) Ludden married Margaret McGloin on October 11, 1943. She died from cancer on October 30, 1961, just 2½ weeks after their 18th wedding anniversary. They had a son, David, and two daughters, Martha and Sarah. He proposed to twice-divorced Betty White, whom he had met on Password, at least twice before she accepted. Their romance had blossomed when they played summer stock together, in the play Critic's Choice in 1962. They also played together in the romantic comedy Janus in 1963. They were married on June 14, 1963, and remained together until Ludden's death; White has never remarried. They appeared together in an episode of The Odd Couple in which Felix and Oscar appeared on Password. Ludden also appeared as a guest panelist on Match Game. The two appeared together on the panel in 1975, and on Match Game PM in 1980). Death After Ludden was diagnosed with stomach cancer in early 1980, he took a month-long leave of absence from Password Plus for chemotherapy treatment. On October 7, he slipped into a coma while on vacation in Monterey, California. It was initially reported that he had suffered a stroke, but the coma was actually caused by high levels of calcium from medication taken to help fight the cancer. Tom Kennedy took over as host of Password Plus, and although Ludden hoped to return to the show, his cancer grew worse and he never returned. Ludden died in Los Angeles on June 9, 1981, just days before his 18th wedding anniversary with Betty White. He was 63. Ludden was buried beside his father in the Ellsworth family plot in Graceland Cemetery in his hometown of Mineral Point, Wisconsin. Legacies A walkway at the Los Angeles Zoo was named in his memory (Betty White is a board member at the Zoo) and an artificial lake in Mineral Point was named Ludden Lake in his honor. A Labrador Retriever was named "Ludden" and donated to Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael, California, by Betty White in memory of her late husband. In an interview on Larry King Live, when asked whether or not she would remarry, Betty White replied by saying, "Once you've had the best, who needs the rest?" Ludden is mentioned in passing in an episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show entitled "Don't Break the Chain" (Season Two, Episode 10), in reference to his allegedly sending the character Lou Grant a chain letter. 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 his widow, Betty White.

Darwin L Ludden Sr. of Brooks, Waldo County, ME was born on May 15, 1938, and died at age 65 years old on July 17, 2003.

John L Ludden of Ilion, Herkimer County, NY was born on August 12, 1922, and died at age 72 years old on June 10, 1995.

John B Ludden of Des Moines, Polk County, IA was born on August 5, 1915, and died at age 81 years old on March 1, 1997.

Vincent E Ludden of San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA was born on February 8, 1907, and died at age 87 years old on March 31, 1994.

Cletus E Ludden of Denver County, Colorado United States was born on August 27, 1911, and died at age 79 years old on January 4, 1991. Cletus Ludden was buried at Ft. Logan National Cemetery Section T Site 1342 4400 West Kenyon Avenue, in Denver.

William S Ludden of California was born on December 20, 1919, and died at age 49 years old in August 1969.

Harold L Ludden of Bath, Steuben County, NY was born on February 24, 1906, and died at age 80 years old on December 12, 1986. Harold Ludden was buried at Bath National Cemetery Section N Site 203 Va Medical Center - Bldg. 1301, in Bath.

Merwin W Ludden of Rome, Oneida County, NY was born on February 15, 1925, and died at age 73 years old on January 18, 1999.

James P Ludden of Harris County, TX was born circa 1961. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember James P. Ludden.

Jane Jane (Ludden) Grayling of Geelong Australia. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Jane Ludden Grayling.

David Ludden was born on March 15, 1948 in United States to Allen Ellsworth Ludden and Margaret Frances McGloin, and has siblings Martha Ludden and Sarah Ludden. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember David Ludden.

Sarah Ludden was born in 1952 in United States to Allen Ellsworth Ludden and Margaret Frances McGloin, and has siblings David Ludden and Martha Ludden. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Sarah Ludden .

Martha Ludden was born in 1950 in United States to Allen Ellsworth Ludden and Margaret Frances McGloin, and has siblings David Ludden and Sarah Ludden. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Martha Ludden .

Jaquita L Ludden of Galveston County, TX was born circa 1964. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Jaquita L. (Culley) Ludden.

Jane (Ludden) Grayling of Sexton Australia. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Jane Ludden Grayling.

Jane (Ludden) Grayling of Lexton Australia is the mother of Matilda Alice Grayling and Richard Grayling. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Jane Ludden Grayling.

Roy E Ludden Iii of Galveston County, TX was born circa 1961. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Roy E. Ludden Iii.

Retha D Ludden of Dallas County, TX was born circa 1957. Retha Ludden was married to Charles M. Ludden on September 8, 1973 in Dallas County, TX. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Retha D. (Ryals) Ludden.

Dorothy Ruth Ludden of Clinton, Sampson County, NC was born on December 20, 1916, and died at age 91 years old on May 13, 2008. Dorothy Ludden was buried at Nashville National Cemetery Section PP Site 384 1420 Gallatin Road, South, in Madison, Tn.