Bill Cullen Wants to Tell the Truth

February 27, 2023February 27, 2023 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

We have come to our final blog post about four interesting To Tell the Truth panelists. Today we are concentrating on Bill Cullen, who many of us associate with game shows during the era we grew up in.

Born William Cullen in 1920 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he was an only child. His father owned a Ford dealership there. Like many children in that era, he was diagnosed with polio which left him with physical issues to deal with for the rest of his life. The combination of the effects of polio and a motorcycle accident in 1939, that left him hospitalized for nine months, made it difficult for him to stand or walk for long periods of time.

He was originally a pre-med student but had to leave school because of financial problems. After a break to earn some money, he later returned to college to earn a degree in Fine Arts.

During this time, Cullen was married to Ruth Harrington; the two would divorce in 1948.

In 1939, Cullen worked at WWSW, a Pittsburgh radio station. He was a disc jockey and a play-by-play announcer with Joe Tucker for the Steelers and the Hornets (an earlier hockey team). In 1943 he was hired by KDKA. In 1944 he moved to New York where he got a job as an announcer at CBS.

While working on CBS, he tried his hand at joke writing, supplying Arthur Godfrey, Danny Kaye, and Jack Benny with his humor. He also obtained a writing job for the radio show Easy Aces.

During WWII Cullen became a pilot and served in the Civil Air Patrol as an instructor. He had become a pilot at age 13, and it remained one of his great passions his entire life.

In 1945 he was hired as the announcer for a radio quiz show called Give and Take. In 1952, he worked with Mark Goodson and Bill Todman on Winner Take All. This relationship would bring him a lot of work during his gameshow career, and he would host numerous game shows during the late forties and early fifties.

In 1948, Bill tried marriage again, wedding singer Carol Ames. They were married seven years before calling it quits.

In 1952, Cullen made the move to television where he would become a household name. During the fifties, he hosted The Bill Cullen Show, Bank on the Stars, Place the Face, Name That Tune, and The Price is Right. Cullen beat out Dick Van Dyke as host of The Price is Right. Later it was determined the demands were too high for him when the show moved to prime time, and he was replaced by Bob Barker.

Not long after his divorce from Ames, Bill married dancer and model Ann Macomber. They would remain married until his death. She passed away in 2018.

He also appeared as a panelist on I’ve Got a Secret from 1952-1967, on To Tell the Truth from 1969-1978, What’s My Line, The Cross Wits, Password, Match Game, and Tattletales.

Not one to sit around, he also hosted Eye Guess, Three on a Match, Blankety Blanks, The 25,000 Pyramid, Chain Reaction, Blockbusters, and The Joker’s Wild. After his stint with The Joker’s Wild, he retired.

After retirement, he was able to spend more time on his hobbies including photography, interior decorating, model airplanes, painting, magic tricks, raising fish, writing plays and poetry, learning the saxophone and guitar, and flying.

In 1969, Cullen got very ill and was diagnosed with pancreatitis that required surgery. The surgery and recuperation took quite a toll on him and left him 30 pounds lighter.

In a TV Guide interview in 1984, Cullen said he was just lucky with game show offers. He said “This is how it happens every time. A known packager comes up with the idea for a new show. The network says do a run-through. They do. The network likes it, and they say, we’ll give you a pilot. Then the network says ‘Who are we going to get to host it?’ Then he says they have the discussion about hiring someone new or someone gets mentioned who didn’t work out on another show. They hire the staff and weeks before the pilot is scheduled, they say, ‘Let’s just go with Bill Cullen.’”

Cullen was nominated for an Emmy three times but only won for Three on a Match in 1973. It was said he hosted more than 25,000 episodes of television during his career. Cullen often filled in for other people including The Tonight Show when Johnny Carson took vacation, for To Tell the Truth when Garry Moore had throat cancer, and for Allen Ludden on Password when he was ill. During the 1960s, he was the first game show announcer to be working on all three networks at the same time. He was also the first game show host to appear on the cover of TV Guide in 1954, and he would go on to have six more covers.

With wife Ann Photo: billcullenarchives.com

It sounds like Cullen was more than satisfied with his career and had no desire to be a television star. With his limp and horn-rimmed glasses with thick lens, he said “I often ask myself, ‘How am I working? I’m certainly not the guy who appeals to women between the ages of 18 and 35.’” When asked if he had frustrations about his career, his response was, “If anything, the industry has treated me better than I deserve. If you don’t have high aspirations—and I don’t—it’s terrific. I like my niche. I’m never under great pressure, and I’ve made a lot of money over the years doing what I enjoy.”

