LOS ANGELES -- Television host Allen Ludden received a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame during a brief ceremony Thursday, becoming the 1,868th celebrity to earn the tribute.
The star was unveiled next to a star awarded earlier to Ludden's widow Betty White.
'I could hear his voice saying 'I can't believe it,'' White said during the ceremony.
'I cannot express what this day means to me,' White said. 'Don't be surprised if in the wee hours of the morning our stars are fooling around.'
A visibly moved White was close to tears as a tour bus drove past the ceremony carrying a sign reading, 'We miss Allen.'
Ludden began his career during World War II when he headed the Army's entertainment division in the Pacific.
After the war, Ludden was personal manager for actor Maurice Evans. He later joined CBS in New York, first as program director for WCBS, then as creative director of CBS News.
Ludden became a household name in 1953 when he created and hosted the 'General Electric College Bowl,' first as a radio series and then as a television series beginning in 1958.
He moved on to his greatest success, as host of the CBS game show 'Password' in 1961. Ludden won an Emmy for his work on 'Password' in 1976 and continued hosting various versions of the game until illness forced his retirement in 1980. He died in 1981 at the age of 62.
