Ralph Edwards, "This Is Your Life" host
deb...@comcast.net
Your Life", has died at 91. No confirmation yet. Coincidentally, "This
Is Your Life" is making a comeback with Regis Philbin as host.
goodby...@aol.com
deb...@comcast.net
King Daevid MacKenzie
started "Truth or Consequences" on NBC in 1940...in fact, I suspect that
leaves Southern California talk show host George Putnam as the last
surviving figure from pre-WW2 radio (he delivered a CBS newscast
documented on the WJSV Complete Broadcast Day 9/21/39 collection)...
http://www.kesq.com/Global/story.asp?S=4128354
LOS ANGELES The syndicated teleivison show "The Insider" is reporting
"This is Your Life" host Ralph Edwards has died in Los Angeles. He was
92. There are no details. His death comes on the day the "This is Your
Life" ultimate D-V-D collection was released.
--
--
King Daevid MacKenzie, WLSU-FM 88.9 La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA
heard occasionally at http://www.radio4all.net
"You can live in your dreams, but only if you are worthy of them."
HARLAN ELLISON
robertc...@yahoo.com
Hope Regis does a good job; he did a fine piece of work on "Who Wants
to Be a Millionaire.". It's just that the people he will most likely
have on the show will most likely not be of interest to me.
I remember 'This Is Your Life" when it was originally broadcast.
Edwards was a gracious host, and I'm sorry to hear that he is gone.
Still, 91 is a good long life.
King Daevid MacKenzie
> ...in fact, I suspect that
> leaves Southern California talk show host George Putnam as the last
> surviving figure from pre-WW2 radio (he delivered a CBS newscast
> documented on the WJSV Complete Broadcast Day 9/21/39 collection)...
...Art Linkletter also started his career in radio locally in San Diego
before the War; I'm unsure of whether he made any regular appearances on
a network before Pearl Harbor. His first network hit show, "People are
Funny," premiered on NBC in 1942, and, as I recall, NBC didn't have
Linkletter join the show until after it had been running for a
while...does anyone know if Jackie Cooper and Mickey Rooney regularly
appeared on radio before the War?...
Chuck Kopsho
Mark Goodson. Ralph Edwards found Mr. Barker while listening to him on a
Burbank, California radio station.
Cheers,
Chuck Kopsho
Oceanside, California
Brad Ferguson
<echoes...@charter.net> wrote:
> I correct myself here:
>
> > ...in fact, I suspect that
> > leaves Southern California talk show host George Putnam as the last
> > surviving figure from pre-WW2 radio (he delivered a CBS newscast
> > documented on the WJSV Complete Broadcast Day 9/21/39 collection)...
>
> ...Art Linkletter also started his career in radio locally in San Diego
> before the War; I'm unsure of whether he made any regular appearances on
> a network before Pearl Harbor. His first network hit show, "People are
> Funny," premiered on NBC in 1942, and, as I recall, NBC didn't have
> Linkletter join the show until after it had been running for a
> while...does anyone know if Jackie Cooper and Mickey Rooney regularly
> appeared on radio before the War?...
Apparently not. Mickey Rooney seems only to have appeared in radio
versions of two of his movies: He did "Young Tom Edison" and "Strike Up
the Band" in 1940. He did do a postwar (1949-50) radio sitcom, "The
Hardy Family," which postdated the movie series by three years and
lasted only ten episodes. That show represents Rooney's only regular
radio appearances. (I mean to say that the sitcom postdated the movie
series if you don't count 1958's "Andy Hardy Comes Home," which I don't
think anyone does.)
Jackie Cooper did "Huckleberry Finn" with Orson Welles in 1940, and
that's about it for him. During the war Cooper was stationed on New
Caledonia and did broadcasts from there with, among others, Jack Paar.
All of this leaves aside Rooney's and Cooper's guest shots on other
people's variety programs. I found a few of those for Cooper in 1938.
King Daevid MacKenzie
> Bob Barker has now outlived both of his producers, Mr. Edwards and
> Mark Goodson.
...wasn't Bill Todman still active when Barker took over "The Price is
Right"?...
Bob Feigel
proffered:
>Just heard on the radio that Ralph Edwards, host & producer of "This Is
>Your Life", has died at 91. No confirmation yet. Coincidentally, "This
>Is Your Life" is making a comeback with Regis Philbin as host.