If that isn’t a definition of success, then I’m not sure what is. I have to admit that I think being a panelist on a game show would be a pretty fun gig. I really enjoyed learning about the four panelists of the To Tell the Truth that I remembered watching on television when I was a youngster.

Bob Barker: Celebrity Game Show Host

August 29, 2022July 31, 2022 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

This month we are learning about game shows, and no one is better known for game show hosting than Bob Barker. Born in 1923 in the state of Washington, Robert William Barker was best known for hosting the two games shows we discussed the past two weeks: Truth or Consequences and The Price is Right.

Barker’s family did not have much money, and he spent most of his youth on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in Mission, South Dakota with his mother. The U.S. Indian Census Rolls list Barker as an enlisted member of the Sioux tribe. His mother was a school teacher, and his father was an electrical line worker for the state of Washington. When his mother remarried, she and Bob moved to Springfield, Missouri. Bob met Dorothy Jo Gideon at an Ella Fitzgerald concert when he was in Missouri going to high school. They began dating at that time. Barker received a basketball scholarship at Drury University in Springfield, Missouri. Later the street behind Drury University would be changed to Bob Barker Boulevard. Barker has contributed more than 3 million dollars to the University as well.

Bob enlisted in the Navy during WWII, hoping to train as a fighter pilot but did not have any active duty. On one of his military leaves, he and Dorothy married. After he was discharged, he returned to Drury, graduating with a major in economics. During his college studies, he was also working part time in radio on KTTS FM. Bob and Dorothy moved to Florida, and he took a job as news editor and announcer at WWPG AM in Palm Beach. In 1950, he moved to California to pursue a career in broadcasting. He received his own radio show in the early fifties, The Bob Barker Show. Ralph Edwards caught Barker’s show and thought he had a nice voice and asked him to work on Truth or Consequences.

In 1956 he began his game show hosting with Truth or Consequences. In 1967 he was asked to host the Miss Universe and Miss USA pageants which he continued to do until 1987. Bob joined The Price is Right in 1972. Barker would win 19 Emmys and the Lifetime Achievement Award. Before Bob Barker, emcees dyed their hair to look younger on the air. In 1987 Barker decided to stop coloring his hair and go with his natural gray.

Dian, Holly, Bob, and Janice Photo: worthpoint.com

There was one disturbing part of Barker’s career which never seemed to affect his emcee duties. In 1994, one of the former models, Dian Parkinson filed a lawsuit alleging sexual harassment after she and Barker had a three-year affair. She later dropped the lawsuit, citing it was putting her under too much stress. The following year, another long-time model, Holly Hallstrom, sued Barker saying he had fired her because she gained weight caused by one of her medications and because she would not testify falsely in Parkinson’s case. Barker countersued for slander, but Hallstrom won the case in 2005. Then in 2007, Deborah Curling, a CBS employee on the show, filed a suit against Barker and the producers saying that she was forced to quit her job after testifying against Barker in a lawsuit made by a former producer. Barker was later removed from the lawsuit and later the case was dismissed.

In 2007 he decided to retire, reaching fifty years in the entertainment business. Bob would revisit The Price is Right three times after retirement: in 2009 he showed up to promote his recent biography, in 2013 he returned to the set to celebrate his 90^th birthday, and in 2015 he walked out as the emcee instead of Carey for an April Fool’s Day prank.

The autobiography is titled Priceless Memories and discusses his fifty years in show business. It was authored with LA Times book review editor Digby Diehl.

Bob has made other appearances in addition to his game-show hosting duties.

In 1960 Bob received a part on Bonanza, playing Mort.

In the seventies, he hosted the Pillsbury Bake-Off. During the seventies and eighties he also took over hosting duties for the Rose Bowl Parade several times.

Barker made his way around the talk show circuit, appearing on Dinah, Larry King Live, The Arsenio Hall Show, Crook & Chase, Donny & Marie, The Rosie O’Donnell Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Wayne Brady Show, The Late Show with David Letterman, and the The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

Barker could be seen on a number of game shows as a celebrity. He and his wife were on Celebrity Tattletales, and he sat in for Richard Dawson after he left Match Game.

HOLLYWOOD, CA – NOVEMBER 29: PETA Goes Postal: Bob Barker unveils Vegetarian Icons Postage Sheet at Hollywood Post Office on November 29, 2011 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Jonathan Leibson/WireImage)

In 1996, he appeared in his first big-screen film, playing himself in Happy Gilmore.

In 2009 he even managed to guest host a show for WWE Raw or The Price is Raw. He agreed to be a rotating host for Mike Huckabee’s show beginning in 2010.

