<Archive Obituary> Art Fleming (April 25th 1995)
Bill Schenley
Photo: http://www.realitynewsonline.com/images/art2.jpg
FROM: The New York Times (April 27th 1995) ~
By Robert McG. Thomas Jr.
Art Fleming, a tall, dignified actor who brought a generation
of couch potatoes to attention and became an unlikely
celebrity as the original host of the television quiz show
"Jeopardy! ," died on Tuesday at his home in Crystal River,
Fla. He was 70.
The cause was pancreatic cancer, his family said.
The popularity of "Jeopardy! ," which went on the air in 1964,
has been attributed to its unsettling format, in which questions
are posed as answers and the answers must be expressed as
questions. Then again, it was Mr. Fleming who gave
"Jeopardy!" its face and its voice, not to mention its dignified
posture.
Mr. Fleming, who had the carriage of a gentleman soldier
and the manner of a benign schoolmaster, seemed just the sort
of host who wouldn't be resented for knowing, say, that it was
Henry of Navarre who thought Paris well worth a mass in
1593.
Merv Griffin, who created "Jeopardy! ," recalled yesterday
that he had recruited Mr. Fleming after spotting him in an
airline commercial and deciding that the actor had "the
perfect look and command" for the show. "He built a huge
cult following, which has stayed with the show all these
years," Mr. Griffin said.
Mr. Fleming, who served as the show's host throughout its
initial run on NBC, from 1964 to 1974, and then for two
more years when it was revamped in 1978 as
"The All New Jeopardy," became so identified with
"Jeopardy!" that it continued to give him a comfortable
living.
Mr. Fleming, who was also the host of the "College Bowl"
quiz show for seven years, was passed over in favor of
Alex Trebek, the current host, when "Jeopardy!" was
revived in 1984. But he continued to make as many as 80
highly paid appearances a year as a host of mock
"Jeopardy!" games staged by trade associations and other
private groups.
Mr. Fleming, who was born in New York City, was the
son of a popular Austrian dance team, William and Marie
Fazzin, who had come to New York with the intention of
captivating American audiences. Their dream faded, but
by the age of 4, their son was appearing in a Broadway
musical. After studying at Colgate and Cornell Universities
and serving as a Navy pilot in World War II, Mr. Fleming
returned to New York City as an actor.
By his own count, he appeared in more than 5,000 radio
and television episodes and 48 movies. He also made
commercials and acted on the stage.
He is survived by his wife, Rebecca; a daughter, Jan Marie
Hanna of Hampton Bays, L.I.; a sister, Marie Vitt of
Larchmont, N.Y., who appeared on the Broadway stage
as Marie Foster; two stepchildren, and five grandchildren.
---
Art Fleming's last appearance on Jeopardy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UsmLj2kyWg
...And this ain't got nuttin' to do with Art ... but I just couldn't pass it
up ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJuNgBkloFE&mode=related&search=
Brad Ferguson
<stra...@ma.rr.com> wrote:
> Art Fleming, 70, Television Host Who Gave Polish to 'Jeopardy!'
>
> Photo: http://www.realitynewsonline.com/images/art2.jpg
>
> FROM: The New York Times (April 27th 1995) ~
> By Robert McG. Thomas Jr.
>
> Art Fleming, a tall, dignified actor who brought a generation
> of couch potatoes to attention and became an unlikely
> celebrity as the original host of the television quiz show
> "Jeopardy! ," died on Tuesday at his home in Crystal River,
> Fla. He was 70.
I can't find it online, but the Washington Post ran Art Fleming's obit
on the front page of the Style section ... and every sentence was in
the form of a question.
King Daevid MacKenzie
>> Art Fleming, 70, Television Host Who Gave Polish to 'Jeopardy!'
>>
>> Photo: http://www.realitynewsonline.com/images/art2.jpg
>>
>> FROM: The New York Times (April 27th 1995) ~
>> By Robert McG. Thomas Jr.
>>
>> Art Fleming, a tall, dignified actor who brought a generation
>> of couch potatoes to attention and became an unlikely
>> celebrity as the original host of the television quiz show
>> "Jeopardy! ," died on Tuesday at his home in Crystal River,
>> Fla. He was 70.
>>
>
>
> I can't find it online, but the Washington Post ran Art Fleming's obit
> on the front page of the Style section ... and every sentence was in
> the form of a question.
>
...Fleming's last regular broadcasting job, aside from voice tracking
"When Radio Was" (Stan Freberg took over after Fleming died), was a
Sunday night "trivia spectacular" on KMOX St. Louis that he co-hosted
with Dave Strauss. I was fortunate to have gotten through on Fleming's
final night's calls, and I think I even stumped Art and Dave by asking
them what the unusual aspect was of the '60s movie characters Arthur
Hamilton and Tony Wilson. (The answer is that Hamilton and Wilson are
actually sequential identities of the same character, played by John
Randolph and Rock Hudson in SECONDS)...
--
King Daevid MacKenzie.
No brag, just fact.
http://myspace.com/kingdaevid
http://groups.google.ca/group/hateradioboycott
"You're only entitled to your informed opinion." HARLAN ELLISON
Hyfler/Rosner
"Brad Ferguson" <thir...@frXOXed.net> wrote in message
news:250420070053231077%
>
>
> I can't find it online, but the Washington Post ran Art
> Fleming's obit
> on the front page of the Style section ... and every
> sentence was in
> the form of a question.
The Washington Post
April 26, 1995, Wednesday, Final Edition
A Host of Questions: Art Fleming of 'Jeopardy!'
BYLINE: Marc Fisher, Washington Post Staff Writer
SECTION: STYLE; Pg. C01
Whose "Final Jeopardy" answer was heard yesterday at his
home in Crystal River, Fla.? Who was 70 years old and
presumably departed in proper question form?
