Jack Linkletter

Jack Linkletter (November 20, 1937 – December 18, 2007)[1] was an American game show and television host and entertainer. He was the son of Art Linkletter.[2]

Jack Linkletter
Linkletter in 1963
Born
Arthur Jack Linkletter

November 20, 1937
San Francisco, California
DiedDecember 18, 2007 (aged 70)
Cloverdale, California
OccupationTelevision personality, businessman
Years active1957–2007
Spouse(s)Barbara Mae Hughes
(m. 1957; div. 19??)
Charlene Just Croul
​
​
(m. 1993)​
Children3

Early life

Linkletter was born as Arthur Jack Linkletter in San Francisco.[1] He was the oldest of Lois and Art Linkletter's five children.[1] He was said to have been inspired to enter show business by his father's show House Party.[1]

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 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".[3]

Linkletter hosted seven television shows throughout his career, including Haggis Baggis, Hootenanny, On the Go (1958–59) and Here's Hollywood.[1][4] He also hosted a number of events and pageants, including the Miss Universe pageant, events for the World's Fair and many parades.[1]

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, which aired for five seasons on CBS. 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.[5] Linkletter's last major television role was as the main host of the daily NBC daytime news program, America Alive! 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 and national director of the 4-H Clubs.

Death

Linkletter died of lymphoma on December 18, 2007, at his home in Cloverdale, California.[2][6]

References
  1. McLellan, Dennis (December 20, 2007). "TV host followed in father Art's footsteps". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 24, 2007. Retrieved December 21, 2007.
  2. "Jack Linkletter, son of Art Linkletter, dies at 70". The Hollywood Reporter. Associated Press. December 21, 2007. Archived from the original on May 30, 2010. Retrieved December 21, 2007.
  3. "Linkletter Son to Debut on Air". Long Beach Independent. October 22, 1954.
  4. "TV: 'America Alive' Makes Debut on NBC". July 25, 1978 – via NYTimes.com.
  5. "The Bible Man on Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre". Retrieved September 18, 2019.
  6. Obituary: "Jack Linkletter, Second-Generation TV Host, Dies at 70 " The New York Times. December 21, 2007.
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