{"id":1263,"date":"2013-10-28T04:01:00","date_gmt":"2013-10-28T04:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=1263"},"modified":"2014-12-23T18:39:54","modified_gmt":"2014-12-23T18:39:54","slug":"bill-cullen-a-broadcasters-broadcaster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/10\/28\/bill-cullen-a-broadcasters-broadcaster\/","title":{"rendered":"Bill Cullen, ‘a broadcaster\u2019s broadcaster’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Cullen <\/a>
Cullen with Steve Allen (top), Henry Morgan (middle row), Betsy Palmer (front left) and Bess Myerson. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Cullen <\/a>
Cullen with his wife Ann (front left), her sister Mary Lou Narz, and Jack Narz, husband of Mary Lou. <\/div> <\/div>
\"Cullen <\/a>
Cullen as host of Pass the Buck in 1978. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Cullen <\/a>
Cullen as host of Chain Reaction in 1980. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Cullen <\/a>
Cullen with myna bird Charley in 1957. Charley whistled the NBC chimes for a program called \u201cRadio Roadshow.\u201d <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

With his boyish face, horn-rimmed spectacles and engaging personality, Pittsburgh native Bill Cullen became the\u00a0the dean of game show hosts.<\/p>\n

Born in 1920, he was stricken with infantile paralysis, which gave him a permanent limp. In 1939, he was 19 and\u00a0working at his father\u2019s South Side garage when the Pittsburgh radio station WWSW-FM hired him as an unpaid announcer and disc jockey.<\/p>\n

In 1944, he moved to New York and benefited from the shortage of network personnel caused by World War II. A week after he arrived, Columbia Broadcasting hired him as a staff radio announcer.<\/p>\n

That marked the start of a 40-year career in which Mr. Cullen hosted more than a dozen game shows, some of which became definitive staples of American popular culture. He appeared on \u201cGive and Take,\u201d \u201cThe Price is Right,\u201d \u201cPlace the Face,\u201d \u201cName That Tune,\u201d \u201c$25,000 Pyramid\u201d and \u201cThe Joker\u2019s Wild.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 1952, he became a glib panelist on \u201cI\u2019ve Got a Secret,\u201d remaining on the program for its entire 15-year run through 1967 and often serving as a host. His down-to-earth, witty style proved popular with American viewers.<\/p>\n

Mr. Cullen also hosted the original version of \u201cPrice is Right\u201d from 1957 to 1964 on NBC and later on ABC.<\/p>\n

Groucho Marx, who hosted \u201cYou Bet Your Life,\u201d called Mr. Cullen \u201cthe second wittiest man in the business.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the late 1950s, Mr. Cullen was on the air 25 hours and 30 minutes each week, exceeding the amount of air time logged by\u00a0famed broadcaster Arthur Godfrey\u00a0at the peak of his career.<\/p>\n

When he died from lung cancer at age 70 in 1990, game show host Pat Sajak called him \u201ca broadcaster\u2019s broadcaster.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With his boyish face, horn-rimmed spectacles and engaging personality, Pittsburgh native Bill Cullen became the the dean of game show hosts.<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesBill Cullen, ‘a broadcaster\u2019s broadcaster’<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1264,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1066],"tags":[961,1035],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/tumblr_mv6qrezEw51rr5swxo6_r1_1280.jpg?fit=1231%2C1224&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1426,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/09\/06\/joe-negri-a-consummate-jazz-musician\/","url_meta":{"origin":1263,"position":0},"title":"Joe Negri, a consummate jazz musician","date":"September 6, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Joe Negri has been playing guitar for so long there\u2019s hardly a time he wasn\u2019t.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/tumblr_msnoykASnf1rr5swxo5_1280.jpg?fit=1080%2C1149&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":980,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/02\/07\/ralph-kiner-pirates-legendary-slugger-and-voice-of-the-mets\/","url_meta":{"origin":1263,"position":1},"title":"\u201cRalph Kiner, Pirates\u2019 legendary slugger and Voice of the Mets\u201d","date":"February 7, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Ralph Kiner had a rare talent. 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