James McKrell (October 12, 1937, also written MacKrell), sometimes known on-air as Jimmy Kaye, is a retired American actor, radio host, and television personality, best known for hosting television game shows such as ''

Celebrity Sweepstakes ''Celebrity Sweepstakes'' is an American television game show that aired on NBC's daytime schedule from April 1, 1974, to October 1, 1976. The show also had two separate weekly syndicated runs from September 9, 1974, to September 1975 and again ...

'' and '' The Game Game'' and appearing in films and television throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, including ''

Gremlins ''Gremlins'' is a 1984 American black comedy horror film directed by Joe Dante, written by Chris Columbus and starring Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Polly Holliday and Frances Lee McCain, with Howie Mandel providing the voic ...

.''

Show business career

Jim McKrell was born in Little Rock, Arkansas on October 12, 1937. His father Rev. James K. "Uncle Mac" MacKrell, Sr. was a radio personality on KCUL radio station in Fort Worth, Texas. McKrell's career in broadcasting spanned five decades, beginning in the 1970s. Among his notable appearances were hosting the shows ''

'', '' The Game Game'' and ''

Quiz Kids ''Quiz Kids'' is a radio and TV series originally broadcast in the 1940s and 1950s. Created by Chicago public relations and advertising man Louis G. Cowan, and originally sponsored by Alka-Seltzer, the series was first broadcast on NBC from ...

.'' He was also the presenter for the game shows '' Sweethearts'' and ''

Couch Potatoes Sedentary lifestyle is a lifestyle type, in which one is physically inactive and does little or no physical movement and/or exercise. A person living a sedentary lifestyle is often sitting or lying down while engaged in an activity like soc ...

.'' Additionally, McKrell acted in films and television, including ''

Annie Hall ''Annie Hall'' is a 1977 American satirical romantic comedy-drama film directed by Woody Allen from a screenplay written by Allen and Marshall Brickman, and produced by Allen's manager, Charles H. Joffe. The film stars Allen as Alvy Singer ...

Defending Your Life ''Defending Your Life'' is a 1991 American romantic comedy-fantasy film about a man who finds himself on trial in the afterlife, where proceedings examine his lifelong fears, to determine whether he'll be (yet again) reincarnated on Earth, or ...

Semi-Tough ''Semi-Tough'' is a 1977 American sports comedy film directed by Michael Ritchie and starring Burt Reynolds, Kris Kristofferson, Jill Clayburgh, Robert Preston, Lotte Lenya, and Bert Convy. It is set in the world of American professional fo ...

,'' ''

Teen Wolf ''Teen Wolf'' is a 1985 American coming-of-age comedy film directed by Rod Daniel and written by Jeph Loeb and Matthew Weisman. Michael J. Fox stars as the title character, a high school student whose ordinary life is changed when he discover ...

'', '' Harry's War'', and several made-for-TV movies. McKrell played reporter Lew Landers in two

Joe Dante Joseph James Dante Jr. (; born November 28, 1946) is an American film director. His films—notably ''Gremlins'' (1984) alongside its sequel, ''Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990)—often mix the 1950s-style B movie genre with Counterculture of th ...

films, ''

The Howling ''The Howling'' is a 1977 horror novel by Gary Brandner, first published by Fawcett as a paperback original. It was the inspiration for the film '' The Howling'' (1981), although the plot of the film was only vaguely similar to that of the boo ...

'' and ''

.'' He had many guest roles on television, such as in ''

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

'', ''

Soap Soap is a salt (chemistry), salt of a fatty acid (sometimes other carboxylic acids) used for cleaning and lubricating products as well as other applications. In a domestic setting, soaps, specifically "toilet soaps", are surfactants usually u ...

'', ''

Moonlighting Moonlighting may refer to: * Side job, a job taken in addition to one's primary employment Entertainment * ''Moonlighting'' (film), a 1982 drama film by Jerzy Skolimowski * ''Moonlighting'' (TV series), 1985–1989 American television series, s ...

'' and ''

The Golden Girls ''The Golden Girls'' is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. The show's ensemble cast stars Beatrice Arthur, Betty ...

''. McKrell had regular appearances on ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...

'', ''

Capitol Capitol, capitols or The Capitol may refer to: Places and buildings Legislative building * United States Capitol, in Washington, D.C. * National Capitol of Colombia, in Bogotá * Palacio Federal Legislativo, in Caracas, Venezuela * National Ca ...

'', ''

Generations A generation is all of the people born and living at about the same time, regarded collectively. Generation or generations may also refer to: Science and technology * Generation (particle physics), a division of the elementary particles * Genera ...

'' and ''

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that aired on the network NBC from November 8, 1965, to September 9, 2022; the soap has streamed n ...

.'' McKrell was also a semi-prolific advertiser. He became a corporate spokesman for Chevrolet and Disney, and he appeared in advertisements for Whirlpool, Serta, Goodyear, Mattel, Oster, Radio Shack, Entex, Toyota, Exxon, Xerox, Shell, and Coca-Cola as well as television informercials. For 14 years, McKrell hosted the National Easter Seals Telethon, and he wrote and produced several projects for ACTA Communications in Chicago. McKrell also worked in radio. His credits include

KMPC KMPC (1540 AM, "Radio Korea", 라디오코리아) is a commercial radio station in Los Angeles, California. It is owned by P&Y Broadcasting Corporation. Radio Korea is a division of the Radio Korea Media Group. The station airs Korean lan ...

and

KFI KFI (640 AM) is a radio station in Los Angeles, California, owned and operated by iHeartMedia, Inc. It began operations in 1922 and became one of the first high-powered, clear-channel Class A stations. It was the first U.S. station west of ...

in Los Angeles, WMEX in Boston, WNOE in New Orleans,

KBOX KBOX (104.1 FM, "Pirate Radio 104.1") is a commercial radio station that is licensed to Lompoc, California and serves the Santa Maria—Lompoc area. The station is owned by American General Media and broadcasts an adult hits format. It is pr ...

in Dallas, KXOL in Fort Worth (where he worked with longtime friend

George Carlin George Denis Patrick Carlin (May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008) was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, actor and author. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential comedians of all time, he was dubbed "the dean of countercultur ...

), and WFUN Miami. He hosted his own talk show in Houston, Texas on

KKTL KKTL (1400 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Casper, Wyoming, United States. KKTL airs a classic country music format. KKTL previously carried Coast to Coast AM before it was picked up by sister station KTWO. Signal KKTL's transm ...

, and was a news anchor at KHTV Channel 39.

Later career and retirement

Later in his career, McKrell took increasing roles in voiceover projects, including in the film '' Imps*''. In 2009, he published the novel ''Down from the Mountain: the Story of Bandit and the Wolf'', which received positive critical response. In 2016, McKrell played the lead role in the film ''Last Man Club''. His performance received particular praise, and for it, he won the Best Actor - Feature Award at the Action on Film International Film Festival. Following the film, McKrell ostensibly retired from show business. McKrell now lives near Conroe, Texas.

References

External links

*
History of KBOX Radio in Dallas
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKrell, Jim 1937 births Living people American male film actors American male soap opera actors American game show hosts American male voice actors Game show announcers Male actors from Little Rock, Arkansas