Allen Ellsworth Ludden (born Allen Packard Ellsworth; October 5, 1917 – June 9, 1981) was an American television personality, actor, singer, emcee, and

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or Let's Play, demonstrative and are typically directed b ...

host. He hosted various incarnations of the game show ''

Password A password, sometimes called a passcode (for example in Apple devices), is secret data, typically a string of characters, usually used to confirm a user's identity. Traditionally, passwords were expected to be memorized, but the large number of ...

'' between 1961 and 1980.

Early years

Ludden was born on October 5, 1917, in Mineral Point, Wisconsin, the first child of Elmer Ellsworth and his wife Leila M. Allen. Ellsworth was a

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

native who worked as an ice dealer, while Allen was a Wisconsin native and housewife. Elmer Ellsworth died the next winter on January 6, 1919, at age 26, from the

Spanish flu The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...

. 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. 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. 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.

Education and career

An English and dramatics major at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

(now known as the University of Texas at Austin), Ludden graduated with

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

honors in 1940 and received his Master of Arts in English from the same university in 1941. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

as officer in charge of

entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousa ...

in the Pacific theater, received a

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

for unknown reasons, and was discharged with the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in 1946. During the late 1940s and early 1950s he began his career as an adviser for youth in teen magazine columns and on radio. His radio show for teenagers, ''Mind Your Manners'', received an honorable mention

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

in 1950. Ludden hosted many game shows, including the ''

College Bowl ''College Bowl'' (which has carried a naming rights sponsor, initially General Electric and later Capital One) is a radio, television, and student quiz show. ''College Bowl'' first aired on the NBC Radio Network in 1953 as ''College Quiz Bowl'' ...

'', but he was most well known for hosting both the daytime and prime time versions of ''

'' on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

and

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

between 1961 and 1975. His opening TV catch phrase, "Hi doll," was directed toward Tess White, mother of his wife, actress and television personality

Betty White Betty Marion White (January 17, 1922December 31, 2021) was an American actress and comedian. A pioneer of early television, with a television career spanning almost seven decades, White was noted for her vast work in the entertainment indust ...

. Ludden began hosting an updated version of the game, ''

Password Plus ''Password Plus'' and ''Super Password'' are American TV game shows that aired separately between 1979 and 1989. Both shows were revivals of ''Password'', which originally ran from 1961 to 1975 in various incarnations. With only subtle differen ...

'', on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

, in 1979, but

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherap ...

treatments for

stomach cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a cancer that develops from the lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a number of subtypes, including gastric adenocarcinomas. Lymph ...

forced him off the show in late October 1980. Other shows hosted by Ludden include ''

Liar's Club ''Liar's Club'' is an American game show, originally produced by Ralph Andrews, featuring a panel of celebrity guests who offered explanations of obscure or unusual objects. Contestants attempted to determine which explanation was correct in or ...

'', '' Win with the Stars'', and '' Stumpers!'' He also hosted the original pilot for ''

The Joker's Wild ''The Joker's Wild'' is an American television game show that aired at different times between 1972 and 2019. In the show, contestants answer questions based on categories determined randomly by a mechanism resembling a slot machine. The show's ...

'' and hosted a talk-variety show, '' Allen Ludden's Gallery''. 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 The Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans is a nonprofit organization based in Alexandria, Virginia, that was founded in 1947 to honor the achievements of outstanding Americans who have succeeded in spite of adversity and to emphas ...

. He released an album called ''Allen Ludden Sings His Favorite Songs'' on

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

Family

Ludden married Margaret McGloin on October 11, 1943. She died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

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. Their romance blossomed when they played

summer stock theatre In American theater, summer-stock theater is a theater that presents stage productions only in the summer. The name combines the season with the tradition of staging shows by a resident company, reusing stock scenery and costumes. Summer stock the ...

together, in the play '' Critic's Choice'' in 1962. They also appeared together in the romantic comedy ''

Janus In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus ( ; la, Ianvs ) is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces. The month of January is named for Janu ...

'' in 1963. They were married on June 14, 1963, and remained together until Ludden's death. They appeared together in an episode of ''

The Odd Couple Odd Couple may refer to: Neil Simon play and its adaptations * ''The Odd Couple'' (play), a 1965 stage play by Neil Simon ** ''The Odd Couple'' (film), a 1968 film based on the play *** ''The Odd Couple'' (1970 TV series), a 1970–1975 televisi ...

'' in which Felix and Oscar appeared on ''Password'' and also as a couple on a season 4 episode of ''

The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy/drama television series that aired on ABC from 1977 to 1986; in addition, four three-hour specials aired in 1986, 1987, and 1990. The series was set on the luxury passenger cruise ship MS ''Pac ...

''.

Death

After Ludden was diagnosed with

in early 1980, he took a month-long leave of absence from ''

'' for chemotherapy treatment, with

Bill Cullen William Lawrence Francis Cullen (February 18, 1920 – July 7, 1990) was an American radio and television personality whose career spanned five decades. His biggest claim to fame was as a game show host; over the course of his career, he host ...

filling in as host. On October 7, 1980, he slipped into a

coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...

while on vacation in Monterey, California. It was initially reported that he had a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

, but the coma was actually caused by high levels of

calcium Calcium is a chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to ...

from

medication A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and re ...

taken to help fight the cancer.

Tom Kennedy Thomas or Tom Kennedy may refer to: Politics *Thomas Kennedy (Scottish judge) (1673–1754), joint Solicitor General for Scotland 1709–14, Lord Advocate 1714, Member of Parliament for Ayr Burghs 1720–21 * Thomas Kennedy, 9th Earl of Cassilis ...

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. Ludden was buried beside his father in the Ellsworth family plot in Graceland Cemetery in his hometown of Mineral Point, Wisconsin.

Legacy

A walkway at the

Los Angeles Zoo The Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens is a zoo founded in 1966 and located in Los Angeles, California. The city of Los Angeles owns the entire zoo, its land and facilities, and the animals. Animal care, grounds maintenance, construction, ed ...

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. 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. Ludden's star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Californ ...

is located on North side of the 6700 block of Hollywood Boulevard, next to Betty White's star. White accepted Ludden's posthumously awarded star on April 19, 1987, during an appearance on '' This Is Your Life''. The star was formally unveiled in a ceremony on March 31, 1988. When Betty White was asked in an interview on ''

Larry King Live ''Larry King Live'' was an American television talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was the channel's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly. Mainly aired from CNN's Los Angeles s ...

'' whether she would remarry, she said, "Once you've had the best, who needs the rest?" She never remarried and died in 2021 at age 99.

References

External links

Allen Ludden's biography
on

TV.com TV.com was a website owned by Red Ventures that covered television series and episodes with a focus on English-language shows made or broadcast in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Origin ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ludden, Allen 1917 births 1981 deaths American game show hosts Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host winners Deaths from cancer in California Deaths from stomach cancer Jefferson High School (San Antonio, Texas) alumni Military personnel from Wisconsin People from Mineral Point, Wisconsin United States Army officers United States Army personnel of World War II University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts alumni