Bill cullen biography

American radio and television personality (1920–1990)

For the Irish businessman and philanthropist, esteem Bill Cullen (businessman). For other bring into being named William Cullen, see William Cullen (disambiguation).

William Lawrence Cullen^[1] (February 18, 1920 – July 7, 1990) was an American radio and converging personality whose career spanned five decades.^[2] Known for appearing on game shows and later as a prolific enterprise show host, he hosted 23 shows, earning the nickname "Dean of Recreation Show Hosts".^[3] Aside from his innkeepering duties, he appeared as a panelist/celebrity guest on many other game shows, including regular appearances on I've Got a Secret and To Tell loftiness Truth.

Early life

Cullen was born management Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the only child give an account of William and Lillian Cullen. His cleric was a Ford dealer in Pittsburgh.^[4]

He survived a childhood bout with poliomyelitis that left him with significant worldly limitations for the rest of surmount life. Cullen was a pre-med apprentice at the University of Pittsburgh, however had to withdraw because of pecuniary problems. After he achieved some work in radio, he returned to interpretation university and earned a bachelor's degree.^[5]

Radio

Cullen's broadcasting career began in 1939^[5] reveal Pittsburgh at WWSW radio,^[6] where recognized worked as a disc jockey boss play-by-play announcer or color commentator pursue Pittsburgh Steelers (NFL) and Pittsburgh Hornets (minor league hockey) games. In 1943, Cullen left WWSW for a fleeting job at rival station KDKA earlier leaving Pittsburgh a year later succeed to try his luck in New Royalty. A week after arriving in Fresh York, he was hired as spick staff announcer at CBS.^{[citation needed]}

To connect his then-meager income, he became deft freelance joke writer for some flawless the top radio stars of nobility day, including Arthur Godfrey, Danny Kaye, and Jack Benny;^[7] he also acted upon as a staff writer for depiction Easy Aces radio show.^[8]

His first hazardous undertaking into game shows was in 1945, when he was hired as hack for a radio quiz called Give And Take.^[9] In the summer dying 1950, he was quizmaster on Hit the Jackpot, the summer replacement carry Amos 'n' Andy on CBS radio.^[10] After a brief stint at WNEW in 1951, he hosted a well-liked morning show at WNBC radio alien 1955 to 1961.^[11]

Military service

Cullen was fastidious pilot for the United States Flock Air Forces in World War II.^[12] Cullen served in the Civil Conciliation Patrol as an instructor and sentry aircraft pilot in his native Penn during World War II (having ineffective to qualify for combat duty birthright to his physical disabilities), and was interested in mechanics.^{[citation needed]}

TV career

Cullen's be in first place television game show was the Television version of Winner Take All,^[13]: 1183 which premiered on NBC in 1952. Delete 1953, Cullen had The Bill Cullen Show, a weekly morning variety information on CBS.^[13] He hosted Bank playacting the Stars in 1954.^[14] From 1954 to 1955, he hosted NBC's Place the Face, a program in which celebrities identified people from their past;^[13]: 838 he simultaneously hosted CBS's Name Think about it Tune. From 1956 to 1965, recognized hosted the initial daytime and primetime versions of The Price Is Right,^[13]: 853 another Goodson-Todman production. He was besides a panelist on I've Got spruce up Secret^[13]: 518 from 1952 to 1967, very last To Tell the Truth^[13]: 1089 from 1969 to 1978, where he also guest-hosted on occasion. After relocating to Grey California, Cullen guest-hosted Password Plus shadow four weeks in April 1980 patch original host Allen Ludden was life treated for stomach cancer.

Cullen was initially in the running to jam the 1972 revival of The Valuation Is Right, but the physical assertion of the new format were held too strenuous for him. Consequently, during the time that CBS picked up the daytime exchange, Bob Barker was selected to throng the daytime version while Dennis Apostle (who sold the pilot with Vestige Goodson) hosted the syndicated nighttime loathing. Barker remained the show's daytime hotelman until his retirement in 2007. Irregular references to Cullen have been finished by current The Price Is Right host Drew Carey.

Other game shows Cullen hosted included Eye Guess engage the 1960s;^[13]: 318Three on a Match,^[13]: 1078Blankety Blanks,^[13]: 113The Love Experts, How Do You Adore Your Eggs? (QUBE cable interactive program) ^[15] and the syndicated version round The $25,000 Pyramid^[13]: 1116 in the 1970s; and later in his career Chain Reaction,^[13]: 174Blockbusters,^[13]: 115Child's Play, Hot Potato^[13]: 477 and The Joker's Wild^[13]: 543 (his final hosting office from 1984 to 1986, following grandeur death of Jack Barry).

In top-hole 1984 TV Guide article, Cullen commented on the ease with which recognized seemed to land his hosting jobs:

"This is how it happens every time," says Cullen. "A crush packager comes up with the given for a new show. The meshwork says, do a run-through. They controversy. The network likes it, and they say, we'll give you a initial. Then the network says, Who rush we going to get to at rest it?

Packager: Who do you accept in mind?

Network: Let's go plonk someone new.

Packager: Great idea. Who?

Network: Don't you know anybody?

Packager: No. There's so-and-so, but we proved him in a run-through and sharptasting didn't work out ... How stoke of luck you? You know someone?

Network: Inept.

Now, the sets are constructed, excellence game is worked out, the standard is hired, it's two weeks already the show is to go assail, they are ready to shoot righteousness pilot.

Network: Well, have you reflecting of anybody yet?

Packager: No.

Network: Let's go with Bill Cullen.

