Popular radio and television personality Art Linkletter passed away late last month at the age of 92. He began his career in the 1930s as a radio announcer in California. In 1943 he took over hosting duties for NBC’s game show “People are Funny,” which had premiered in April of 1942 with Art Baker as host. Created by John Guedel, “People are Funny” would run on NBC from 1942 to 1960, except for a brief period in the early 1950s when it was heard over CBS. In September of 1954 a prime time television version premiered on NBC, again hosted by Linkletter. It would run through the 1959-1960 season followed by a year of repeats. In January of 1945, Linkletter began hosting another radio show, “House Party,” on CBS. It would run until 1967. A television version ran on CBS from 1952 to 1969 during the daytime; a prime time version, Life with Linkletter, ran from 1950 to 1952.
Linkletter also hosted The Art Linkletter Show on NBC for nine months in 1963, Hollywood Talent Scouts from 1965 to 1966 on CBS and a a daytime series on NBC called Life With Linkletter from 1969 to 1970. Obituaries can be found at The New York Times and BBC News. Linkletter was interviewed by the Archive of American Television in 1997. Here’s the first portion of that interview:
I’ve read Linkletter’s autobiographies, “People Are Funny” (the updated 1959 paperback edition, which also delved into the genesis of the program and how Art managed to succeed the original host, Art Baker, despite all odds) and “Confessions Of A Happy Man”- and he did lead a fascinating life, even though he was primarily known as an “emcee”. Whenever he hosted a radio or TV program, you KNEW you were going to be entertained for a half-hour or an hour. By all means, try to see his complete Archive Of American Television interview….
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