She never feared dying because “she always wanted to be with her most beloved husband Allen Ludden."
The whole world was left reeling in shock when they found out that Betty White had died on New Year's Eve, just 17 days before turning 100. She was loved by all and was a legend in every sense. In her last moments, White called out her late husband's name, 'Allen', who she called "the love of my life."
Actor Vicki Lawrence, who worked with White on the 1980s sitcom “Mama’s Family", reached out to co-star and friend Carol Burnett immediately after she heard the tragic news of White's death. “I texted Carol and said, ‘This just sucks. I hate this. It’s just horrible to see the people you love so much go away,’” 72-year-old Lawrence told Page Six exclusively.
“Carol wrote back and said, ‘I know, I know. I spoke to Betty’s assistant, who was with her when she passed, and she said the very last word out of her mouth was ‘Allen.’” Lawrence continued, “How sweet is that? I said, ‘That is so sweet. God, I hope that’s true. For all of us, I really hope it’s true, a lovely thought.’”
Lawrence then went on to talk about how it was to work with the legend herself. “Well, you didn’t really work with her, you just had a good time. Carol called it ‘playing in the sandbox,’ and I think that’s exactly what it was,” she shared. “Betty was just the perfect playmate. And I have to say this, she was incredibly professional. I don’t remember her ever not being prepared or ever messing up her lines.”
Apart from her skill and talent as an actor, Lawrence mentioned that White also had a wicked sense of humor. “Oh God, she was so bawdy! She was such a naughty girl,” she exclaimed. “She had such a raunchy sense of humor.”
It wasn't like Lawrence didn't know White didn't have a lot of time left, but still, finding out that one of her longest friends and co-star was no more wasn't really a good feeling. “I saw that notification [about White’s death] on my phone and I thought, ‘Well, this is just the f–king exclamation point at the end of the worst year,’” she recalled. “It was like, ’And furthermore, Betty’s gone. That’s just goddamn perfect.”
As for White's last word actually being her husband's name, Jeff Witjas, White’s agent and friend, neither confirmed nor denied White's last word. However, he did talk about the fact that he knew for sure that White never feared dying because “she always wanted to be with her most beloved husband Allen Ludden. She believed she would be with him again,” he said, according to PEOPLE.
White and Ludden—who was best known for hosting game shows like “Password”—got married in 1963. They remained together until his death in 1981 at the age of 63 due to stomach cancer.
Betty White's death is a huge blow to the industry and it's something that people will not recover from any time soon.
References:
https://pagesix.com/2022/01/03/vicki-lawrence-reveals-betty-whites-last-word-before-death/
https://people.com/tv/betty-white-died-peacefully-in-her-sleep-at-home-agent-says/
Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Angela Weiss