He took part in a State Farm commercial when a woman who needed a new car was presented with her new car by him. He made a few public service announcements for the networks and did some campaigning for a Republican candidate in Florida.

And if all that was not enough, he voiced the character of Bob Barnacle on Sponge Bob Square Pants.

When his wife Dorothy died from lung cancer in 1981, he decided to become a vegetarian and an animal activist. He worked for animal rights and gave his support to such groups as The United Activists for Animal Rights and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. In 2010 the Society secretly purchased and outfitted a ship to intercept Japanese whaling operations which Barker contributed $5,000,000 to. In 1989 he created the DJ&T Foundation for his wife and mother and the fund has contributed millions of dollars to fund animal neutering and animal rescue and park facilities construction around the US. He was known for reminding viewers to have their pets spayed or neutered at the end of his shows. In 1987, Barker requested the removal of real furs on the Miss USA pageant and when the show refused, he quit as emcee. In 2004, Bob donated one million dollars to Columbia Law School to support the study of animal rights. In 2009 he wrote several businesses in North Carolina to ask them to close their bear exhibits. In 2010 Barker gave 2.5 million dollars to renovate a building for PETA’s office which opened in 2012.

In 1999, Barker was asked to testify before Congress regarding proposed legislation that would prohibit traveling shows with elephants. During his preparation, he realized something was wrong with his hand. He was admitted to the hospital where he was diagnosed with a partially blocked left carotid artery. The procedure was successful and he returned to work a few months later. He had a stroke in 2002 and was hospitalized for six weeks. Shortly afterward, he underwent surgery for prostate cancer. He also experienced mild bouts of skin cancer over the years.

Bob had several episodes with falls and one bout with severe back pain. For the last decade or so he was confined to his house with a caretaker, primarily going out only to visit his wife’s gravesite.

It’s hard for me to disregard the lawsuits brought against Barker while hosting The Price is Right. Before that time, I thought he was a pretty great guy. He has had a long and full career, becoming a celebrity and able to pursue his own causes to help animals. Many of us who grew up in the seventies and eighties have fond memories associated with watching The Price is Right. You have to give him credit for helping to make the show a successful one for decades.

The Price is Right: It’s Been Right for Almost 70 Years

August 22, 2022July 31, 2022 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

While most of us remember watching The Price is Right with Bob Barker as the emcee, the show actually began in 1956. It was created by Bob Stewart and produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Bill Cullen was the original host. From 1956-1965 the show aired on NBC. Four contestants bid on a variety of items. Whoever came closest to the actual cost of the item, without exceeding the cost, won the prize. The contestants continued to try to win prizes, and the contestant who won the most came back for the next episode to compete again.

There was also a home viewer component where fans could guess prize totals by sending in a postcard; these prize packages often included a new car or a luxury vacation.

The show was on during the day, and in 1957 a second version was created for prime time. It aired weekly and was the first game show to be filmed in color. It was in the top ten for years, but when the ratings began to decline in 1963 NBC canceled it, and ABC picked it up. ABC aired the prime-time version for a year and then ended it in 1964. NBC’s daytime version was canceled in 1965.

In 1972, the show most of us are familiar with, began with host Bob Barker. Bob would host the long-running show until 2007 when Drew Carey took over the emcee duties. Barker won a lot of awards and honors during his time with the show including 19 Daytime Emmys and a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Announcer Rod Roddy Photo: factinate.com

In 1972 the show was called The New Price is Right which changed to The Price is Right in 1973.

In this version of the show, four contestants are called up to the stage where they try to guess the suggested retail price of a product. Whoever wins gets the prize and is able to play another game for a more expensive prize. The two top winners of the day face off in the showcase. The showcase had a theme of prizes and whoever guessed the cost of all the items without going over the total value won their showcase.

In 1975 the show was expanded from thirty minutes to an hour. The Showcase Showdown was added at this time. For this part of the show, the first three players spun a roulette wheel with spaces from 5 to $1. Players spun once and could stay with that spin or spin a second time and add their two numbers together. Whoever was closest to $1 without going over $1 advanced to the showcase. The last three players of the day went through the same process and the winners went to the Showcase to compete.

The show is the longest-running game show in television history. Another fun history fact is that on September 22, 2008, contestant Terry Kneiss guessed his showcase to be worth $23,743 and it was to the penny. The taping was halted to determine if cheating had taken place. However, some detective work revealed that a fan, Ted Slauson, was in the audience sitting next to Terry’s wife Linda. Slauson had legitimately determined the exact prices of a lot of items but since he was not picked to be on the show, he gave the information to Linda.

