It's unbelievable to see Tom's ability to recall all the details of his very extensive broadcasting history. You would think given the sheer number of game shows, and their very similar formats, that they would all start to run together in his mind, but they didn't. He was 89 years old here. Amazing. It's also nice to see that he was humble and that he gave credit where it was due to others. And he appeared to have a bad experience with one of his producers but declined to elaborate. Tom was class all the way. And I love at the end he credits his wife and close friends with his success. Thanks guys for taking the time to sit down with Tom.
I’m glad they got his story, Tom has a lot of knowledge & stories to offer the people coming up behind him. His mind is still as sharp as ever, glad to see him one more time.
What an interesting interview from a true pioneer in the industry. Such a genuine person, it comes out in his shows, and really comes out in this interview. Thank you Tom for all the years of entertainment and enjoyment. A class act.
God bless ya, Tom! I am sorry to read of your passing. I was a little kid when you were in your heyday, but I always found you one of the best game show hosts out there. Personally, I preferred you on "The Price is Right" over Bob Barker. RIP, sir!
A True Game Show Legend,Mr Tom Kennedy One Of The Best To Ever Host Game Shows Was National Treasure And Will Be Truly Missed.May He Rest In Heavenly Peace.
Kenny Williams did just about every Heatter-Quigley game show up until the early 1980s. At one time he was announcing H-Q game shows on NBC (HOLLYWOOD SQUARES, HIGH ROLLERS), CBS (GAMBIT), and ABC (HOT SEAT) all at the same time, requiring him to drive (or be driven) to each network's studio.
Kenny Williams was a terrific announcer. His introduction of the stars on the Hollywood Squares was one of the ones I remember most vividly from my childhood.
I'd love to hear about his time when he was himself a celebrity contestant on shows. Those shows included YOU DON'T SAY! (His brother, Jack, hosted for him in this case.), WHAT'S THIS SONG? (He & "Win" Martindale guested on each other's shows in Apr. 1965.), HOLLYWOOD SQUARES (1 episode from NBC that still exists is from the same day that TO SAY THE LEAST premiered.), and SUPER PASSWORD (He guested there during week 2 of WORDPLAY.), and he also played the game as a contestant on SCRABBLE and WHEEL OF FORTUNE.
He talks about "Whew", I remember when it came out. That was IMO an era where game shows were starting to reinvent themselves (as well as adding celebrities, as Tom points out) in order to get & retain viewers. "Whew" added a few new bells & whistles and I remember when CBS advertised the pants off of it and even got Tom to get "come on down" on TPiR and promote the show (a practice used to promote many CBS game shows back then).
He mentions many of those game show announcers from years past in his interview. We really need a National Television Announcers Hall of Fame to honor them, IMHO. Only thing is that the vast majority of the awards would have to be posthumously awarded to their family members, since the recipients are long gone. :-(
Really cool to find this interview, been a big fan of Tom's work for many years (and personally I felt he did just fine on Price, I thought he added a warmth and sincerity that Bob for as polished as he was never really had, very similar to how I see Drew Carey in his role as host of it now in a different way), thank you for doing this with him (and thanks to Tom of course for agreeing to do it and share his memories with us all as well). I did wonder one thing though, idk if you'd be able to get this from Tom or not, but I was quite curious about what it woulda been like going through the transition of announcers when Johnny Olson passed early into his stint on Price. That had to be quite challenging to say the least on multiple fronts. Thanks again for this though, it is much appreciated. :)
I don't believe they covered "Break the Bank" from its short run on ABC in 1976. Tom went hosting Split Second to the revival of You Don't Say and then a year later "Break the Bank." This was from the production company Jack Barry/Dan Enright.
Very surprised to hear that he didn't feel he did a good job on Price is Right. I thought he was excellent and very professional. A very smart host for the nighttime version. Mr. Kennedy had a great pace, was very congenial to the contestants and could have very well done the daytime show himself years earlier if Bob Barker had not.
He really was hard on himslef. He later remarked to adam nedeff about sitting in the dressing room and yelling, "Barker's a genius!!!". He did really good. I think Tom's run on Dr iq got him ready for price. I think his price run is really underrated
Something that seems contradictory in what he said in this part vs. in Part I of the interview - he really praises Ralph Edwards in this part, but I thought when they asked him about Edwards in Part 1 all he would say was "no comment" (i.e. he didn't think anything good about Edwards). ??? Also wish they would have talked salaries in the interview - curious to know what the "going rates" were for game show hosts on radio and T.V. through the years, but possibly they had as one of the "ground rules" for the interview not to go there .. ?
It's unbelievable to see Tom's ability to recall all the details of his very extensive broadcasting history. You would think given the sheer number of game shows, and their very similar formats, that they would all start to run together in his mind, but they didn't. He was 89 years old here. Amazing.
It's also nice to see that he was humble and that he gave credit where it was due to others. And he appeared to have a bad experience with one of his producers but declined to elaborate. Tom was class all the way.
And I love at the end he credits his wife and close friends with his success.
Thanks guys for taking the time to sit down with Tom.
RIP Tom thanks for ALL the years of entertainment it has been a pleasure to watch you 🤦♂️😮😞💚
Tom Kennedy (1927-2020) was always one of my favorite game show hosts!
I’m glad they got his story, Tom has a lot of knowledge & stories to offer the people coming up behind him. His mind is still as sharp as ever, glad to see him one more time.
What an interesting interview from a true pioneer in the industry. Such a genuine person, it comes out in his shows, and really comes out in this interview. Thank you Tom for all the years of entertainment and enjoyment. A class act.
