Armand Andre Archerd (January 13, 1922 – September 8, 2009) was an American

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (periodical), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the ...

for '' Variety'' for over fifty years before retiring his "Just for Variety" column in September 2005. In November 2005, Archerd began blogging for ''Variety'' and was working on a memoir when he died.

Biography

Archerd was born in

The Bronx, New York The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County to its north; to its south and west, the New York City bo ...

, and graduated from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

in 1941. He was hired by ''Variety'' to replace columnist Sheilah Graham (former girlfriend of F. Scott Fitzgerald) in 1953. His "Just for Variety" column appeared on page two of ''Daily Variety'' and swiftly became popular in Hollywood. Archerd broke many exclusive stories, reporting from film sets, announcing pending deals, giving news of star-related hospitalizations, marriages, and births. In 1984, he was given a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame, in front of Mann's Chinese Theater, where he had emceed dozens of movie premieres. One of his most significant scoops was in his July 23, 1985, column, when he printed that Rock Hudson, despite denials from the actor's publicists and managers, was undergoing treatment for

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

. Archerd was

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish and a strong proponent of the

Simon Wiesenthal Center The Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) is a Jewish human rights organization established in 1977 by Rabbi Marvin Hier. The center is known for Holocaust research and remembrance, hunting Nazi war criminals, combating antisemitism, tolerance educati ...

and

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

awareness. He was married to Selma Fenning Archerd, a former actress, from November 15, 1969, until his death. They had one child and lived in

Westwood, Los Angeles, California Westwood is a commercial and residential neighborhood in the northern central portion of the Westside (Los Angeles County), Westside region of the city of Los Angeles, California. It is the home of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCL ...

. Archerd made four appearances on the popular, long-running game show '' The Hollywood Squares'' in the 1970s. His bluffs to questions from Peter Marshall became legendary, as he was able to fool contestants into believing his (often ridiculous) answers. Some say he was even better than the accepted champion in that regard, long-time participant John Davidson. Also in that decade, Archerd and his wife Selma made appearances on the game show '' Tattletales''. He made several appearances in TV series, including Burke's Law (1964), '' Hollywood Backstage'', ''

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

'' (episode 39), '' Mannix'' (1967), and '' Marcus Welby, M.D.'', and films such as '' The Young Runaways'' (1968), '' The Outfit'' (1973), '' Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood'' (1976), '' Gable and Lombard'' (1976), '' California Suite'' (1978), '' The French Atlantic Affair'' (1979) and '' The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood'' (1980). Archerd died at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center from a rare form of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

(

pleural The pleural cavity, or pleural space (or sometimes intrapleural space), is the potential space between the pulmonary pleurae, pleurae of the pleural sac that surrounds each lung. A small amount of serous fluid, serous pleural fluid is maintained ...

mesothelioma), as a result of his exposure to

asbestos Asbestos ( ) is a group of naturally occurring, Toxicity, toxic, carcinogenic and fibrous silicate minerals. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous Crystal habit, crystals, each fibre (particulate with length su ...

in the Navy during World War II.

Filmography

1975 La Femme oubliée Columbo Army Archerd (lui-même) (VF : Jacques Thébault)

References

External links

Army Archerd's blogExcerpts of "Just for Variety" columns written for ''Variety''Army Archerd Interview
at Archive of American Television * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Archerd, Army 1922 births 2009 deaths American columnists Jewish American journalists United States Navy personnel of World War II Television personalities from New York City Deaths from mesothelioma in the United States Journalists from the Bronx Writers from Greater Los Angeles United States Navy officers University of California, Los Angeles alumni Variety (magazine) people Deaths from lung cancer in California Townsend Harris High School alumni Burials at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews