The Life (and Wife) of Allen Ludden

by Adam Nedeff

He was an educator, a lecturer, an advocate...an author, a newspaper columnist, and an essayist...an executive, a producer...an actor, a singer, an interviewer, a game show host...and Betty White's sweetheart. Allen Ludden was a broadcasting fixture for nearly forty years, with beloved shows like GE College Bowl and Password, but now, author Adam Nedeff (The Matchless Gene Rayburn) brings you the remarkable life of a man who became a television star by accident, and a man who won Betty White's heart again and again and again. This is the story of the man whom Betty White loved, and you'll like him too, once you discover It's More Than Password! The Life (and Wife) of Allen Ludden.

Genres: Biography

464 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 29, 2017

About the author

Adam Nedeff grew up in Vienna, West Virginia, and spent his childhood infinitely more interested in late night comedy & game shows than afternoon cartoons.

He majored in radio & television at Marshall University and spent a few years toiling as a disc jockey before moving to Los Angeles to see if he could make a career out of his childhood obsessions.

He has appeared as a contestant on three game shows, worked behind-the-scenes for "Wheel of Fortune" and "The Price is Right," and even co-founded a small business, Home Game Enterprizes (www.homegameenterprizes.com), which stages live game shows for private parties and corporate functions.

With encouragement from late night star Conan O'Brien, he finally began writing books about game show history, starting with "Quizmaster," a comprehensive biography of beloved game show host Bill Cullen, and followed that with the four-volume set "This Day in Game Show History."

Reviews

[Leah K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Betty White, in interviews, often explained her desire not to remarry by saying "Once you've had the best, who needs the rest"? And that perfectly sums up her feelings about her life with Allen Ludden. But who was Ludden, besides the husband of Betty White? Many things. This book takes a look into the famous game show host and intertwines Betty White into the biography.

I thought the book was informative and there were plenty of wonderful pictures. I wasn't overly enthralled by the writing but it's obvious, based off the Appendices and bibliography, that the author certainly did their research.

[Polly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learned lots of things I didn't know about Allen Ludden, and he was a very interesting man. Didn't know he got his start in CT at WTIC, which given that I lived in CT for over a dozen years is kind of surprising. I didn't know about any of his work before Password, and it was extensive, and he was very creative in always finding work. The book is more detailed than it needs to be, but I guess it does serve as a record of the man's life, so might as well throw it all in there. Good read.

[Pamela Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE LIFE OF A GAME SHOW HOST

ABOUT GIVE OR TAKE 450 PAGES OF A DELIGHTFUL FUN FILLED BOOK OF MOVIE STARS GAME SHOW HOSTS THAT MADE PASSWORD A HOUSEHOLD WORD FOR GAME SHOWS!?!I DON'T THINK PEOPLE REALIZED THAT ALLEN LUDDEN WAS A SCHOOL TEACHER WITH A MASTERS DEGREE BUT DIDN'T LIKE THE PROFESSION AND AFTER THAT HISTORY WAS MADE WITH LUDDEN BEING PASSWORD HOST AND ALSO A RADIO HOST AS WELL BESIDES COUNTLESS OTHER GAME SHOWS AS WELL AND BETTY WAS A GENIUS AS A ACTRESS SHE HAD NO DEGREE LIKE LUDDEN!?!BOOK CATALOGS ALL OF GAME SHOWS AND TV APPEARANCES FOR LUDDEN AND WHITE AND OF COURSE THE MOVIE STAR GUESTS!?!AND 60 PERCENT OF BOOK HAD CRYSTAL CLEAR POLORID PICTURES AND BLACK AND WHITE PICTURES AS WELL LOV LOV THE OLD PICTURES EASY BREEZY FAST AND EASY READ

[Ruth Dresher-Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great life and history book for both Allen Ludden and Betty White. The chronology is completely documented. The advances and retreats of the two careers and life paths running concurrently until they really find each other is beautifully developed. The courtship is beautiful. Allen’s persistence and Betty’s reluctance form a great story arc. Knowing the end of Allen’s story in advance does not dampen the tug when it arrives. That he and his first wife, Margaret, have such tragic endings isn’t lost. His life had many interesting bits I didn’t previously know. Betty remaining in the Carmel home they worked on together and her single status since his death offer a testament to the live they shared. Beautifully written with great photos.

[Anita Lina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Betty and Allen/Allen and Betty

Good read perfect for describing two of the worlds best television entertainers with summer theatre work. One f the best book that fans of both these wonderful entertainers can read! Both are missed but non as mich as Betty herself! Worth the time for any fan of Betty White to read!

[Koren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not only is this a biography of Allen Ludden, it is also a biography of his wife, Betty White, and a history of game shows in the 50's and 60's. Well-written, well-researched. Interesting bio of a well-loved game show host.

[Tonya Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love story

I enjoyed reading this book. I used the title love story to denote the love Mr Ludden had for Betty White and his career. Very descriptive.

[Bonney Teti · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure what I expected but this book had lots of information about Allen and his life as a game show host. No surprises but lots of fun pictures.

[Susan Molloy · Rating 4 out of 5]

🖋️ Admittedly, I enjoyed the photographs the best.
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[Kaitlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book. After reading Betty White's memoir, I wanted to learn more about her beloved husband. But this book leans a little too heavily on Betty's memoir as a source of information.