Arthur Jack Linkletter (November 20, 1937 – December 18, 2007) was an American game show and television host and entertainer. He was the son of

Art Linkletter Arthur Gordon Linkletter (born Gordon Arthur Kelly or Arthur Gordon Kelly; sources differ; July 17, 1912 – May 26, 2010) was a Canadian-born American radio and television personality. He was the host of '' House Party'', which ran on CBS radio ...

Early life

Linkletter was born Arthur Jack Linkletter in San Francisco. He was the oldest of Lois and

's five children. He was said to have been inspired to enter show business by his father's show ''

House Party A house party is a type of party held at the home of the party's host. Organization A house party might be organized several months or just a few hours in advance. News of a party may be spread by personal invitations, word of mouth, pos ...

''. As a boy, Mr. Linkletter inspired one of his father's most famous "House Party" routines: interviewing young children. Linkletter was an English major at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

in 1958 when he began hosting the NBC-TV prime-time summer replacement quiz show '' Haggis Baggis''.

Career

At 15, Linkletter began doing an interview show for CBS Radio, which was soon followed in 1954 by an hour-long program featuring records and stunts called "Teen Club". Linkletter hosted seven television shows throughout his career, including ''Haggis Baggis'', ''

Hootenanny A hootenanny is a freewheeling, improvisatory musical event in the United States, often incorporating audience members in performances. It is particularly associated with folk music. Etymology Meanings Hootenanny is an Appalachian colloquialism ...

'', ''On the Go'' (1958–59) and ''

Here's Hollywood ''Here's Hollywood'' is an American celebrity interview program which aired on weekday afternoons on NBC at 4:30 Eastern time from September 26, 1960, to December 28, 1962. Production notes The program was a Desilu Production.Alex McNeil, ''Tota ...

''. He also hosted a number of events and

pageant Pageant(s) or The Pageant(s) may refer to: Events * Procession or ceremony in elaborate costume * Beauty pageant, or beauty contest * List of pageants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints * Medieval pageant, a narrative medieval pro ...

s, including the

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international major beauty pageant that is run by a Thailand and Mexican-based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stree ...

pageant, events for the

World's Fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...

and many

parades A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety of ...

. On February 23, 1961, Linkletter and his father, Art, appeared together in "The Bible Man", one of the final episodes of ''

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre ''Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre'' is an American Western anthology television series broadcast on CBS from October 5, 1956 until May 18, 1961. Synopsis Many episodes were based on novels by Zane Grey, to all of which Four Star Films held ...

,'' which aired for five seasons on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

. In the story line, the father, the Reverend Albert Pierce, is a traveling evangelist who is estranged from his grown son, Jimmy, because he had tried to avoid telling Jimmy of the real circumstances of his mother's death. The son accused his father of causing the mother's death by burning down her house. However, she was already dead before the fire because a paramour had beaten her to death. The episode ends in a reconciliation of father and son. "The Bible Man" was Jack Linkletter's only regular acting appearance. When on television, he otherwise played himself. Linkletter's last major television role was as the main host of the daily NBC daytime talk/variety program, ''

America Alive! ''America Alive!'' is an American television talk-variety program created by Woody Fraser. The show had a brief run on NBC, which aired it as part of its weekday daytime programming schedule from July 24, 1978, until January 4, 1979. Overview ...

'' in 1978. Linkletter was president of Linkletter Enterprises, developer and operator of commercial and industrial real estate and manager of diversified family investments. He also operated the Link Fund, a private fund investing in equity and debt instruments. Linkletter served as the International President of

Young Presidents' Organization YPO (formerly Young Presidents' Organization) is a US-based organization of chief executives with more than 36,000 members in more than 142 countries. History YPO was founded in 1950 in Rochester, New York, by manufacturer Ray Hickok, who was ...

and national director of the

4-H 4-H is a U.S.-based network of youth organizations whose mission is "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development". Its name is a reference to the occurrence of the initial letter H four times ...

Clubs.

Death

Linkletter died of

lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). The name typically refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlarged lymph node ...

on December 18, 2007, at his home in

Cloverdale, California Cloverdale is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States; it is both the westernmost and the northernmost city in the San Francisco Bay Area. The San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad reached the area in 1872. The Cloverdale Ranche ...

. He was 70 years old. Obituary: "Jack Linkletter, Second-Generation TV Host, Dies at 70 "
''The New York Times''. December 21, 2007.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Linkletter, Jack 1937 births 2007 deaths Television personalities from California Deaths from lymphoma in California People from Cloverdale, California Businesspeople from the San Francisco Bay Area University of Southern California alumni Mass media people from San Francisco American game show hosts American people of Canadian descent