“Mr. Clean & The Girl Next Door!”

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From Nighttime TV, July 1975:

Click on the image to download a PDF of the article!

Betty says (over commissary food) that everybody laughs about “Mr. Clean” marrying the “girl next door.”

I see a bit of foreshadowing in the article – “And she’s only using the tip of the iceberg as far as her talent is concerned.” Would 1975’s Betty be floored to see the heights her career eventually reached and the accolades to come?

Favorite line in the article? “Though the word is that Allen is a ‘marigold freak,’ which their living room decor attests to he and Betty have many other hobbies.”  I love the use of the phrase the word is. Like, word on the street? “Hey, man – did you hear the word? Allen Ludden is a marigold FREAK!”

Betty & Allen Weigh in on Watergate

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From TV Dawn to Dusk, September 1974:

Click on the image to download a PDF of the article!

Betty may have become a Democrat, but back in the day, she was the conservative of the household, as this article notes. Both of the Luddens have a one-sentence summary of Nixon’s downfall on page 2.

We also find such tidbits as what Allen eats for breakfast, and what Betty’s step-children called her.

Favorite line in the article? “Visitors cannot help but be instantly smitten with their warm, contemporary furnishings, the myriad objets d’art and the multitude of fresh flowers from their garden on every table.” I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be instantly smitten when I see someone’s furniture. And did the woman really check every table in the entire house for flowers? Doubtful.

“The Girl Who Was Never Going to Marry”

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petsetFrom TV Dawn to Dusk, November 1971:

Click on the image to download a PDF of the article!

Must we call a 49 year-old woman “girl?” Apparently so.

The general accuracy of these fan magazine articles continues to surprise me. Most of the facts compare favorably to Betty’s own books and statements made in television interviews.

Favorite line in the article? “When she swings open that front door, you see what every girl really wants to be – a happy and fulfilled woman.” There’s a line that will rot your teeth!

Allen Charges Dinner at Chasen’s

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Here’s Allen’s card from the rolodex at Chasen’s Restaurant in West Hollywood. If the staff needed to verify that a diner had a charge account at the restaurant, this is what they checked.

Please observe:

  • The account was opened in May 1962. Allen took Betty to dinner and a performance of “Critic’s Choice,” the play they were to co-star in during the summer of 1962. Did Allen open the account specifically for the very first date/”business meeting”?
  • On the reverse of the the card, you’ll also note that Allen charged a meal on September 23rd of 1962; likely this was one of his many courting trips to the West Coast prior to their April 1963 engagement.
  • Betty’s 51st, 54th, 56th and 57th birthdays appear to have been celebrated at Chasen’s; as there are stamps for January 17th in those years.

A Courtship Article with the Betty Seal of Approval

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From TV Radio Mirror, August 1963:

Click on the image to download a PDF of the article!

Here we have a very detailed account of the Allen-Betty courtship, written just after the wedding.

You have to love the cheesy line at the bottom of page 2:

A self-confessed “old maid”…a widower who though love was over…a marriage that started out as a game and ended up for keeps!

Paging movie-trailer-voiceover guy!

A thank-you note written to the author, Paul Denis, presumably regarding this very article, is listed on eBay at the moment (with a minimum bid of $699.95 — ouch!). Betty seems very pleased with the job he did!

How Much Did Allen & Betty Spend on Parking in 1963?

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Don’t we all lie awake each night pondering that very question?

Click on the image to enlarge!

A few observations:

The firm of Edward Traubner & Co. managed the business interests of many performers.  The company filed its articles of incorporation on Friday, February 17, 1956.

The couple estimated that they spent $400 on “business parking” in 1963.  In 2011 dollars, that’s about $2825.  That’s a lot of parking at a time when the average annual wage in the United States was $4,397. Where were they parking?!

Finally, this is the only example I’ve ever seen of Betty signing as Betty Ludden, rather than Betty White (personally or professionally) or Betty White Ludden (for documents & contracts).

Betty Shares Her Needlepoint

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From Good Housekeeping Needlecraft, Spring/Summer 1979:

Click on the image to download a PDF of the article!

It’s nice to see an article with some out-of-the-ordinary pictures.

I’m also impressed that she spent four years on a single needlepoint rug — I can’t imagine staying with one thing that long!

The article describes a director’s chair she stitched for Allen: “The chair, done in Allen’s favorite marigold colors, has his name and motif on the back.” What do you suppose Allen’s motif was?  Perhaps a little Allen head in caricature?

“You’re Great, Dad, But You’re No Bud Collyer!”

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mailboxFrom TV Radio Mirror, June 1962:

Click on the image to download a PDF of the article!

What strikes me most about this article (written before his marriage to Betty) is that it provides an inside look at Allen’s family life without mentioning that his beloved first wife, Margaret, had died less than a year before. Margaret is mentioned multiple times, but there’s no indication that she wasn’t alive and well at the time. Strange.

Favorite line in the article?  “Admittedly an egghead, Allen is also an egghead who swings.” He manages to criticize beatniks, though. Poor Allen — wait until you get a load of the hippies in a few years!

Betty’s Banana Loaf… Not Likely!

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Here’s a interesting item I found on eBay. Someone was selling a beat-up plain wood recipe box with this recipe card inside it. Bidding started at $50 and there were no takers. I love how people think their junk is worth a ton!

Anyway. I digress… The rare “Betty White recipes” (I’ve only seen one other example – for “Chicken Wings Pacifica”) are amusing, as Betty is a self-admitted klutz in the kitchen. And was the public really to believe she cared what brand of flour she allegedly used? I wonder if there were other variations of this card?

I would date it at about 1954. All in all, an interesting piece.