Bill Cullen
Born	February 18, 1920 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Died	July 7, 1990 (aged 70) Bel Air, California, USA

William "Bill" Lawrence Frances Cullen (February 18, 1920 – July 7, 1990), was an Emmy Award-winning American radio and television personality. He was best known for his roles in game shows, both as host and panelist, that spanned a period of five decades in radio and television, as the original host of The Price Is Right in the 1960s and The $25,000 Pyramid in the 1970s. February 18 is the 49th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Pennsylvania. ... Nickname: Motto: Benigno Numine (With the Benevolent Deity) Location in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Coordinates: , Country United States Commonwealth Pennsylvania County Allegheny Founded November 25, 1758 Incorporated April 22, 1794 (borough)   March 18, 1816 (city) Government  - Mayor Luke Ravenstahl (D) Area  - City 151. ... is the 188th day of the year (189th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_California. ... Bel-Air is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California. ... February 18 is the 49th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... is the 188th day of the year (189th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ... An Emmy Award. ... A celebrity is a person who is widely recognized in a society. ... “Quiz show” redirects here. ... The original version of The Price Is Right was an American television game show where the contestants won prizes by giving the closest bid to merchandise items and other products. ... Year 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Pyramid was an American television game show where contestants tried to guess a series of words or phrases, based on descriptions that were given to them, in the shortest amount of time. ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ...

Polio and the early years

Cullen was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and survived a childhood bout with polio that left him with a limp for the rest of his life. In most of his later game shows, the set was designed in such a way that he came out from behind the curtain or from off stage riding on something of a turntable so that he never had to walk any distance across the stage. For example, on the Pyramid incarnations, when he served as a celebrity guest, he and his fellow guest would already be at their tables; usually the guests would walk out from behind the set to be introduced. He also wore very thick spectacles, which became a trademark. Nickname: Motto: Benigno Numine (With the Benevolent Deity) Location in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Coordinates: , Country United States Commonwealth Pennsylvania County Allegheny Founded November 25, 1758 Incorporated April 22, 1794 (borough)   March 18, 1816 (city) Government  - Mayor Luke Ravenstahl (D) Area  - City 151. ... Poliomyelitis (polio), or infantile paralysis, is a viral paralytic disease. ... Pyramid is an American television game show where contestants tried to guess a series of words or phrases, based on descriptions that were given to them, in the shortest amount of time. ...

Cullen's career began in his hometown of Pittsburgh, where he worked at WWSW radio. He assisted sportscaster Joe Tucker, who called Pittsburgh Steelers games. He was well known for his puckish sense of humor and for playing pranks on his fellow announcers while they were on the air. Cullen decided to try his luck in New York and one of his first jobs was writing for the Easy Aces radio show. City Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Team colors Black and Gold Head Coach Mike Tomlin Owner Dan Rooney General manager Kevin Colbert League/Conference affiliations National Football League (1933–present) Eastern Division (1933–1943; 1945–1949) Western Division (1944) American Conference (1950–1952) Eastern Conference (1953–1969) Century Division (1967–1969) American Football... Goodman and Jane Ace during a 1939 Easy Aces rehearsal. ...

Game show career

After moving to New York City he hosted several radio programs, including game shows, in the late 1940s and 1950s. His first TV game show was Winner Take All, a Mark Goodson-Bill Todman production that aired on CBS in 1952. He hosted the daytime and prime-time versions of The Price is Right, another Goodson-Todman production, from 1956 to 1965. He was also a panelist on I've Got a Secret from 1952 until 1967 and then on To Tell the Truth from 1969 until 1978, where he would also guest host on occasion. Cullen guest-hosted the late-1970s revival of Password on NBC, known as Password Plus. He was also in the running to be the host of the revival of the longest-running CBS game show, The Price is Right. However, the physical demands of the new format were considered too strenuous for Cullen. The job went to fellow game show host, Bob Barker, who hosted it for 35 years until his retirement in 2007. Comedian Drew Carey, who also wears very thick horned-rimmed glasses as Cullen did, then succeeded Barker as host. Midtown Manhattan, looking north from the Empire State Building, 2005 New York City (officially named the City of New York) is the most populous city in the state of New York and the entire United States. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... In the theory of artificial neural networks winner-take-all networks are a case of competitive learning in recurrent neural networks. ... Mark Goodson (January 14, 1915 – December 18, 1992) was an accomplished American television producer who specialized in game shows. ... Bill Todman (July 31, 1916-July 29, 1979) was an American television producer born in New York City. ... CBS Broadcasting, Inc. ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The original version of The Price Is Right was an American television game show where the contestants won prizes by giving the closest bid to merchandise items and other products. ... Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. ... Ive Got a Secret (abbreviated as IGAS) was a weekly panel game show produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman for CBS television and was created by Allan Sherman as essentially a knockoff of Whats My Line?. The original version of the show premiered in June 19, 1952... 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Year 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. ... Nipsey Russell, Peggy Cass, Bill Cullen and Kitty Carlisle from the 1969-78 version. ... For the Stargate SG-1 episode, see 1969 (Stargate SG-1). ... Year 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar). ... CBSs first color logo, which debuted in the fall of 1965. ... This article is about the current version of the U.S. game show. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Drew Allison Carey (born May 23, 1958) is an American comedian and actor. ...

