Jim Perry (television)
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James Edward Perry (born November 11, 1934, in Camden, New Jersey) is a former television game show host, singer and performer in the 1970s and 1980s. He has often been mistaken for Great Britain's Prince Charles, whom he remarkably resembles facially, and has been seen mostly on Canadian television.
Originally starting out in comedy working with Sid Caesar as his straight man for several years (which included a three-year stint with Caesar in Las Vegas), Jim Perry became a popular game show host in Canada in the early 1970s after a stint as an overnight DJ on radio station WABC in New York. His first effort in Canada was the popular game show Fractured Phrases, and afterwards presided over several other game shows, including Eye Bet and Money Makers -- the latter also airing on syndicated television in some markets across the United States. Perry also worked as a singer (under the stage name Jim Dooley), working on Armed Forces Radio during the Korean War as well as a stage singer at Grossingers in the New York Catskill Mountains, where he also served as a host. Jim also served as an announcer for The Joan Rivers Show, a short-lived two month series that aired in 1969 on syndicated television.
In 1973, Perry became host of the CTV game show Definition (replacing original host Bob McLean), a pre-Wheel of Fortune series which was the longest running game show in Canadian Television history, lasting until 1990. Perry also hosted another long-running game show, Headline Hunters, which lasted from 1972 until 1981, with a year of repeats the following year.
In addition, Jim presided as emcee of the annual Miss Canada Pageant, a job he held from 1967 until 1990, about the same length of time his U.S. counterpart Bob Barker presided over the Miss USA Pageant on CBS. Like Bert Parks in the United States, Perry would sing the pageant's closing song, The fairest girl in Canada soon after the new Miss Canada was crowned.
While hosting the Miss Canada pageant, during a commercial break, a female protester in the 1970s hit Perry with a placard, claiming that the pageant was sexist. Amazingly, Perry, who was shaken from the incident, regained his composure and continued on with the broadcast as if nothing happened.
Perry's first major American network hosting tenure came in 1967, with a short-lived charades-type game called "It's Your Move." The series however was produced in Canada for ABC television in the United States. Another game show also produced in Canada for syndicated TV in the U.S., "Money Makers" (a game based on Bingo), aired in 1969, originally titled Bingo at Home, in which contestants and home viewers had a chance to win money (albeit less than $100).
His biggest break in his native United States came in 1978 when NBC and Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions casted him for their new show Card Sharks. Perry hosted the entire NBC version and the two pilots that preceded the series, airing from April 24, 1978 until October 23, 1981.
Jim also hosted two game show pilots that never made it to television: Casino in 1981 (from Heatter-Quigley Productions), a game show combining elements of High Rollers, Gambit and The Joker's Wild; and Twisters in 1982, which was similar in format to Jackpot and was produced by Bob Stewart Productions.
In 1982, NBC named Perry host of $ale of the Century, a revived version of the 1969-1973 series, airing from January 3, 1983 until March 24, 1989 (the same day Super Password ended its run), including the syndicated version which aired from January 1985 until September 1986. For more than six seasons, he presided over the fast-paced Q&A game. His style and sensational salesmanship helped to make the show a big hit for the network in the last golden era of game shows, and made Perry one of the top game show personalities of the 1980s in the United States. Not forgetting the time he spent with Sid Caesar, Perry would often tell jokes related to some of the questions asked on $ale.
As the result of his successful work in both the United States and Canada, Jim spent over a decade commuting between Southern California and Toronto, Ontario (except between late-1981 and late-1982). By hosting Card Sharks in the United States and Definition and Headline Hunters in Canada, Perry in 1978 became the first game show host in the industry to emcee game shows concurrently on both sides of the U.S.-Canadian border. Two other hosts would follow: Canadian-born host Alex Trebek is the second to do so in 1981, hosting Pitfall and Battlestars at the same time; followed by Geoff Edwards in 1989, as host of Jackpot and Chain Reaction. Wink Martindale, Art James, Robin Ward, Mike Darrow, Monty Hall and Jack Narz also hosted game shows in Canada and the U.S. but not at the same time. Although Jim was born in the United States, he had relatives in Canada, therefore it was not necessary for him to have a co-host, since all Canadian programs must have at least one person on camera who is Canadian or has ties to the country in some way.[[Citing sources citation needed]]
Perry and Trebek also hold the distinction of hosting three different game shows simultaneously. As noted before, Perry pulled the Card Sharks/Definition/Headline Hunters triple hosting duty, while Trebek helmed Jeopardy!, Classic Concentration, and the 1990 revival of To Tell the Truth at one point in 1991. In total, Jim Perry hosted approximately ten different game shows (including unsold pilots) in a career that spanned about 25 years. He was also involved in charitable causes and was a regular host of the annual Telemiracle telethon in Saskatchewan for many years in support of the Kinsmen Clubs in that province. His daughter Erin also appeared on several of these telethons, and on one occasion, performed a song together.
Jim, now in his early-70s, is retired from the game show industry and lives with his wife June in Florida. In recent years he authored two self-awareness books, and appeared in a few infomercials. His last television appearance was on CNBC in the late-1990s to discuss one of his books.
Perry is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and was at one time an outstanding basketball player in high school thanks in part to his height (at 6'4").
His son, Sean Perry, who like his father is 6'4" tall, is a television producer and owner of a Beverly Hills-based talent agency. Sean was in charge of production for the most recent version of The Hollywood Squares and has worked on other television programs over the past decade, including ABC's Extreme Makeover.
Jim's daughter, Erin Perry, worked with Bob Stewart Productions as an associate producer to The $25,000 Pyramid, and also served with Pat Finn's production company In-Finn-ity Productions as its vice-president. She is now living in Europe as a popular singer and songwriter, working as a back-up singer for several European artists including Paul Young, and since 2005 having the lead role in the European musical hit Kosmic Blues, a tribute to the late Janis Joplin. She also fronts her own band, The Erin Perry Band.
Jim also appeared as a celebrity player on Wheel of Fortune, Password Plus and Family Feud.
Perry is also known for many of his familiar catch-phrases:
- You're among friends -- a phrase he used many times to ease the nervousness of contestants.
- Took a chance and it paid off -- a player taking a gamble on a guess or going against the odds on a card on Card Sharks, or it did not pay off if the gamble goes awry.
- We crowned a brand new champion -- a phrase he took from Jack Barry which is self-explanatory.
- We'll be back right after this commercial time-out -- a tag-line he used more often on Sale of the Century, signaling a commercial break.
- You're right for another five -- on Sale when a player answers a question correctly earning that player $5.
- Way to go! -- When a player comes up with a big win.
- We start the speedround...now! -- on Sale of the Century signaling the start of its final question segment.
- I love ties -- during a instant bargain on Sale of the Century.
- Going ONCE... Going TWICE... No sale! -- on Sale when a player decides not to take the Instant Bargain.
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