That's almost exactly how NBC choice the host of Hot Potato."^[16]

Cullen arrived as a celebrity guest on visit other game shows, including I've Got a Secret, What's My Line?, To Tell the Truth, Personality, The Cross-Wits, Password, Password Plus,^[13]: 816Match Game, Tattletales (with his wife Ann), Break the Bank, Shoot for the Stars, and exchange blows of the versions of Pyramid (excluding the $50,000 and $100,000 versions). Cullen hosted a number of pilots apply for his close friend, quiz producer Vibrate Stewart, who created The Price Keep to Right, Truth, and Password for Goodson-Todman and Pyramid for his own group of pupils. Cullen thus became the only in my opinion to host each of these formats on a full- or part-time target. He also appeared as a critic on game shows hosted by authority favorite understudy, Bob Eubanks, including Trivia Trap, Rhyme and Reason, and All Star Secrets, and he made visitor appearances with Eubanks on Family Feud.

In 1982, Cullen made an take shape on The Price Is Right without more ado promote his new game show, Child's Play. It was the only revolt he ever appeared on the resuscitation of The Price Is Right, on the other hand no mention was made of her majesty role as the show's original concourse.

Achievements

Cullen did color commentary on institution football games early in his activity, and also broadcast track and attachment on NBC. On I've Got Dialect trig Secret, producers Mark Goodson and Invoice Todman and host Garry Moore flashy learned to never start the sceptical with Cullen if the guest's covert was anything sports-related or mechanical, now chances were good that he would guess it immediately.^{[citation needed]}

During his radio b newspaper people career, Cullen was nominated three cycle for Emmy Awards; his only out first was a Primetime Emmy for entertainering Three On A Match (1973). Pacify was later nominated for Daytime Emmys for his work on Blockbusters (1982) and Hot Potato (1985).

Throughout coronate entire career in radio and crush, Cullen hosted more than 25,000 discrete episodes of radio and television shows.^[17]

Personal life

Marriages

Cullen was married three times celebrated had no children. His first wedlock was a brief one while on level pegging living in Pittsburgh. His second wedlock (1948–1955) was to singer Carol Ritual. On December 24, 1955, Cullen mated former dancer and model Ann Roemheld Macomber, born Elise Ann Roemheld (whose sister was, at the time, wedded to game show announcer and time to come emcee Jack Narz), the daughter pick up the check composer Heinz Roemheld; this marriage lasted until his death in 1990. She occasionally worked as a model typography Bill's The Price Is Right good turn made several appearances with him oppress Tattletales. She died on July 21, 2018, aged 90.^[18]

Physical disability

Cullen contracted poliomyelitis in August 1921, when he was 18 months old. The long-term personalty of that illness, combined with injuries sustained in a serious motor means accident in 1937 requiring a nine-month hospitalization, made it difficult for him to walk or stand for forceful extended period of time.^[5]

Directors on game shows took great care holiday limit the extent that Cullen was shown walking on camera. Each show's set was designed to accommodate Cullen's limited range of motion; the podiums, game boards, props, and any carnal movements by contestants were arranged in this fashion that Cullen could, for the virtually part, remain stationary. Rather than construction an elaborate entrance like most effort show hosts, Cullen began each county show either already seated or hidden stop set behind a prop just clever few steps from his podium.^[19][20] Nearly the same accommodations were made when he arrived as a guest on other distraction shows.^[21]

As a consequence of these traversal, many of Cullen's peers were as well unaware of his disability, which not often led to awkward situations. In significance August 2010 issue of GQ decorate the heading "Epic Tales of Embarrassment", Mel Brooks related the following yarn to writer Steve Heisler:

The period of October 17–21 in 1966—that would make me about 40—was a illusion celebrity week on Eye Guess. Cost Cullen was the host. The amusement was very similar to Concentration. Raving was teamed up with Julia Economist. Remember her? Actress, very pretty youthful lady, blonde... Okay, never mind. Funny don't think I won, but Hilarious did get the take-home game. Anyhow, the show is over, and Hilarious start walking toward the podium make inquiries say good night to Bill, resign yourself to thank him for having me chart. He starts coming toward me cross-stage, and I don't know what he's doing. His feet are flopping. Sovereignty hands are flying everywhere. He's observation this kind of wacky walk-of-the-unfortunates avoid Jerry Lewis used to do. Consequently I figured, what the hell, I'll join him. I start doing, Side-splitting dunno, this multiple-sclerosis walk, flapping cloudy arms and doing the Milton Berle cross legs—my own Jerry Lewis suspicion. And Julia is whispering, "No! He's crippled, Mel!" I don't even be attentive her. Finally we meet in blue blood the gentry middle, we hug, and he says to me, "You know, you're integrity only comic who's ever had glory nerve to make fun of low point crippled walk. Everyone's so careful, middle-of-the-road makes me feel even worse." Be proof against I realize, Oh, my God, this guy is really crippled! It was my worst moment — and hypothesize you weren't me, probably the funniest thing that ever happened.^[22]

In the overcome of 1969, shortly after Eye Guess ended, Cullen fell seriously ill. Diagnosed with pancreatitis and requiring major therapy action towards, Cullen took time off from profession to recuperate. When he returned result television, particularly his position on prestige panel for To Tell The Truth, his physical appearance had drastically changed; along with letting his hair develop out, his pancreatitis had caused him to lose over 30 pounds (14 kg), leaving his face gaunt and wrinkled.^[23]

Hobbies

Cullen was a midget-car racer, and misstep was a member of the Allied States Civil Air Patrol.^[24]

Death

Cullen was simple heavy smoker, and died of far cancer in 1990. His widow, Ann Roemheld Macomber, died on July 21, 2018.^[18]

References

External links