The world continues to mourn legendary television star Betty White of “Golden Girls” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” fame who tragically passed away on Saturday at the age of 99. Now, former “Carol Burnett Show” star Vicki Lawrence is sharing with the world the last word uttered by Betty White in her final moments and it’s a heart tugger!
These two veritable queens of classic comedy worked together on “Mama’s Family.”
Betty White Calls For Husband Allen Ludden In Final Moments
Vicki Lawrence, 72, told Page Six that she texted their old friend Carol Burnett after learning the tragic news of her death.
She was touched to hear back that in her final moments, Betty White called out to her late husband Allen Ludden, who died back in 1981.
White often described Ludden as the love of her life, and she never remarried in the four decades since his passing.
“I texted Carol and said, ‘This just sucks. I hate this. It’s just horrible to see the people you love so much go away,’” said Lawrence. “Carol wrote back and said, ‘I know, I know. I spoke to Betty’s assistant, who was with her when she passed, and she said the very last word out of her mouth was ‘Allen.’”
“How sweet is that? I said, ‘That is so sweet. God, I hope that’s true. For all of us, I really hope it’s true, a lovely thought,'” she added.
Related: Betty White ‘Crush’ Robert Redford Makes Sweet Confession After Her Passing
Vicki Lawrence Honors Betty White
White died of natural causes on New Year’s Eve, just seventeen days before her 100th birthday.
When asked what it was like to work with Betty White, Vicki Lawrence had nothing but positive things to say.
“Well, you didn’t really work with her, you just had a good time. Carol called it ‘playing in the sandbox,’ and I think that’s exactly what it was,” she said. “Betty was just the perfect playmate. And I have to say this, she was incredibly professional. I don’t remember her ever not being prepared or ever messing up her lines.”
Lawrence went on to say that White was a rarity in the world of Hollywood.
“Show business can be so disappointing when you meet people, but Betty was such a lovely lady, and I loved hearing her talk about early, early Hollywood,” she explained. “I was reading the other day, when she first started on television, there were only a thousand people in LA that had a TV. Like, holy s–t, that’s just insane! I feel like our number one television historian has just left us, you know? For her to reach that many generations, and be just as adored every generation, [is incredible].”
Vicki Lawrence Is Mourning
Lawrence concluded by expressing her devastation at the loss of her friend.
“I saw that notification [about White’s death] on my phone and I thought, ‘Well, this is just the f–king exclamation point at the end of the worst year,’” she stated. “It was like, ’And furthermore, Betty’s gone. That’s just Goddamn perfect.’”
Millions of fans will certainly agree with these sentiments. There really will never be another Betty White.
Here’s some classic Betty White for you just to underscore the point. RIP sweet Rose.