Who thanked Don Pardo and friends every weekday from 1964 to
1975? Who presided over the most important education most
sentient Americans of that era ever received?
What was Art Fleming's game show experience before he became
the first host of NBC's "Jeopardy!"? Who asked the questions
on "College Bowl" for seven years before switching to
answers?
Whose middle name was Fazzin? Who was an actor in radio, TV,
movies and theater both before and after his legendary run
as the man with the answers?
Who was conspicuously not asked to host the revival of
"Jeopardy!" in 1984?
What was it about this upright, correct conservative that
enchanted a generation of young Americans in open rebellion?
Who asked for questions, not answers?
Who was an usher at the wedding of David Eisenhower and
Julie Nixon?
Who first uttered the immortal words "Winston tastes good
like a cigarette should"?
In what movie did Fleming play President Truman's adviser W.
Averell Harriman? Who appeared with Fleming in "MacArthur"?
Who had minor roles in "Starsky and Hutch" and "Lou Grant"?
Who appeared in 48 movies, including "Airplane II"?
Who enlisted in the Navy Air Corps the day after the attack
on Pearl Harbor in December 1941?
Who is survived by his wife, Rebecca, two children and four
grandchildren?
Who will always be the embodiment of "Jeopardy!" even if
Alex Trebek plays the role for another 40 years?
Brad Ferguson
<rel...@rcn.com> wrote:
Thanks so much for this. I've always regretted that I hadn't clipped
it.
Brad Ferguson
> Whose middle name was Fazzin?
Fazzin was actually his last name. His middle name was Fleming.
BTW, Don Pardo turns 90 next 22 Feb. He's still announcing for SNL.
King Daevid MacKenzie
> BTW, Don Pardo turns 90 next 22 Feb. He's still announcing for SNL.
>
...is he voice-tracking in advance, or actually in the booth during the
East Coast feed?...
Brad Ferguson
<echoes...@charter.net> wrote:
> Brad Ferguson sez:
> > BTW, Don Pardo turns 90 next 22 Feb. He's still announcing for SNL.
> >
>
> ...is he voice-tracking in advance, or actually in the booth during the
> East Coast feed?...
Good question.
Wasn't he replaced by Bill Wendell for a few years, early on?
cat
> Mr. Fleming, who had the carriage of a gentleman soldier
> and the manner of a benign schoolmaster, seemed just the sort
> of host who wouldn't be resented for knowing, say, that it was
> Henry of Navarre who thought Paris well worth a mass in
> 1593.
Apparently this quality wasn't valued much, or they'd never have given the
job to supercilious, arrogant Alex Trebek, with his affectation of knowing
all the answers without having them typed out in front of him.
Rick B.
news:4jou23lktah9r894u...@4ax.com:
> I don't remember the replacement being Bill Wendell, but he was off
> the show for a while, I *think* at the insistence of frighteningly
> funny but frighteningly assholic Michael O'Donoghue.
The story is that O'Donoghue wanted to fire him *on the air.* Cooler heads
prevailed, but Pardo was off the show for maybe a couple years in the '80s.
R H Draney
>> the show for a while, I *think* at the insistence of frighteningly
>> funny but frighteningly assholic Michael O'Donoghue.
>
>The story is that O'Donoghue wanted to fire him *on the air.* Cooler heads
>prevailed, but Pardo was off the show for maybe a couple years in the '80s.
Some kind of Godfrey/LaRosa situation?...r
--
"You got Schadenfreude on my Weltanschauung!"
"You got Weltanschauung in my Schadenfreude!"
King Daevid MacKenzie
<t_del...@hotmail.com> 'n sez:
>>> I don't remember the replacement being Bill Wendell, but [Don Pardo] was off
>>> ["Saturday Night Live"] for a while, I *think* at the insistence of frighteningly
>>> funny but frighteningly assholic Michael O'Donoghue.
>>>
>> The story is that O'Donoghue wanted to fire him *on the air.* Cooler heads
>> prevailed, but Pardo was off the show for maybe a couple years in the '80s.
>>
>
> Some kind of Godfrey/LaRosa situation?...
...most certainly not -- LaRosa was looking to get out of the contract
he had with Godfrey, and CBS network president Dr. Frank Stanton told
Godfrey to fire LaRosa on the air because he'd hired the singer on the
air. Godfrey was most complimentary -- overly flowery, in fact -- in his
comments about LaRosa on the broadcast in question. It appears here that
O'Donoghue had nothing positive to say about Pardo. I have only seen one
item I can directly link O'Donoghue to from memory, and that was a bit
he and Jodie Foster did when she was guest host in November 1976. The
piece -- like almost everything else on that show -- was stunningly
unfunny...
R H Draney
>> Some kind of Godfrey/LaRosa situation?...
>
>...most certainly not -- LaRosa was looking to get out of the contract
>he had with Godfrey, and CBS network president Dr. Frank Stanton told
>Godfrey to fire LaRosa on the air because he'd hired the singer on the
>air. Godfrey was most complimentary -- overly flowery, in fact -- in his
>comments about LaRosa on the broadcast in question. It appears here that
>O'Donoghue had nothing positive to say about Pardo. I have only seen one
>item I can directly link O'Donoghue to from memory, and that was a bit
>he and Jodie Foster did when she was guest host in November 1976. The
>piece -- like almost everything else on that show -- was stunningly
>unfunny...
That's the only memory you have of O'Donoghue?...
How about "I will feed -- your fingertips -- to the wolverines"?...the first SNL
sketch ever performed?....
Or his recurring bit impersonating what various celebs would look like if you
plunged *really* long steel spikes into their eyes?...r