Another first in television history was one the show did not want to see happen. One day a young woman was called to “Come on down” and not only did she come down but so did her tube top, revealing more than her name to the studio audience.

Talk show host Jenny Jones and Wheel of Fortune letter turner Vanna White were both contestants on the show before they became famous for their own television work.

There are 34 retired games and 74 current games. Some of the ones that were played in the early years that are still around include Bullseye, Cliff Hangers, Cover Up, Danger Price, Grocery Game, Hi-Lo, Hole in One (or Two), Plinko, Safe Crackers, Shell Game, Squeeze Play, Switcheroo, Take Two, and 3 Strikes.

After Carey took over, there have been some special editions of the daily shows including Celebrity Week when stars appear to help contestants win their games and the stars win the amount of money equal to the contestants’ prizes to give to a charity of their choice. The other special is The Price is Right Salutes when the show has honored firefighters, policemen, teachers, firefighters and branches of the military.

With all the game shows that have been on the air, it is pretty amazing that Jeopardy, The Price is Right, and Wheel of Fortune have been able to gain new viewers through the decades, providing generations of viewers with special memories of watching the show.

Truth or Consequences: Truth or Dare for Adults

August 15, 2022July 31, 2022 / thewritelife61 / Leave a comment

This month we are looking at some classic television game shows. I have fond memories of watching Bob Barker hosting Truth or Consequences when I was a little girl, but I must admit I had no idea it continued for so long. I would have guessed it ended in 1970.

The premise of the show was to blend trivia answers with wacky stunts, like a Beat the Clock Jeopardy. Contestants had two seconds to answer an obscure question before being beat by Beulah the Buzzer. If the contestant was able to answer the question, the host would then mention there was a part two. When the contestant was not able to answer the question with the truth, they had to take the consequence; similar to Truth or Dare for Adults. The consequence was typically a crazy stunt that often was embarrassing for the contestants.

For example, in Conveyor Belt of Doom, a woman had to stop a complex machine before the conveyor belt dropped a pie on her husband. She flipped a lot of switches and lights but later learned the only way to stop the machine was to unplug it. On one episode, while contestants were in the Green Room waiting, they “saw” a gorilla escape from a cage and run after them, not realizing it was a man in a suit and being shown to the viewers.

Occasionally the contestant was there for a special reason and during or after the stunt they were surprised by some event like a child coming home from the military or a long-lost relative found.

During Barker’s run on the show, a segment was added called Barker’s Box. The box had four drawers and three of them contained money with a pop-up item in one drawer. The contestant chose a drawer at a time and could keep the money unless the pop-up was revealed. Barker also ended all his shows with the closing, “Hoping all your consequences are happy ones.”

Ralph Edwards created the game and it was a hit immediately. It began on NBC radio where it ran from 1940-1957. In 1950 the show debuted on television on CBS. After his stint as host, Edwards would create This is Your Life which also became very popular. In 1952 it moved to NBC when Jack Bailey hosted. Three months after going off the air, NBC revived it, bringing in Bob Barker to emcee. Barker would stay with the show until 1975. During Barker’s time on the show, a primetime version was also created hosted by Steve Dunne for part of 1958. In 1977 a syndicated version of the show was produced. Barker had already accepted a position as host of The Nighttime Price is Right, so Bob Hilton became the host but the show was canceled after one season. A decade later the show was revived again with Larry Anderson at the helm. This one also lasted one season.

The City of Truth or Consequences Photo: sierracountynewmexico.com

In 1949, Edwards aired a request as a joke that the first place to change its name to the name of the show would be the host for the tenth-year anniversary taping of the show. The town of Hot Springs, New Mexico agreed to change its name to Truth or Consequences. For fifty years afterward, Edwards returned to the town every first weekend in May for a festival called Fiesta. The town still goes by Truth or Consequences today, and Fiesta is still celebrated annually.

Barker said that the show was not affected by the quiz show scandals in that decade. He said primarily it was because they did not give away a lot of money, and the show was more about the stunts that were performed. The only way they would have been able to “fix” the show was to bring in actors and the whole appealing reality concept of using actual people on the show would have disappeared.

With the exception of Jeopardy, we tend to think of game shows as prime-time offerings. Many old shows have been rebooted in the past few years. However, in the fifties and sixties, they were an essential part of daytime programming. Truth or Consequences was one of the highest-rated game shows on the air during those decades, and the show propelled Bob Barker to stardom. When contestants were slimed on the Nickelodeon network or have some humiliating consequence on Ellen’s Game of Games, they can thank Truth or Consequences for inspiring such outcomes. It seems odd that a show that relies so much on visual antics was so successful on the radio for 17 years. I guess we all had more imagination back then.