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Art Linkletter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Art Linkletter (born Gordon Arthur Kelly on July 17, 1912 in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan), was the host of two of the longest-running shows in United States broadcast history: House Party, which ran on CBS radio and television for 25 years, and People Are Funny, on NBC radio-TV for 19 years. Linkletter was famous for interviewing children on House Party and Kids Say the Darndest Things, which led to a successful series of books quoting children.
In his autobiography, Confessions of a Happy Man (1960), Linkletter revealed that he had had no contact with his natural parents or his sister or two brothers since he was abandoned when only a few weeks old. He was adopted by Mary and John Linkletter, an evangelical preacher. Later moving to the United States, he graduated from San Diego State University (SDSU) where he was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity.
He has had one of the longest marriages of any celebrity in America. He married Lois Foerster on November 25, 1935 and they had five children: Arthur Jack (also a TV host), Dawn, Robert, Sharon and Diane. He was a good friend of Walt Disney. It might be coincidence, but Walt Disney's children, who arrived first, were also named Sharon and Diane.
He lost two of his children to violent death. His 20-year-old daughter, Diane Linkletter, died on October 4, 1969 by jumping out of her sixth floor kitchen window. Art Linkletter believed that she committed suicide because she was on, or having a flashback from a LSD trip. However, toxicology tests done after the incident detected no signs of LSD use, and it is quite likely that the drug played no part in her suicide [1]. Linkletter speaks out against drugs to prevent children from straying into a drug habit. His record, We Love You Call Collect, recorded before her death, featured a discussion about permissiveness in modern society. It featured a rebuttal by Diane, called "Dear Mom and Dad." The record won a 1970 Grammy award for the "Best Spoken Word Recording".
His son Robert died in an automobile accident.
In 1963 Art Linkletter became the spokesman for Milton Bradley's Game of Life. His picture appeared on the box and on the $100,000 bills.
He recently opened the Happiest Homecoming on Earth celebrations for the fiftieth anniversary of Disneyland, when aged 93. Half a century earlier, he commentated on the opening day celebrations in 1955.
Linkletter was once a spokesperson for National Home Life, an insurance company. In recent years, Linkletter, a conservative Republican, has become a political organizer and a spokesman for the United Seniors Association. He is currently the spokesman for USA Next, a conservative alternative to the AARP. He received a lifetime achievement Daytime Emmy award in 2003.