James Edward Narz (February 26, 1927 – October 7, 2020), known professionally as Tom Kennedy, was an American

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

host best known for his work in

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, ...

s. Game shows Kennedy hosted included '' Password Plus'', '' Split Second'', '' Name That Tune'', and '' You Don't Say!''

Early years

Born in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, Kennedy was the son of John Lawrence Narz Sr., and the younger brother of host

Jack Narz John Lawrence Narz Jr. (November 13, 1922 – October 15, 2008) was an American radio personality, television host, and singer. Early years Narz was born to John and Ado Narz, in Louisville, Kentucky, along with sister Mary, and younger brothe ...

(1922–2008), whose son, David, related about his uncle's name change that the brothers wanted to avoid the perceived conflict of having two announcers with the same last name promoting competing products. "After a lunch meeting with his agent," he said, "... he emerged as Tom Kennedy." Kennedy attended the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in ...

and the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...

. Kennedy did TV commercial spots for Regal Beer on Ozark Jubilee (later Jubilee USA), an ABC series which ran from 1955-60. He introduced himself as Jim Narz in the commercials.

Radio

While attending the

, Kennedy worked at

KFRU KFRU (1400 AM) is a radio station located in Columbia, Missouri. Its programming format consists primarily of news and talk. The station is licensed to Cumulus Media. The station is also audible on translator K255DJ 98.9 FM in Columbia. History ...

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is the county seat of Boone County and home to the University of Missouri. Founded in 1821, it is the principal city of the five-county Columbia metropolitan area. It is Missouri's fourt ...

. While in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County. By population, it is the second-largest city in Kentucky and 57th-largest city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 28th-largest ...

, he worked at WKLX. After moving to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

, he worked for five years at KPOL and had a part-time job at KGIL.

Shows

Kennedy's biggest hit series were '' You Don't Say!'' which aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

from 1963 to 1969, and on ABC in 1975; '' Split Second'' (1972–75); '' Name That Tune'' (1974–81); and '' Password Plus'', which he hosted from 1980 to 1982 following the

illness A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that a ...

(and later death) of original host Allen Ludden. His other hosting credits include '' The Big Game'' (1958), '' Dr. I.Q.'' (1958–59), ''

It's Your Bet ''It's Your Bet'' is an American game show which aired in syndication (mostly NBC owned-and-operated stations) from 1969 to 1973. The series was a revised version of the NBC game '' I'll Bet,'' which aired for six months in 1965. Both ''I'll Bet'' ...

'' (1971–72), '' Break the Bank'' (1976), ''

50 Grand Slam ''50 Grand Slam'' is a game show from Ralph Andrews Productions that aired on NBC from October 4 to December 31, 1976. Tom Kennedy hosted the show, with John Harlan as the announcer. It premiered and ended on the same day as the show that prece ...

'' (1976), '' To Say the Least'' (1977–78), '' Whew!'' (1979–80), ''

Body Language Body language is a type of communication in which physical behaviors, as opposed to words, are used to express or convey information. Such behavior includes facial expressions, body posture, gestures, eye movement, touch and the use of space. ...

'' (1984–86), a syndicated nighttime version of '' The Price Is Right'' (1985–86) and ''

Wordplay Word play or wordplay (also: play-on-words) is a literary technique and a form of wit in which words used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Examples of word play include puns, phon ...

'' (1986–87). He briefly hosted a

talk show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Sh ...

, ''The Real Tom Kennedy Show'', in the early 1970s, and appeared as a guest panelist on '' To Tell the Truth'', ''

Hollywood Squares ''Hollywood Squares'' (originally ''The Hollywood Squares'') is an American game show in which two contestants compete in a game of tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The show Television pilot, piloted on NBC in 1965 and the regular series debut ...

'', '' Liar's Club'' and other game shows. As an actor, he made guest appearances on such shows as '' The Ghost & Mrs. Muir'', ''

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (often simply referred to as ''Laugh-In'') is an American sketch comedy television program that ran for 140 episodes from January 22, 1968, to March 12, 1973, on the NBC television network, hosted by comedians Da ...

'', ''

Cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

'' and '' Hardcastle and McCormick''.

Retirement and death

Kennedy retired in 1989 after several game show pilots produced by his production company failed to sell. In 2003, he appeared on ''

'' during "Game Show Week Part 2". Kennedy died on October 7, 2020, at the age of 93. His cause of death is unknown, though it was known that he "had been ill for several months".

Awards

In July 2005, Kennedy and his brother

were co-recipients of the Game Show Congress's

Bill Cullen William Lawrence Francis Cullen (February 18, 1920 – July 7, 1990) was an American radio and television personality whose career spanned five decades. His biggest claim to fame was as a game show host; over the course of his career, he host ...

Award for Lifetime Achievement. Cullen was a brother-in-law of Narz and Kennedy.

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Tom 1927 births 2020 deaths American game show hosts Television personalities from Louisville, Kentucky University of Missouri alumni University of Kentucky alumni