'This Is Your Life' host Ralph Edwards dead in Los Angeles at 92
- By JEFF WILSON, Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
(11-16) 12:14 PST Los Angeles (AP) --
Broadcasting pioneer Ralph Edwards, who spotlighted stars and ordinary
people as host of the popular 1950s show "This Is Your Life," died
Wednesday of heart failure. He was 92.
Edwards, whose career as producer and host included "Truth or
Consequences" and "People's Court," died in his sleep at 9:13 a.m.
with his family at his side in his West Hollywood home, publicist
Justin Seremet said.
Edwards first hit it big in radio in 1940 with "Truth or
Consequences," a novelty show in which contestants who failed to
answer trick questions — the "truth" — had to suffer "the
consequences" by performing some elaborate stunt.
Then came television. The Federal Communications Commission approved
commercial broadcasts beginning on July 1, 1941, after a few years of
experimental broadcasts, and NBC's New York station was the first to
make the changeover.
"Amazingly enough, I did 'Truth or Consequences' on television in July
1941. It was the first commercial show for NBC," Edwards recalled.
"A 10-second commercial was $9," he said.
The United States' entry into World War II five months later disrupted
TV's progress. "Truth or Consequences," which prospered on radio in
the interim, returned to television in 1950.
Earlier that same year, the citizens of little Hot Springs, N.M.,
voted 1,294-295 to change the town's name to Truth or Consequences.
Edwards had promised to broadcast the radio show from the town that
agreed to the change.
"In those days, nothing seemed impossible," he once said.
Emmy award-winning "Truth or Consequences" aired for 38 consecutive
years on radio and television, and launched the career of Edwards'
handpicked successor Bob Barker.
"There may be members of his family who love Ralph Edwards as much as
I do, but there is no one who owes Ralph Edwards a bigger debt of
gratitude that I do. He gave me an opportunity to do 'Truth or
Consequences' almost 50 years ago," Barker said Wednesday.
"He was the dearest friend I have; one of the finest men I have ever
met and a gentleman about whom I have never heard a word of
criticism."
"This Is Your Life" also was born on radio and then migrated to
television, running on NBC-TV from 1952 to 1961. It featured guests,
many of them celebrities, who were lured in on a ruse, then surprised
by Edwards announcing, "This is your life!" Relatives and old friends
then would be brought on to reminisce about the guest.
Among the people he caught unaware were Marilyn Monroe, Stan Laurel
and Oliver Hardy, Bob Hope, Andy Griffith, Buster Keaton, Barbara
Eden, Bette Davis, Shirley Jones, Jayne Mansfield and Carol Channing.
But not all guests were entertainers. A 1953 episode profiled Hanna
Bloch Kohner, a survivor of the Holocaust.
"At least half of our guests were ordinary people," Edwards said. "In
the beginning we didn't use celebrities at all. But when we did, I
think it humanized the stars and gave them more appeal."
Edwards said he and his staff used all kinds of subterfuge to surprise
guests. Some would run away and be pulled back, all in fun, but
broadcaster Lowell Thomas made headlines when he refused to play along
on a 1959 show.
"He saw instantly what was going on, and nobody puts anything over on
Lowell Thomas," Edwards recalled years later. "He tore the show apart.
I said, 'You're going to enjoy this,' and he said, 'I doubt that very
much.'"
"His third-grade teacher said he knew every rock and rill in the
Rockies. And he said, 'Yeah, and I knew every saloon, too,'" Edwards
recalled. "The rating kept going up during the show as people called
their friends to tune in."
According to the reference book "The Complete Directory to Prime Time
Network and Cable TV Shows," one person was off limits for the
surprise treatment: Edwards himself. He told staff members he would
fire every one of them if they put him on.
Both "Truth" and "This Is Your Life" have periodically returned to
television in syndicated form.
Just last week, it was announced that a new version of "This is Your
Life," with Regis Philbin ("Live with Regis and Kelly") as host, is
planned by ABC. Philbin previously was host of "Who Wants to be a
Millionaire" for the network.
Over the years, Edwards kept himself busy as a producer.
Edwards had a hand in other shows, producing or creating "Name That
Tune,""Cross Wits,""Superior Court,""It Could Be You,""Place the
Face,""About Faces,""Funny Boners,""End of the Rainbow,""Who in the
World,""The Woody Woodbury Show" and "Wide Country." In the '80s,
Ralph Edwards Productions' show "The People's Court" made a star of
retired Judge Joseph A. Wapner.
