Betty White's last word was a reference to her late husband, Allen Ludden

It may be a new year but everyone in the entertainment industry is still mourning the passing of the acting legend Betty White, who died on New Year's Eve at the age of 99. The Golden Girls and The Mary Tyler Moore Show legend was about to celebrate her 100th birthday on January 17th; an unheard of milestone for most celebrities. 

We have since learned that her last thoughts were of her late, great husband Allen Ludden, also a showbiz legend. Former Mama's Family star and frequent collaborator Vicki Lawrence revealed that the icon's last, heartbreaking word was "Allen."

Speaking with Page Six, Lawrence revealed that she texted Betty's friend Carol Burnett, of The Carol Burnett Show fame, to express her sadness over Betty's passing. “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.’”

Lawrence continued, “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.’”

Betty and Allen were frequent talk show and game show collaborators, appearing on such hallowed shows as Match Game and Password. The two married in 1963 until Ludden died of cancer in 1981. Although Betty had been briefly married twice before Allen, she never remarried after Allen's death.

We have also since learned that Betty died of natural causes, and not from COVID-19 or side-effects of the booster shot (as some spurious rumours online reported). 

Her longtime agent and close friend Jeff Witjas said in a statement, "Betty died peacefully in her sleep at her home. People are saying her death was related to getting a booster shot three days earlier but that is not true. She died of natural causes. Her death should not be politicized—that is not the life she lived."

Ever the funnywoman, Betty loved to play up the hot-to-trot character she originally developed on The Mary Tyler Moore Show as Sue Ann, and in her later years would often joke that she wanted to run away with actor/director Robert Redford (as she does in this below clip from 2016 where she says she wants to celebrate her 94th birthday with the The Way We Were heartthrob). Redford has since confirmed that he, like the rest of the world, had a crush on Betty, too.

Confirming to E!, Redford said in a statement, "Betty lived life devoted to her craft and her love of animals. She made us all laugh, including me. I had a crush on her too!"

Redford isn't the only one in Hollywood paying tribute to the animal-welfare advocate; many stars including Ryan Reynolds, Steve Martin, Reese Witherspoon, Viola Davis, Dionne Warwick, and more have flooded social media with their memories and mourning.

On top of celebrities, the village in Illinois where she was born, will honour her birthday going forward as "Betty White Day." TMZ is reporting that "Betty White Day" will be recognized in the village of Oak Park on January 17, which would have been her 100th birthday.

January 17th was also to be the premiere date of her theatrical bash Betty White: 100 Years Young – a birthday celebration, but reports suggest that it will still go ahead as planned, despite her untimely passing. 

In 2012, White said she had "no fear or dread of death" in a TimesTalks conversation with New York Times columnist Frank Bruni, adding that her mother's stance on death left her with a positive view of it. 

"My mother had a wonderful approach to death," Betty said at the time. "She always thought of it as — she said, 'We know we have managed to find out almost anything that exists, but nobody knows ... what happens at that moment when it's over.' "

"And she said, 'It's the one secret that we don't know.' So whenever we would lose somebody very close and very dear, she would always say, 'Well, now he knows the secret.' And it took the curse off of it somehow."

Now Betty knows the secret.

 Affleck reveals what his daughter said after reading 'The Tender Bar' script

[video_embed id='2343761']BEFORE YOU GO: Ben Affleck reveals what his daughter said after reading 'The Tender Bar' script [/video_embed]