- Art Fleming
Art Fleming (
May 1 1924 -April 25 1995 ) was an American television host, most notably the original host of the TVgame show "Jeopardy! "Biography
Early life
Fleming was born Arthur Fleming Fazzin in
New York City . His parents, William andMarie Fazzin , had emigrated to theUnited States fromAustria . They were a popular dance team inEurope and had brought their show to the U.S. Fleming (who stood 6 foot, 4 inches tall and weighed 220 pounds) was a varsity letterman football player at James Monroe High School inNew York . He later attended Colgate and Cornell universities, starring on the football andwater polo teams at both colleges. Fleming was aWorld War II veteran who served in the U.S. Navy for three and a half years as the pilot of apatrol bomber in the Atlantic.Career
After leaving the Navy, Fleming became an
announcer at aradio station in Rocky Mount,North Carolina . It was here that he first shortened his name to "Art Fleming." His radio career would later take him to Akron,Ohio , and back home toNew York . He was the first announcer to deliver the popularslogan "Winston tastes good, like a cigarette should " for Winstoncigarette s.From 1979 to 1992, Fleming hosted a daily radio talk show on
KMOX in St. Louis. On Sunday evenings, he occasionally co-hosted "Trivia Spectacular" with David Strauss. He also hosted the syndicated radio program "When Radio Was ".Fleming's acting career began at age four, when he starred in a Broadway play. His first
television role was as astunt double forRalph Bellamy in the detective series "Man Against Crime ". He would later star in "The Flying Tigers ", "The Californians ", and "International Detective ".Fleming also appeared in many
television commercial s. He was first spotted by legendary creator of TV showsMerv Griffin on a commercial forTrans World Airlines . Griffin thought Fleming was "authoritative, yet warm and interesting," and Fleming was invited to audition for the role of host in a new quiz show Griffin was developing. Fleming (an actor with no prior TV quiz show experience) was initially skeptical, but his agent encouraged him to "act like a game show host" at his audition and Fleming ultimately won the job. The show was "Jeopardy! ", which Fleming hosted from 1964 to 1975 and again fromOctober 2 ,1978 , toMarch 2 ,1979 . As the first host of "the world's greatest quiz show," Fleming earned twoEmmy Award nominations. While he was host of "Jeopardy!", Fleming never missed a taping.Because he hosted a quiz show, Fleming earned a reputation as being a storehouse of trivia. While appearing as a guest star on "
Hollywood Squares " (another popular NBC game show in the 1960s and 1970s), Fleming was once selected as the "secret square." His question was, "In 1938, who won the Wimbledon women's tennis championship?" Fleming picked Helen Wills Moody, one of the three choices read to him. The female contestant (who had selected Fleming) turned to "Hollywood Squares" MC Peter Marshall and said, "Art Fleming would never lie! I agree!" He was right, and the contestant won $11,000. Fleming later said he didn't know a thing about tennis and had guessed the answer. He hoped the contestant would disagree, thinking he was wrong.Throughout his career, Fleming starred in 5000 episodes of
television programs and 48 motion pictures. After "Jeopardy!" was canceled in 1975, Fleming returned to acting. He played the role ofW. Averell Harriman in the movie "MacArthur" and also appeared on episodes of "Starsky and Hutch ", "", and the TVminiseries "The Moneychangers ".He also hosted a radio version of "
College Bowl " forCBS . Fleming reprised his role as host of "Jeopardy!" in the movie "Airplane II " and in"Weird Al" Yankovic 's music video "I Lost on Jeopardy ". Fleming was also often called upon to host mock versions of "Jeopardy!" at trade shows and conventions.Personal life
Art had one wife, Becky (Rebecca) Fleming, and two step-children, Kimberly and Timothy. He also had four grandchildren, Matthew, Nathan, and Adam Woodring and Madeleine Fleming. Madeleine aspires to become a famous pastry chef, and someday have her own show, like her grandpa. In 1992, Fleming retired and moved with his wife Becky Fleming (now Becky Tabler) to
Crystal River ,Florida . He remained active in charity work, hostingfundraising videos for theCitrus County (Florida ) United Way and becoming involved with theCitrus Abuse Shelter Association (where his wife Becky served as director). He also hosted a syndicated television program called Senior America. It showcased seniors and senior activities.Death and Dedication
Fleming died of
pancreatic cancer at his home in Crystal River onApril 25 ,1995 .Studio 25 of the
NBC Burbank Studios is named in his honor.External links
*imdb name|id=0281601|name=Art Fleming
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.