"We've seen many changes and enjoyed them all," Edwards said in a 1999
interview. "I still find 'live' the most exciting, particularly for my
type of shows."
Edwards broke into radio in 1929 in Oakland as a 16-year-old high
school student.
He worked at KROW and KFRC in San Francisco while attending college at
the University of California at Berkeley.
"The changes in both radio and television are mind-boggling," Edwards
said. He recalled that until 1948 his radio version of "Truth or
Consequences" was done twice each Saturday, once for the east coast
and again three hours later for the West Coast.
"We would use the same script, but all new contestants," he said.
Edwards said he went back to Truth or Consequences, N.M., dozens of
times over the years.
Besides changing the name, townspeople made Edwards an honorary member
of the Sheriff's Posse. The name continues a half-century later.
Periodic efforts to reverse the change failed.
"I am truly proud of my namesake city and have enjoyed a wonderful
association throughout the years," he said.
He also appeared in several motion pictures: "Seven Days Leave,""Radio
Stars on Parade,""Bamboo Blonde,""Beat the Band,""I'll Cry
Tomorrow,""Manhattan Merry-Go-Round" and "Radio Stars of 1937."
Edwards' wife, Barbara, died in 1993 after 53 years of marriage. Their
children are a son, Gary, who worked with Edwards; and two daughters,
Christine and Laurie.
A memorial service will be held Dec. 1 at the Beverly Hills
Presbyterian Church. In lieu of flowers, the family requested
donations be made to: American Parkinson Disease Association, Juvenile
Diabetes International, or any breast cancer research organization.
URL:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2005/11/16/state/n110311S69.DTL
"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>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
wboenig
King Daevid MacKenzie wrote:
> ...he was also one of the last links to the Golden Age of Radio; he
> started "Truth or Consequences" on NBC in 1940...in fact, I suspect that
> leaves Southern California talk show host George Putnam as the last
> surviving figure from pre-WW2 radio (he delivered a CBS newscast
> documented on the WJSV Complete Broadcast Day 9/21/39 collection)...
Art Linkletter notwithstanding, this also depends on if you want to
include behind-the-scenes players as well as on-the-air personalities.
Writer/Director/Producer Norman Corwin is still with us at age 95; he
was associated with several pre-WWII era programs.
King Daevid MacKenzie
...you're correct; in fact, Corwin had two of his most notable
broadcasts on CBS, both featuring Orson Welles, on the dates Pearl
Harbor was attacked and the announcement of the pending Japanese
surrender to the Allies ("Between Americans" on 7 December 1941 and
"Fourteen August" on 14 August 1945)...
Rich Clancey
>If it's on the radio wouldn't that be confirmation?
Group Motto nomination!
--
rich clancey r...@bahleevyoome.world.std.com
"Shun those who deny we have eyes in order to see, and instead say we
see because we happen to have eyes." -- Leibniz
Brad Ferguson
<b...@surfwriter.net.not> wrote:
> Emmy award-winning "Truth or Consequences" aired for 38 consecutive
> years on radio and television, and launched the career of Edwards'
> handpicked successor Bob Barker.
>
> "There may be members of his family who love Ralph Edwards as much as
> I do, but there is no one who owes Ralph Edwards a bigger debt of
> gratitude that I do. He gave me an opportunity to do 'Truth or
> Consequences' almost 50 years ago," Barker said Wednesday.
>
> "He was the dearest friend I have; one of the finest men I have ever
> met and a gentleman about whom I have never heard a word of
> criticism."
Classy.
Brad Ferguson
<echoes...@charter.net> wrote:
> wboenig quotes me 'n sez:
>
> >>...he was also one of the last links to the Golden Age of Radio; he
> >>started "Truth or Consequences" on NBC in 1940...in fact, I suspect that
> >>leaves Southern California talk show host George Putnam as the last
> >>surviving figure from pre-WW2 radio (he delivered a CBS newscast
> >>documented on the WJSV Complete Broadcast Day 9/21/39 collection)...
> >
> >
> >
> > Art Linkletter notwithstanding, this also depends on if you want to
> > include behind-the-scenes players as well as on-the-air personalities.
> > Writer/Director/Producer Norman Corwin is still with us at age 95; he
> > was associated with several pre-WWII era programs.
