Betty White called the name of late husband Alan Luden before he died on December 31 at the age of 99.
Vicki Lawrence — who worked with White on "Mama's Family" — exclusively told Page Six that she contacted co-star and friend Carol Burnett as soon as she heard the sad news.
"I texted Carol and said, 'This just sucks. I hate it. It's awful to see the people you love so much go away,'" Lawrence, 72, recalled.
"Carol wrote back and said, 'I know, I know.' I talked to Betty's assistant, who was with her when she passed by, and she said the last word from her mouth was 'Alan.
Lawrence continued, "How cute is that? I said, 'That's so cute. God, I hope it's true. To all of us, I really hope it's true, a lovely thought.' "
White died of natural causes on New Year's Eve, just weeks away from his 100th birthday on January 17. He was married to Luden in 1963 and died of colon cancer in 1981 at the age of 63.
Recalling what it was like to work with White, Lawrence told Page Six that it was always a pleasure.
"Well, you didn't really work out with him, you just had a great time. Carol called it 'playing in the sandbox,' and I guess that was it," she shared. "Betty was the perfect playmate. And I have to say, she was incredibly professional. I can't remember her never dressed up or ever messing with her lines."
However, Lawrence remembers a specific time when Always Punctual was an hour late for White to be set.
"This was before cell phones, and everyone was on their own because Betty was never late," she recalled. "And she walks in, and says, 'I'm so sorry, but I was driving here and these two Golden Retrievers come running into the intersection and they're obviously lost. I have to pull them over and get them. Had to do.'"
Lawrence said that White found the Golden Retrievers and returned them to their home "because that's what Betty would do."
Lawrence also told Page Six that White was a rare breed in the entertainment industry.
"Show business can be very frustrating when you meet people, but Betty was such a lovely lady, and I loved hearing her talk about her Hollywood debut," she explained.
"I was reading the other day, when she first made her television debut, there were only a thousand people in L.A. who had TVs. Like, holy s—t, that's just crazy! I feel like our number one television The historian has left us, you know? It's [incredible] for him to reach many generations, and every generation alike.
On top of his incredible talent and work ethic, Lawrence said White was also wickedly funny off-camera.
“Oh my god, she was so naive! She was such a mischievous girl,” she said. “She had such a raucous sense of humour.”
Lawrence confessed to Page Six that she knew White's death was "coming", adding that she was still devastated by the loss of her former co-star and close friend.