Roy Ward Dickson (August 18, 1910 – September 16, 1978), born Richard Louis del Valle, was a pioneering Canadian

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of video production on a television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television networks, but upon a ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, pla ...

, and emcee. Dubbed King of Quiz by an Edmonton journalist, Dickson invented the

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, ...

. His first show, ''Professor Dick and His Question Box'', debuted on radio in 1935, followed by ''The Quizz Club'' in 1936. Born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, Dickson moved to Canada where by 1929 he was a secondary school teacher in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...

. He moved to British Columbia by 1931, working in the ''

Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network. Published s ...

''s advertising department. In 1934 he relocated to Ontario where he joined ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

'' and developed his first student quizzes. In the early 1950s, Dickson moved from radio to television with the TV show ''What d'you Know?'', followed shortly afterwards by the world's first panel game, ''Claim to Fame''. Over the next four decades, Roy devised and hosted numerous popular and successful television shows, in both

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

. Among his most famous shows were the long-running ''Fun Parade'', which successfully transitioned from radio to television. His television quiz show '' Take a Chance'' was broadcast on

CTV CTV may refer to: Television * Connected TV, or Smart TV, a TV set with integrated internet North America and South America * CTV Television Network, a Canadian television network owned by Bell Media ** CTV 2, a secondary Canadian televisio ...

from 1961 to 1965 where at one point 438,000 viewers participated in that program's contests. The popular TV game show ''Mr. and Mrs.'' tested couples' knowledge of each other, and which was the forerunner for dozens of similar shows. Roy invented, produced and hosted the original Canadian version of ''Mr and Mrs.'' which became a popular show in the UK throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Dickson died at

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. T ...

in 1978.

Bibliography

References

External links

Official site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dickson, Roy Ward Canadian television producers Canadian game show hosts Canadian non-fiction writers Television pioneers 20th-century Canadian inventors British emigrants to Canada 1910 births 1978 deaths