>
> ...you're correct; in fact, Corwin had two of his most notable
> broadcasts on CBS, both featuring Orson Welles, on the dates Pearl
> Harbor was attacked and the announcement of the pending Japanese
> surrender to the Allies ("Between Americans" on 7 December 1941 and
> "Fourteen August" on 14 August 1945)...
I'd also mention "On a Note of Triumph," which celebrated the end of
the war in Europe and IIRC was carried on four U.S. networks
simultaneously, and his similarly themed show after the surrender of
Japan, "God and Uranium."
R H Draney
>
>deb...@comcast.net wrote:
>> Just heard on the radio that Ralph Edwards, host & producer of "This Is
>> Your Life", has died at 91. No confirmation yet. Coincidentally, "This
>> Is Your Life" is making a comeback with Regis Philbin as host.
>
>Hope Regis does a good job; he did a fine piece of work on "Who Wants
>to Be a Millionaire.". It's just that the people he will most likely
>have on the show will most likely not be of interest to me.
I wonder if Regis had planned on having Edwards as one of the featured
personalities on the new incarnation of the show...it seems a natural....r
R H Draney
The last I heard, organist Rosa Rio is still performing semi-regularly for
silent-movie events in Florida....r
King Daevid MacKenzie
>>>Art Linkletter notwithstanding, this also depends on if you want to
>>>include behind-the-scenes players as well as on-the-air personalities.
>>>Writer/Director/Producer Norman Corwin is still with us at age 95; he
>>>was associated with several pre-WWII era programs.
>>
>>...you're correct; in fact, Corwin had two of his most notable
>>broadcasts on CBS, both featuring Orson Welles, on the dates Pearl
>>Harbor was attacked and the announcement of the pending Japanese
>>surrender to the Allies ("Between Americans" on 7 December 1941 and
>>"Fourteen August" on 14 August 1945)...
>
>
>
> I'd also mention "On a Note of Triumph," which celebrated the end of
> the war in Europe and IIRC was carried on four U.S. networks
> simultaneously
..."On a Note of Triumph", IIRC, was carried on all four U.S. networks
(CBS, NBC, ABC and Mutual) _twice_ (on 8 and 13 May 1945; anyone know if
the CBC in Canada also carried it?). His celebration of the Bill of
Rights, "We Hold These Truths," was carried on the same networks on 15
December 1941, and incorporated a closing address from President
Roosevelt...
> and his similarly themed show after the surrender of
> Japan, "God and Uranium."
...are you sure that wasn't "Fourteen August"? The phrase "God and
Uranium" appears in that show's text...
Dave Garrett
says...
> LOS ANGELES The syndicated teleivison show "The Insider" is reporting
> "This is Your Life" host Ralph Edwards has died in Los Angeles. He was
> 92. There are no details. His death comes on the day the "This is Your
> Life" ultimate D-V-D collection was released.
Someone must be mistaken - the TIYL DVD collection has been out for
about six months. I recommend it highly to even casual fans of the show
or of Mr. Edwards:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00093GVWY
Dave
robertc...@yahoo.com
Yes, it does seem like a natural. Here are some folks I would love to
sse:
Studs Terkel
Woody Allen
Gale Storm
Kim Novak
(and the number 1 choice, though he would never do it) J. D. Salinger.
But please, no Jennifer Aniston, no Donald Trump, no Madonna, no
Britney. I know more than I want to about these people now. And there
are many others on the list.
William Barger
town, originally known as Hot Springs, won a contest and changed the
town's name. Every year they have a festival to celebrate. It used to be
a big deal, but has declined in popularity over the years. I caught my
first trout in Ralph Edwards Park.
Bill
Charlene
A US radio station "confirmed" the death of Muhammad Ali some weeks
ago. He's still alive.
Don't believe everything you hear, see, or read. Just because a media
outlet is large and commercial doesn't mean it's always right.
wd41
peter...@hotmail.com
Rich Clancey
>The last I heard, organist Rosa Rio is still performing semi-regularly for
>silent-movie events in Florida....r
Wow, I didn't know this was a real person. Bob and Ray called on
Rosa Rio for the musical accompaniment in Rudolph and Irma's Dance
Studio, Auburn Long Island.
David Samuel Barr
>
> Chuck Kopsho sez:
>
> > Bob Barker has now outlived both of his producers, Mr. Edwards and
> > Mark Goodson.
>
> ...wasn't Bill Todman still active when Barker took over "The Price is
> Right"?...
