Bob Clayton

Bob Clayton (August 17, 1922 in Atlanta, Georgia – November 1, 1979 in New York City) was an American television game show announcer and host of several shows. He spent his early television career hosting shows in Miami, Fla. before moving to New York in the 1960s.

Career

After his first national hosting job on the game "Make a Face" (ABC, 1961-1962), Clayton assumed announcing duties on the long-running NBC game "Concentration" in 1963, and took over hosting duties on the show in January 1969 as successor from original emcee Hugh Downs. He was suddenly replaced in March 1969 by Ed McMahon, but was later returned in September 1969 after viewer outrage and declining audience ratings experienced by the show. Wayne Howell replaced Clayton in the announcer's booth; Clayton remained on the show until its 1973 cancellation.

Later work

Afterwards, Clayton served as announcer on several shows created by Bob Stewart, including the "Pyramid" series of games, beginning with CBS' "The $10,000 Pyramid" in 1973. In an interesting coincidence, "Pyramid" debuted on the Monday (March 26) after "Concentration" left the airwaves, and furthermore, "Pyramid" aired at the same timeslot on CBS, 10:30 a.m./9:30 Central, that "Concentration" held on NBC. Other Stewart shows he did included "Shoot for the Stars" and "Pass the Buck."

Death

Clayton, a heavy smoker, died at age 57 of cardiac arrest on November 1, 1979. Steve O'Brien, a New York disc jockey, took over "Pyramid", and he and Alan Kalter would announce the show for the remainder of its days in New York, particularly towards the end of its daytime network run on ABC-TV as "The $20,000 Pyramid" in 1980, and finally in first-run syndication as "The $50,000 Pyramid" until 1981.

References

* "The Encyclopedia Of TV Game Shows, Third Edition" by David Schwartz, Steve Ryan, and Fred Wostbrock (1999) Published by Checkmark Books, an imprint of Facts on File.