Bud Collyer
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Bud Collyer | |
---|---|
Born | Clayton Johnson Heermance, Jr. June 18, 1908 New York City, U.S. |
Died | September 8, 1969 Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S. | (aged 61)
Alma mater | Williams College |
Occupation(s) | Radio announcer, game show host |
Years active | 1930s–1969 |
Spouses | |
Children | 3 |
Bud Collyer (born Clayton Johnson Heermance Jr., June 18, 1908 – September 8, 1969) was an American radio actor and announcer and game show host who became one of the nation's first major television
He also recorded a number of long-playing 33 1/3 R.P.M. record albums for children. Some of these had Bible stories, in keeping with his strong connections with his church and deep spirituality.
Early life and career
Collyer was born in Manhattan to Clayton Johnson Heermance and Caroline Collyer. He originally sought a career in law, attending Williams College, where he was a member of Psi Upsilon fraternity,[1] and Fordham University law school.[2] Although he became a law clerk after his graduation, making as much in a month on radio as he did in a year of clerking convinced him to make broadcasting his career. He changed his surname, and by 1940 he had become a familiar voice on all three major radio networks.[citation needed]
He held starring or major supporting roles in The Man I Married (as Adam Waring);
Superman
Collyer's best-remembered radio starring role began in early 1940 in
In 1966, Collyer reprised the role in the Filmation animated television series The New Adventures of Superman, reunited with Alexander as Lois Lane.
Game-show hosting
Collyer got his first helping of game shows when he co-hosted
Beat the Clock
In 1950 Bud Collyer got the job which genuinely made him a household name: Beat the Clock, a game show that pitted couples (usually, but not exclusively, married) against the clock in a race to perform silly (sometimes messy) tasks, which were called "problems" but could with more accuracy be called "stunts." The grand prizes for these usually came in terms of cash or home appliances. (When Monty Hall hosted the program in the 1980s, the "problems" did indeed come to be called "stunts.") Collyer hosted the show for eleven years (1950–61), and he also co-produced it for part of its run.
Collyer did an excellent job keeping the show fast-paced; he spoke quickly and brightly, and was often moving around the stage as much as the contestants. Frequently Collyer would interrupt a stunt to offer helpful advice, or demonstrate a more efficient way to win the game. One of Collyer's trademarks on the show was securing his long-tubed stage microphone in his armpit (particularly while demonstrating the basics of a stunt for his contestants). He also typically wore bow ties, and liked to point out when contestants were "bow-tie guys" like himself, though initially, through the mid-1950s, he wore straight "four-in-hand" neckties most weeks. He enjoyed meeting families of contestants, and was fond of children. He would always ask about contestants' children, and sometimes would compare the number and sexes with that of his own family. When children were brought onstage with their parents, he would take time to talk to each of them and ask them what they wanted to be when they grew up, in a manner reminiscent of his contemporary, Art Linkletter.
At the height of the show's popularity, an installment of The Honeymooners (which surfaced years later, when Jackie Gleason released the so-called "Lost Episodes") featured blustery Ralph Kramden and scatterbrained Ed Norton appearing on and playing Beat the Clock. Unlike the show's familiar parody of The $64,000 Question (The $99,000 Answer), Gleason's Beat the Clock episode used the actual show and set, complete with the familiar large 60-Second clock emblazoned with sponsor Sylvania's logo, and ending with Collyer and his famous sign-off: "Next time may be your time to beat the clock."
To Tell the Truth
In 1956, Collyer became equally, if not more, familiar as the host of a new Goodson-Todman production,
The show became popular enough to sustain a weekday version as well as a weekly evening version, and Collyer presided over both concurrently.
Among the celebrities who served as To Tell The Truth panelists during the 14-year run of the show were Tom Poston, Peggy Cass, Orson Bean, Kitty Carlisle (the foregoing foursome was the resident panel in the weekday series), Don Ameche, Peter Lind Hayes, Johnny Carson, Ralph Bellamy, Polly Bergen, Mimi Benzell, Sally Ann Howes, Hy Gardner, Betty White, Phyllis Newman, and Robert Q. Lewis.
Other work
Collyer's other game show hosting included the DuMont game shows Talent Jackpot (1949) and On Your Way (1953–1954), the game show Feather Your Nest, and the ABC game Number Please in 1961, which replaced Beat the Clock on the Monday after the final ABC episode.
On September 24, 1957, Collyer was among the guests on To Tell the Truth panelist Polly Bergen's premiere episode of her short-lived NBC comedy/variety show, The Polly Bergen Show.
Spirituality and charity
Religion and charitable work were very important to Collyer, and he was always particularly pleased to hear contestants say that they considered donating portions of their winnings to the church, or that they planned to donate to charities. He would often include "God bless you" in his parting words to contestants. He was always particularly happy to have a contestant that was a minister on the show and would ask about his congregation. On Beat The Clock, he often delivered public service messages about such charitable causes as the March of Dimes and other drives for research of diseases.
Collyer taught a Sunday school class at his
Death
When producers
Collyer is interred at Putnam Cemetery in Greenwich. In 1985, he was posthumously named as one of the honorees by DC Comics in the company's 50th anniversary publication Fifty Who Made DC Great.[7]
Family
Collyer was the brother of film actress June Collyer[5] and film producer Richard Heermance.[citation needed]
He married Heloise Law Green in 1936. In 1947, he married 1930s movie actress Marian Shockley.[8] He had two daughters, Cynthia and Pat, and a son, Michael, who died in 2004.[9] In January 1957, his son Mike appeared as a challenger on To Tell the Truth, under the name of "Pat Rizzuto".[10]
References
- ^ As listed in The Diamond, Psi Upsilon's national magazine
- ^ a b "BUD GOLLYER DIES; ' HOST OF TV SHOWS; Ran 'Beatthe Clock,' 'To Tell the Truth,' Break the Bank'". The New York Times. United Press International. September 9, 1969. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
- ^ "(photo caption)" (PDF). Radio and Television Mirror. 14 (3): 18. July 1940. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
- ^ a b "Monday's Highlights" (PDF). Radio and Television Mirror. 13 (4): 43. February 1940. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
- ^ a b c Soap Opera Digest: January 1977
- ^ Marx, Barry, Cavalieri, Joey and Hill, Thomas (w), Petruccio, Steven (a), Marx, Barry (ed). "Bud Collyer Superman Speaks" Fifty Who Made DC Great, p. 21 (1985). DC Comics.
- ^ "Superman in the Suburbs" (PDF). Radio Mirror. January 1948. p. 72.
A year ago they eloped to Maryland and were married
- ^ "Michael Collyer Passes Away Attorney, Longtime NATAS Fixture". National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Phil Rizzuto's child Pat appears on "To Tell the Truth" (January 15, 1957)". YouTube.
External links
- Bud Collyer at IMDb