Following the death of actress Betty White, fans are remembering the time she appeared as herself alongside her real-life husband, Allen Ludden, on an episode of “The Odd Couple.”
Although White is known for her iconic characters like Rose Nylund in “Golden Girls” and Sue Ann Nivens in “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” one of her most memorable performances was a heartwarming guest role she did on Season 3 of “The Odd Couple” in the 1970s.
The episode was titled “Password” and was actually very near and dear to the real-life couple’s relationship. At the time, Ludden was hosting the game show “Password,” where he had previously met White while she was a contestant. The week White filmed her appearance was the week that Ludden’s first wife died, the star previously told the Archive of American Television (AAT).
In the episode, Felix Unger (Tony Randall) jumps at the chance to appear on the game show he loves when Ludden recognizes his favorite sports writer, Oscar Madison (Jack Klugman) while they were eating at a restaurant. They show up on the day to tape their game and realize that their opponent is none other than the “unbeatable” Betty White.
BETTY WHITE, TV STAR AND AMERICA’S SWEETHEART, THROUGH THE YEARS
Allen Ludden and Betty White met while he was hosting ‘Password’. (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
Although they hit their stride in the second round after an embarrassing defeat in the first, the titular odd couple ultimately lost to White, prompting a bit of a sore loser freakout from Unger. In the wake of her death, fans are remembering the hilarious guest appearance for not only showcasing the late star’s humor but showing a bit of her relationship with Ludden as well.
White and Ludden remained together until his death in 1981 at age 63 after battling stomach cancer.
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Allen Ludden, 45, of ‘Password’ and ‘College Bowl’ fame embraces his bride, actress Betty White, 41, following their wedding at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Getty Images)
The couple’s dedication to one another was enormous as well, as Carol Burnett recently recounted to People magazine that White would rehearse an episode of “The Carol Burnett Show” while her husband was “very, very sick.”
“I just felt so bad because we were doing this show, and she would come and rehearse and then leave and go to the hospital,” Burnett said. “She had to be suffering something awful, because they loved each other so much, but she didn’t let it hinder coming to rehearsals or during the performance. And she was brilliant as always.”
White never remarried, famously telling Larry King in 2014, “Once you’ve had the best, who needs the rest?”
Betty White did some modeling and by the 1940s was getting work appearing on the radio. (Getty Images)
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“He was everything that he purported to be,” she gushed. “You’d see him on camera and he was charming and all that, but when you got to know him, he really was that person. He wasn’t somebody being somebody on camera.”
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White reportedly kept a picture of Ludden by her bedside.
Fox News’ Nate Day contributed to this report.
