It’s been said by those who knew her that Betty White never feared death, and going by what turned out to be her final spoken word, she seemed to be looking forward to crossing over into the next life. On New Year’s Eve, White passed away at the age of 99, just over two weeks away from her 100th birthday. She had a very long and happy life, though the loss has left friends and fans feeling heartbroken as the beloved actress is already missed.
Different celebrities who’ve worked with White over the years have done their part to pay tribute by sharing their personal White stories. Vicki Lawrence, who co-starred on Mama’s Family with White and Rue McClanahan, has now spoken out about the news as well. According to Lawrence, she even found out what White’s last word was with this information relayed to her by Carol Burnett, another one of White’s comedy colleagues. This is no surprise, really, but White reportedly passed away while thinking about her late husband, Allen Ludden.
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“[Burnett] texted me back and she said that she spoke to Betty’s assistant who was with her when she died,” Lawrence told E! News. “Her assistant said the last word out of her mouth was ‘Allen.’ She said, ‘How sweet and loving is that?’ I said, ‘It’s so sweet and so loving and, god, I hope it’s true.’”
Lawrence also insists White wouldn’t want any of her fans to feel so sad over her passing. As Lawrence explains, “I know that she would say, ‘Oh, sweetie, don’t be sad for me. I had a blast! I had a great time. You need to laugh and carry on.’ I honestly believe that’s what she would say.”
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Allen Ludden was hosting the classic game show Password when he first met Betty White, who’d come onto the program as a guest in 1961. Though Ludden was married at the time, his then-wife died soon after. The next year, White and Ludden were cast in the same play, and their romance quickly blossomed. They were married from 1963 to 1981 when Ludden died of cancer. White never remarried, and friends of the actress say that the Golden Girls star always believed she’d be reunited with Ludden when she died.
“She always said the love of her life was her husband, Allen Ludden, who she lost in 1981,” said comedian Bob Saget, who recently shared his own Betty White story. “Well, if things work out by Betty’s design— in the afterlife, they are reunited. I don’t know what happens when we die, but if Betty says you get to be with the love of your life, then I happily defer to Betty on this.”
“I thought she would live forever," White’s agent and longtime friend Jeff Witjas also said shortly after the news broke that White had passed. “I’ll miss her terribly. I don’t think Betty ever feared passing because she always wanted to be with her husband. She believed she’d be with him again.”