He sure was. The Barker version began in 1972, and Bill was active
until his death in 1979, though was more involved with his and Mark's
publishing holdings than the TV production unit in his latter years.
(My dad's law firm represented Goodson-Todman in the 1950s-70s, so I
got to see quite a few of their game show tapings as a kid, despite
being below the networks' allowed attendance age. [Ditto for Merv
Griffin and the original Art Fleming "Jeopardy!"])
Brad Ferguson
<echoes...@charter.net> wrote:
> Brad Ferguson quotes me quotin' wboenig 'n sez:
>
> >>>Art Linkletter notwithstanding, this also depends on if you want to
> >>>include behind-the-scenes players as well as on-the-air personalities.
> >>>Writer/Director/Producer Norman Corwin is still with us at age 95; he
> >>>was associated with several pre-WWII era programs.
> >>
> >>...you're correct; in fact, Corwin had two of his most notable
> >>broadcasts on CBS, both featuring Orson Welles, on the dates Pearl
> >>Harbor was attacked and the announcement of the pending Japanese
> >>surrender to the Allies ("Between Americans" on 7 December 1941 and
> >>"Fourteen August" on 14 August 1945)...
> >
> >
> >
> > I'd also mention "On a Note of Triumph," which celebrated the end of
> > the war in Europe and IIRC was carried on four U.S. networks
> > simultaneously
>
> ..."On a Note of Triumph", IIRC, was carried on all four U.S. networks
> (CBS, NBC, ABC and Mutual) _twice_ (on 8 and 13 May 1945; anyone know if
> the CBC in Canada also carried it?). His celebration of the Bill of
> Rights, "We Hold These Truths," was carried on the same networks on 15
> December 1941, and incorporated a closing address from President
> Roosevelt...
>
> > and his similarly themed show after the surrender of
> > Japan, "God and Uranium."
>
> ...are you sure that wasn't "Fourteen August"? The phrase "God and
> Uranium" appears in that show's text...
I'm not sure whether the title was changed for air but, given what you
say, it likely was. It was in the CBS archives under "God and
Uranium." Maybe someone was skittish about linking God and the bomb.
BTW, by 1980, CBS had lost any and all copies it had ever had of the
original "On a Note of Triumph." My (future) boss had tried to find it
for a college class he was teaching, but the archivist had turned up
empty, and I suppose no one wanted to go to another network and look
for one.
In 1985, I was doing a 40th anniversary V-E thing, and I wanted a copy
of "On a Note of Triumph." Nope, said my boss. We don't have a copy.
What about the rerun? I asked. Rerun?!? he said. The archivist found
*that* in about five minutes. I fed the whole thing out to the
affiliates one Saturday afternoon so it wouldn't ever disappear again,
and used what I needed for the special. I made a copy for myself, too.
It's in the garage somewhere.
King Daevid MacKenzie
...another identifying aspect of "Fourteen August" is that it is sixteen
minutes and change in length. I would imagine very few programs would be
in the archives at that length that weren't news actuality reports...
> BTW, by 1980, CBS had lost any and all copies it had ever had of the
> original "On a Note of Triumph." My (future) boss had tried to find it
> for a college class he was teaching, but the archivist had turned up
> empty, and I suppose no one wanted to go to another network and look
> for one.
...Chuck Schaden, now of WDCB at the College of Du Page in Glen Ellyn,
Illinois, broadcast a copy of the original (8 May) performance around
the 50th anniversary of V-E Day in 1995, when he was still at the late
and lamented WNIB Chicago. I have a cassette of that broadcast; the
sound quality is not quite as good as for the copies I've encountered
since of the 13 May performance, but there are aspects of the first
performance I do prefer to the second. I'm positive Chuck would still
have his source copy should anyone be interested...
> In 1985, I was doing a 40th anniversary V-E thing, and I wanted a copy
> of "On a Note of Triumph." Nope, said my boss. We don't have a copy.
> What about the rerun? I asked. Rerun?!? he said. The archivist found
> *that* in about five minutes. I fed the whole thing out to the
> affiliates one Saturday afternoon so it wouldn't ever disappear again,
> and used what I needed for the special. I made a copy for myself, too.
> It's in the garage somewhere.
...I'd be extremely surprised if the 13 May performance wasn't in the
archives; after all, there was a blue-label Columbia Masterworks 78
album released commercially of that one, so if the network didn't have a
copy the record division (not sold off to Sony quite yet) certainly
would have had a reference copy of its own...