Betty White Remembers Late Husband Allen Ludden on 90th Birthday
The Hollywood love story between the late TV host Allen Ludden and Betty White is remembered as the last surviving "Golden Girl" celebrates her 90th birthday.
White had two previous brief and unsuccessful marriages before meeting Ludden, when she was a guest on his game show "Password." She had married Army Air Corps pilot, Dick Barker in 1945 and Hollywood agent, Lane Bryant in 1947, according to Jamshowbiz.com.
White and Ludden married in 1963 and never parted ways. Even after his death, from stomach cancer in 1981, White still cherished the love and memories of their very special relationship, according to Dbtechno.com.
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The couple's Hollywood status was immortalized in 1998, when Betty White earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next to Ludden's.
During her televised 90th birthday celebration, Joe McHale hosted a modified version of "Password," in celebration of their Hollywood love story.
White's 90th birthday was celebrated with a pre-recorded TV special, on Monday night, called "A Tribute to America's Golden Girl."
The special featured many guests and celebrities who joked about the starlet's age and longevity in Hollywood after spending over 60 years in the acting industry. Even U.S. President Barack Obama chimed in, sending a video greeting where he asked White to prove she was really 90 by producing a birth certificate.
Modern-day stars like Hugh Jackman, Tracy Morgan, Jay Leno, Morgan Freeman and Ray Romano also sent pre-taped birthday wishes to White.
Mary Tyler Moore also celebrated the night with White, reliving lines and jokes from their time together on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." White won one of her seven Emmy Awards for her work on the show in 1975, when she took home Best Actress honors.
Saturday Night Live's, Seth Meyers also delivered a celebratory video to honor White. She won a 2010 award for Outstanding Guest Actress on a Comedy Series for her time hosting SNL. Clips from her time on shows like, "The Carol Burnett Show," "The Tonight Show," "Mama's Family," and "The Golden Girls," were also shown to the audience.
White was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1995 and wrote a NY Times bestseller "If You Ask Me (And of Course You Won't).” At the end of the celebration, White made a speech, expressing how grateful she was to spend her life in a business she loves.
"I've been the luckiest broad on two feet to have all the jobs that I've had," White said.
The special ended with the Golden Girls theme song, "Thank You For Being a Friend." She also debuted her newest NBC show, "Off Their Rockers," after the special. She currently is co-star of the show, "Hot in Cleveland."