Cullen hosted 23 different game shows over the years, making him host of more game shows than anyone in television history. These shows include Eye Guess in the 1960s, Three on a Match and the nighttime version of The $25,000 Pyramid in the 1970s, and Blockbusters, Child's Play, Hot Potato and The Joker's Wild in the 1980s. Eye Guess was a television game show that ran from January 3, 1966 to September 26, 1969 on NBC. Bob Stewart created and packaged the show, which was hosted by Bill Cullen. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ... Three on a Match was an American television game show, created by Bob Stewart, that ran from August 2, 1971 to June 28, 1974 on the daytime schedule of NBC. The host was Bill Cullen, a veteran host of several successful television games. ... Pyramid is an American television game show where contestants tried to guess a series of words or phrases, based on descriptions that were given to them, in the shortest amount of time. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, also called The Seventies. ... Blockbusters was an American game show which had two separate runs in the 1980s. ... Childs Play was an American television game show where adult contestants tried to guess words based on definitions given by children. ... Hot Potato was a television game show broadcast on NBC in the United States from January 23, 1984, through June 29, 1984. ... // The Jokers Wild was an American game show of the 1970s and 1980s, billed as the game where knowledge is king and lady luck is queen. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

He appeared as a celebrity guest on many other game shows throughout his TV career, including I've Got a Secret, Password, To Tell the Truth, Match Game, and all pre-$100,000 versions of Pyramid. Cullen also hosted a number of pilots for his close friend, quiz producer Bob Stewart. who created Price, Truth and Password for Goodson-Todman and Pyramid for his own company. He is the only person to host each of these formats on a full- or part-time basis. Ive Got a Secret (abbreviated as IGAS) was a weekly panel game show produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman for CBS television and was created by Allan Sherman as essentially a knockoff of Whats My Line?. The original version of the show premiered in June 19, 1952... Although Password can be played without any equipment, commercial versions of the game have also been successful. ... Nipsey Russell, Peggy Cass, Bill Cullen and Kitty Carlisle from the 1969-78 version. ... The Match Game was an American television game show, most often hosted by Gene Rayburn. ... Pyramid is an American television game show where contestants tried to guess a series of words or phrases, based on descriptions that were given to them, in the shortest amount of time. ... Bob Stewart (1920 - ) is a former American television game show producer. ...

Achievements

Cullen was a pilot during World War II and was interested in mechanics. He did color commentary on college football games early in his career, and also broadcast track and field on NBC. On I've Got A Secret, the producers learned that if they wanted to keep the game going for a while, they would never start with Bill if it was anything sports-related or mechanical, because chances were good that he would guess it immediately. For other uses, see Aviator (disambiguation). ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... A college football game between Colorado State and Air Force. ... Athletics, also known as track and field or track and field athletics, is a collection of sport events. ... The National Broadcasting Company or NBC is an American television broadcasting company based in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ...

Personal life

Cullen was married three times. His first marriage was a brief one while still living in Pittsburgh. His second marriage was to singer Carol Ames from 1949 to 1955. On December 24, 1955, Cullen married former dancer and model Ann Roemheld Macomber; this marriage would endure until his death. Ann's father, Heinz Roemheld, was an Oscar-winning Hollywood composer and musician. Her sister, Mary Lou, was married for a number of years to Jack Narz, another game show host, who is the brother of another game show guru, and fellow Password Plus sub-host Tom Kennedy. Ann Cullen often appeared with Bill on the Goodson-Todman show Tattletales in the 70s and 80s. 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ... Year 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar). ... Jack Narz (born November 13, 1922, in Louisville, Kentucky), the elder brother of game show legend Tom Kennedy (Jim Narz) and the brother-in-law of another game show legend, the late Bill Cullen, is an American television announcer and game show host in his own right, who eluded the... Tom Kennedy (born James Narz February 16, 1927, in Louisville, Kentucky) is a television game show host who had his greatest fame in the 1960s and 1970s. ... Tattletales was a game show which first aired on the CBS daytime schedule on February 18, 1974. ...

Cullen died on July 7, 1990 of lung cancer at the age of 70. Even nine years after his death, Cullen was considered as a potential host for the American version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, according to the show's eventual host, Regis Philbin. Of course, this talk ended after the show's producers found out that Cullen was deceased. is the 188th day of the year (189th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ... Lung cancer is the malignant transformation and expansion of lung tissue, and is the most lethal of all cancers worldwide, responsible for 1. ... In the United States, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (also known simply as Millionaire) is a television game show which offers a maximum cash prize of one million dollars for correctly answering successive multiple-choice questions of increasing difficulty. ... Regis Francis Xavier Philbin (born August 25, 1931) is an Emmy Award-winning American television personality best known for his roles as a talk show host, game show host, singer and presenter at various events. ...

Honors

The Game Show Congress, a nonprofit association that seeks to promote the game show industry, annually presents the Bill Cullen Career Achievement Award to performers who have had distinguished careers in the genre. The first award in 2004 was given posthumously to Cullen himself, his widow Ann Cullen accepted.

External links

• Bill Cullen at the Internet Movie Database
• The Bill Cullen Homepage
• Game Show Utopia: Bill Cullen
• Game Show Congress web page on Bill Cullen award