Jack Linkletter - Los Angeles Ties Obituary
Bob Feigel
From the Los Angeles Times
Jack Linkletter, 1937 - 2007
TV host followed in father Art's footsteps
By Dennis McLellan
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
December 20, 2007
Jack Linkletter, who followed in his broadcasting icon father Art's
footsteps in the 1950s and became the host of such TV shows as
"Hootenanny" and special events as the Miss Universe pageant, has
died. He was 70.
Linkletter, president of Linkletter Enterprises, died of lymphoma
Tuesday at his home in Cloverdale, Calif., his father told The Times
on Wednesday.
As the son of the man who hosted the long-running "People Are Funny"
and "House Party" on radio and television, Linkletter made a smooth
transition into broadcasting at an early age.
At 15, he began doing an interview show for CBS Radio that was soon
followed by "Teen Time," an hourlong program featuring records and
stunts.
Blessed with what has been called "a made-for-the-microphone baritone"
and a genial personality, Linkletter was an English major at USC in
1958 when he became host of NBC-TV's "Haggis Baggis," a prime-time
summer replacement quiz show.
A year later, he was host of "On the Go," a daytime human-interest
show in which he and a videotape crew visited movie studios,
Marineland, a drug rehabilitation center and other locales to get
behind-the-scenes stories.
Linkletter was host for a total of seven TV shows, including "Here's
Hollywood," "America Alive!" and "Hootenanny," the 1963-64 ABC-TV folk
music show that was taped before a live audience at a different
college campus each week.
Besides the Miss Universe pageant, he also was host of World's Fair
events and major parades.
"The reason I get these jobs is because my price is less than my
dad's," he once joked.
"He always did ad-lib shows, just like me," Art Linkletter, 95, said
Wednesday. "Sons of famous people have a tough time, because they're
expected to be as good as their dad right away."
The oldest of Art and Lois Linkletter's five children, he was born
Arthur Jack Linkletter in San Francisco on Nov. 20, 1937.
As a young boy, Linkletter inspired one of his father's most famous
"House Party" routines: interviewing young children.
Art Linkletter recalled that he was still a radio personality in San
Francisco when 5-year-old Jack came home from his first day of
kindergarten. Art was speaking into an early recording machine when
Jack came into the room and asked what he was doing.
"I'm just practicing my radio voice," said Art. "Come over here, and
I'll interview you."
"Jack, what did you do today?" asked Art.
"I went to school for the first time," said Jack.
"How did you like it?"
"I'm not going back."
"Why aren't you going back?"
"Because I can't read, I can't write, and they won't let me talk."
Art got such a kick out of the exchange that he played his interview
with Jack on his "Who's Dancing Tonight?" Sunday-night interview show
broadcast from the St. Francis Hotel.
Afterward, he recalled, "Mail came in from all over Northern
California saying what a wonderful thing it is to hear a little boy
talking to his daddy, and it struck me that there were no interviews
with children as children; they were always professional children --
trained, coached and written for."
After launching "House Party" in Hollywood in 1945, Art began
interviewing four children between the ages of 4 and 10 during the
last five minutes of each show -- about 27,000 children over the
years.
"Jack opened my eyes for the first time to the joy of just hearing
kids say the 'darndest' things," Art said.
After earning a bachelor's degree at USC, Jack Linkletter took
graduate courses in business at UCLA. In the early '60s, while
continuing his show business career, he took over management of some
of his father's business affairs.
In recent decades, he was president of Linkletter Enterprises --
developer and operator of commercial and industrial real estate and
manager of diversified family investments. He also operated the
private Link Fund, investing in equity and debt instruments.
Linkletter was international president and education chairman of the
Young President's Organization, national director of the 4-H Clubs,
founding member of the board of governors of the Livestock
Merchandising Institute, a presidential appointee to the National
Council of the USO and governor of Phi Beta Kappa.
Linkletter's first marriage ended in divorce. He is survived by his
second wife of 14 years, Charlene; his three children, Mike and Dennis
Linkletter and Laura Ann Rich; two stepchildren, Marilie and John
Croul; his parents; his sisters, Sharon Hershey and Dawn Griffin; and
11 grandchildren.
A private memorial service will be held. Instead of flowers, the
family requests donations be made to charity.
--
"It's not that I'm afraid to die. I just don't want to be there when it happens." - Woody Allen
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wax-up and drop-in of Surfing's Golden Years: <http://www.surfwriter.net>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
La N
"Bob Feigel" <b...@surfwriter.net.not> wrote in message
news:7fglm3tm1a2l6roub...@4ax.com...
> http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-linkletter20dec20,1,2866651.story?coll=la-news-obituaries
>
> From the Los Angeles Times
>
> Jack Linkletter, 1937 - 2007
>
> TV host followed in father Art's footsteps
>
Art is, like, 95 years old now and is still very spry and active.
It must be painful for the old guy to now have lost 2 children.
- nilita
Chris Marksberry
I just looked up Mr. Linkletter and found this... apparently he's lost 3
children. His wife is still alive.
http://www.nndb.com/people/643/000022577/
I've read that the secret for longevity is being able to somehow bounce back
from the loss of children and spouse, but to tell you the truth, I don't
think I could do that.
Father: Fulton John Linkletter (adoptive)
Mother: Mary Metzler Linkletter (adoptive)
Wife: Lois Foerster (m. 1935, two sons, three daughters)
Son: Jack Linkletter (b. 20-Nov-1937, d. 18-Dec-2007 lymphoma)
Son: Robert (d. car accident)
Daughter: Diane Linkletter (d. 4-Oct-1969 suicide by defenestration)
Daughter: Dawn
Daughter: Sharon
Louis Epstein
:
:
:> "Bob Feigel" <b...@surfwriter.net.not> wrote in message
:>> http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-linkletter20dec20,1,2866651.story?coll=la-news-obituaries
:>>
:>> From the Los Angeles Times
:>>
:>> Jack Linkletter, 1937 - 2007
:>>
:>> TV host followed in father Art's footsteps
:>>
:>
:>
:> Art is, like, 95 years old now and is still very spry and active.
:>
:> It must be painful for the old guy to now have lost 2 children.
:>
:> - nilita
:>
:
: I just looked up Mr. Linkletter and found this... apparently he's lost 3
: children. His wife is still alive.
:
: http://www.nndb.com/people/643/000022577/
:
: I've read that the secret for longevity is being able to somehow bounce back
: from the loss of children and spouse, but to tell you the truth, I don't
: think I could do that.
Probably easier to take if spaced out than all gone at once.
(I recall Lord Pearce [1901-90],a British judge,who married in
1927,having two sons born 1930 and 1934,no other children;
the wife and younger son died in 1985 and the elder son in 1987).
: Father: Fulton John Linkletter (adoptive)
: Mother: Mary Metzler Linkletter (adoptive)
: Wife: Lois Foerster (m. 1935, two sons, three daughters)
: Son: Jack Linkletter (b. 20-Nov-1937, d. 18-Dec-2007 lymphoma)
: Son: Robert (d. car accident)
: Daughter: Diane Linkletter (d. 4-Oct-1969 suicide by defenestration)
: Daughter: Dawn
: Daughter: Sharon
:
That three children had died was clear from the obit...
it said Jack was the oldest of five,and was survived by two sisters
and no other siblings.
-=-=-
The World Trade Center towers MUST rise again,
at least as tall as before...or terror has triumphed.