HOLLYWOOD -- A memorial service is planned Thursday for Allen Ludden, the Emmy-winning host of the popular television game show 'Password' for 20 years.
Ludden, 63, died Tuesday morning at Good Samaritan Hospital following a long battle with cancer. Actress Betty White, his wife for 18 years, was at his bedside.
The Password host had been in and out of the hospital in recent months because of ailments stemming from cancer diagnosed 18 months ago. He went into a coma during a visit to his Monterey, Calif., home last October and never returned to TV although he regained consciousness and did not suffer any paralysis or speech impairment.
There were reports he had suffered a stroke at the time, but Ludden denied that, saying his coma had been triggered by a calcium imbalance related to his cancer therapy.
Thursday's memorial service is planned in the Church of the Hills at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills. He will be buried in his hometown of Mineral Point, Wis.
Ludden's broadcast career began before World War II, but he was most identified with the television shows 'GE College Bowl,' 'Password' and 'The Liar's Club.'
In addition to his TV career, Ludden wrote books for youngsters, including 'Plain Talk About College,' 'Plain Talk for Women Under 21' and 'Plain Talk for Men Under 21.'
He won television's coveted Emmy award in 1976 for 'Password' and produced two other game shows, 'Stumpers' and 'Allen Ludden's Gallery.'
Ludden was a former Austin, Texas, high school teacher and an instructor at the University of Texas, from which he earned a masters degree in English.
His first wife died in 1962, and a year later he married Miss White in Las Vegas, Nev., after they had co-starred in 'Critic's Choice' in New England summer stock.
Ludden is survived by Miss White; three children from his first marriage, David, Martha and Sarah; and his mother, who lives in Corpus Christi, Texas.