God bless ya, Tom! I am sorry to read of your passing. I was a little kid when you were in your heyday, but I always found you one of the best game show hosts out there. Personally, I preferred you on "The Price is Right" over Bob Barker. RIP, sir!
The legendary game show host Dennis James hosted the FIRST NBC daytime version of "Name That Tune" from September, 1974 until January, 1975.
A True Game Show Legend,Mr Tom Kennedy One Of The Best To Ever Host Game Shows Was National Treasure And Will Be Truly Missed.May He Rest In Heavenly Peace.
I love his comments about the current TO TELL THE TRUTH. It is pretty trashy.
A true class act. May he rest in peace.
Tom forgot that he did a game show for CBS call Whew 1979 80.
@1:13:35, a show I think he did fab with sure Tom you were nervous filling big shoes for a guy who did it then.... 14 yrs, but you did great Tom.
Tom hosted Name That Tune in syndication while Dennis James did it on NBC Daytime.
Indeed!
Then in 1977 he did both daytime and nighttime.
Tom did a great job on hosting Split Second 1972 1975!
Is hard to believe that there are two game show hosting brothers but I enjoyed the
Two jack narz and tom Kennedy Denise jackson
Kenny Williams did just about every Heatter-Quigley game show up until the early 1980s. At one time he was announcing H-Q game shows on NBC (HOLLYWOOD SQUARES, HIGH ROLLERS), CBS (GAMBIT), and ABC (HOT SEAT) all at the same time, requiring him to drive (or be driven) to each network's studio.
Kenny Williams was a terrific announcer. His introduction of the stars on the Hollywood Squares was one of the ones I remember most vividly from my childhood.
I'd love to hear about his time when he was himself a celebrity contestant on shows. Those shows included YOU DON'T SAY! (His brother, Jack, hosted for him in this case.), WHAT'S THIS SONG? (He & "Win" Martindale guested on each other's shows in Apr. 1965.), HOLLYWOOD SQUARES (1 episode from NBC that still exists is from the same day that TO SAY THE LEAST premiered.), and SUPER PASSWORD (He guested there during week 2 of WORDPLAY.), and he also played the game as a contestant on SCRABBLE and WHEEL OF FORTUNE.
In 1979 beat the clock mark Goodson bill Toddman production with Monty Hall and Jack Narz Announcing
Ralph Edwards had a game show called Cross Witts with David Sparks it was in the late 70’s early 80’s
He talks about "Whew", I remember when it came out. That was IMO an era where game shows were starting to reinvent themselves (as well as adding celebrities, as Tom points out) in order to get & retain viewers. "Whew" added a few new bells & whistles and I remember when CBS advertised the pants off of it and even got Tom to get "come on down" on TPiR and promote the show (a practice used to promote many CBS game shows back then).
He mentions many of those game show announcers from years past in his interview. We really need a National Television Announcers Hall of Fame to honor them, IMHO. Only thing is that the vast majority of the awards would have to be posthumously awarded to their family members, since the recipients are long gone. :-(
RIP Tom Kennedy
Really cool to find this interview, been a big fan of Tom's work for many years (and personally I felt he did just fine on Price, I thought he added a warmth and sincerity that Bob for as polished as he was never really had, very similar to how I see Drew Carey in his role as host of it now in a different way), thank you for doing this with him (and thanks to Tom of course for agreeing to do it and share his memories with us all as well). I did wonder one thing though, idk if you'd be able to get this from Tom or not, but I was quite curious about what it woulda been like going through the transition of announcers when Johnny Olson passed early into his stint on Price. That had to be quite challenging to say the least on multiple fronts. Thanks again for this though, it is much appreciated. :)
Bill Todman died before Tom hosted PASSWORD PLUS, so that would explain why they never met.
I don't believe they covered "Break the Bank" from its short run on ABC in 1976. Tom went hosting Split Second to the revival of You Don't Say and then a year later "Break the Bank." This was from the production company Jack Barry/Dan Enright.
@1:14, he should've been granted a 2nd season with TPIR. they gave him a terrible timeslot in NYC.
They didn't talk about "Break the Bank" that he did after Jack Barry.
Very surprised to hear that he didn't feel he did a good job on Price is Right.
I thought he was excellent and very professional. A very smart host for the nighttime version.
Mr. Kennedy had a great pace, was very congenial to the contestants and could have very well done the daytime show himself years earlier if Bob Barker had not.
I agree, he wasn't as smooth as Bob but he did fine. If it had a longer run, I think he would gotten smoother.
@@marcpower4167 wasn't saying that but ok
I mean Monty Hall Hosting and Jack Narz Announcing
Wasn't there a show the goose with the golden egg?
Correction: July 1974 to January, 1975.
Tom was really hard on himself about The Price is Right. I thought his hosting was wonderful.
It was indeed, Alfonzo Tyson!
He really was hard on himslef. He later remarked to adam nedeff about sitting in the dressing room and yelling, "Barker's a genius!!!". He did really good. I think Tom's run on Dr iq got him ready for price. I think his price run is really underrated
Something that seems contradictory in what he said in this part vs. in Part I of the interview - he really praises Ralph Edwards in this part, but I thought when they asked him about Edwards in Part 1 all he would say was "no comment" (i.e. he didn't think anything good about Edwards). ??? Also wish they would have talked salaries in the interview - curious to know what the "going rates" were for game show hosts on radio and T.V. through the years, but possibly they had as one of the "ground rules" for the interview not to go there .. ?
It was Ralph Andrews he was asked about in part 1