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ALLEN LUDDEN 2009 Recipient of the Game Show Congress Award for Career Achievement  He was known as The Man with the Questions, and Mark Goodson referred to him in 1975 as "Mr. Password." He is one of the few broadcasters in television history to become synonymous with two game shows. He brought a sense of elegance to his work. He educated while he entertained.Allen Ellsworth was born in Mineral Point, Wisconsin, October 5, 1917. Barely a year later, his father died of an acute case of flu. His mother eventually married electrical engineer Homer Ludden Jr. Homer adopted his wife’s young son and gave him the identity America shared for more than 30 years on radio and television -- Allen Ludden. Education was a keynote of Ludden's life until the lure of the studio beckoned. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Texas, he briefly taught English on the Austin campus. However, the microphone became a magnet for Allen. His radio career began at KEYS in Corpus Christi, Tex., before he entered the Army. Serving in the South Pacific, Allen earned the Bronze Star. Eventually, Ludden made his way to Connecticut, where he created, produced and hosted a popular teen talk show. Mind Your Manners was an instant success and was picked up by NBC for both radio and television. The radio version became one of two Allen Ludden series to win the coveted George Foster Peabody Award for excellence in broadcasting. By this time, he was married to the former Margaret McGloin. The Luddens had three children, David, Sarah, and Martha Ann. In 1953, Ludden launched his first signature series, radio's College Bowl. Weekly, Allen presided over what was labeled The Varsity Sport of the Mind as collegiate prodigies challenged each other with tossup questions and bonuses for quiz superiority. Six years later, General Electric picked up sponsorship and G.E. College Bowl began a long television life January 4, 1959. Originally, College Bowl was staged live on college campuses, primarily in the New York/New England area. Within a year, the quiz moved permanently to CBS' Madison Avenue studios. While the varsity scholars were the stars of the show, Allen Ludden gave the weekly half-hour its centerpiece identity. Sporting a crewcut and professorial glasses, the "College Bowl" moderator was introduced by announcer Don Morrow as "The Man with the Questions." Ludden possessed an uncanny ability to deliver the rapid-fire inquiries of complex subject matter in a fashion that made the material understandable to far less-educated viewers. G.E. College Bowl was an instant hit and a capstone to CBS' Sunday afternoon lineup in the era prior to the dominance of professional sports on weekends. Nearly three years later, Bob Stewart created a game for Goodson-Todman Productions that offered yet another educational distinction. Password was a game of word communication skills that would spread into schools as a vocabulary tool. At Game Show Congress in 2007, Stewart recalled the process that led to the selection of Ludden as host over finalists Gene Rayburn and Henry Morgan. "Allen Ludden had the right style and the right personality for Password," Stewart said. "He had an ability to look into the camera and win over viewers. He also understood the game was the star." For Allen Ludden, who considered College Bowl his baby, the idea of doing television's first game to pair celebrities with civilian contestants, was not a slam dunk decision. However, personal circumstances intervened. His wife Margaret was suffering from terminal cancer. The salary a five-day-a-week game show provided was a necessity to take care of significant medical bills. Ludden, employing many of the same skills he displayed on College Bowl, was a perfect fit. Password premiered October 2, 1961, and quickly provided CBS with something the network never previously had -- a runaway hit in the 2-2:30 p.m. half-hour. Two months later, a nighttime version was added. For six years, Password was appointment mid-afternoon viewing. Early in the run of Password, one of television’s popular comedy performers and game show celebrities made her first appearance on the show. Betty White not only clicked as a cluegiver, she eventually clicked with the host. Shortly after their June 1963 wedding, Allen and Betty were mystery guests on What’s My Line? Panelist Arlene Francis asked, "Is the password 'marriage'?" A year into the six-year CBS run of Password, Ludden was confronted with a decision that remained a sore spot for years. The network made a decision to move nighttime Password to Sundays at 6:30, only an hour after College Bowl, in September 1962. Network president James Aubrey felt two shows with Allen Ludden an hour apart were too many for viewers. Allen was forced to choose between the two. Reluctantly, he gave up College Bowl, in no small part because Password was more financially lucrative. Twenty-six weeks later, Password was moved to Monday nights, leaving a bitter taste in Ludden’s mouth over what he had been mandated to abandon. Ludden presided over three eras of Password on three different networks. Four years after the CBS run ended in 1967, ABC revived the classic game for another four years. On its final episode, Allen was presented a gold watch by Goodson, who said, "You are indeed 'Mr. Password.'" Ludden won his only Emmy for the ABC version. In 1979, NBC revamped the format as the bigger-money Password Plus. Allen was back with his distinctive extended hand gestures, guiding viewers to the words and to the swankier set. Through the years, Ludden tried his hand at several less successful series. Win with the Stars (a remake of What's This Song?), Stumpers (for Lin Bolen Productions) and Allen Ludden’s Gallery (a short-lived talk show) failed to ring the bell. None of them could measure up to Password. Only a few months into Password Plus, Ludden knew something was not right. In a 2002 interview with TVGameshows.net, Betty White said, "He didn’t know he had cancer yet, but he knew he wasn’t feeling so hot." A battery of hospital tests confirmed the worst -- Allen had inoperable stomach cancer. In her autobiography, Here We Go Again, White said her husband courageously pressed on while telling only a limited few people of his condition. "Allen said, 'When they find out you’re terminal in this town, you’re finished.'" Viewers were stunned to read wire service reports in October 1980. Allen suffered a stroke that ended his television career, though four more weeks of his Password Plus episodes were yet to air. He died June 9, 1981. Classic game show enthusiasts will never forget the catchphrases and sentences Allen Ludden planted in American conversation. They remember how he punctuated the announcement, "It’s official! The final score is..." on College Bowl. They smile when they think of him delivering the words to his contestants, the motioning to the screen with a congenial "friends at home." They memorize every syllable of the legendary, "When you hear this sound (BZZZZZZZZ), that means your clue has not been accepted by our authority, Dr. Reason A. Goodwin, an editor of the World Book Encyclopedia Dictionary." In 2001, TV Guide named Ludden the greatest game show host of all time. In posthumously presenting the Bill Cullen Award for Career Achievement to Allen, the Game Show Congress is reminded of how he closed his daily shows. From GSC to both Allen and Betty, we say, "The password for today is HONOR. Game Show Congress is proud to HONOR one of our genre's greatest legends." Other biography pages 
 
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