Breaking News
Tom Kennedy — one of America’s most recognizable game show hosts … known for a slew of shows including “Name That Tune” — has died, according to his friend, Steve Beverly.
The cause of death is not known but Tom had been ill for several months.
The guy was a titan of television, having served as host of a number of hit game shows including “Split Second,” “You Don’t Say!” and of course … ‘NTT,’ which he hosted for a number of years in the ’70s and ’80s. Might we say … “Name That Tune” could be the best game show ever. Tom also hosted a syndicated version of “The Price Is Right’ … with Bob Barker handling daytime duties and Tom heading up the night shift.
There’s a lot more to his game show credits … Kennedy appeared on ‘Doctor I.Q.,’ ‘The Match Game,’ ‘It Takes Two,’ ‘It’s Your Bet,’ ‘Password,’ ‘Break the Bank,’ ‘Hollywood Squares,’ ‘To Say the Least,’ ‘Whew!,’ ‘Password Plus,’ ‘Wheel of Fortune,’ ‘Body Language,’ ‘Family Feud,’ ‘Wordplay,’ ‘Card Sharks,’ ‘Oh My Word,’ ‘The Big Game’ and many others.
He also served as an announcer for a bunch of projects, including Betty White’s early comedy series, ‘Date with Angels,’ as well as variety shows like ‘The Polka Parade,’ ‘Going, Going, Gone!’ and ‘About Faces.’ Kennedy tried his hand at traditional acting too — he starred in a bunch of one-off guest spots on shows like ‘That Girl,’ ‘Cannon,’ and ‘Hardcastle and McCormick.’
BTW, Kennedy was there to help give Kathie Lee Gifford (then Johnson) her first big breaks in TV — she was the ‘Name That Tune’ singer.
The legendary host is survived by several children, whom he shared with his late wife Betty Gevedon. He was 93.
RIP