Art James has died at the age of 74.

More details at the NY Times website article, at:

Art James Obit


Very sad, a nice man who I had the pleasure of working with at Game Show Network.

And, sadly, the last time he was on TV? The repeat of the infamous peanut butter episode on the Game Show Moments specials.

I always thought the 3 W's was a top-flight show, with plenty of strategy and good questions, and he did a good job. Didn't know he was living in Minnesota, tho.

I didn't think Pay Cards! was so bad...

R.I.P. Art James. : (

When Art was on the right show for his style, it made for pleasant viewing - Say When is among my favorite early memories. Pay Cards was fun, and wasn't too bad a quizmaster on WWW. He seemed to be put in a lot of shows where all you need is someone to keep the game moving and not hog the spotlight - which when the game is strong is just fine. He also wrote a couple of articles for TV Guide - one of them a tongue-in-cheek story about the trials and tribulations of having to explain your work to a clueless civil servant to collect that unemployment check between game show jobs. Thank you, Art. You are remembered warmly by many.

One of the shows Art hosted that I remember fondly was "Temptation." Also liked WWW and "Catch Phrase."

One thing I always admired about Art was that he realized that the game and the players were the stars of the show, not him. Not that he wasn't personable and a good stage presence and a good host -- he was all of these -- but he knew how to stay out of the way when needed. Many hosts, past and present, could have taken lessons from him on that point.


Brendan

I watched Super Pay Cards as a kid here in Canada in the early 80's, one of the shows I really enjoyed, along with It's your move and Mad Dash.

Call me crazy, but I actually liked Blank Check (except for that stupid audience game) and Magnificent Marble Machine. Of course I was only about 12 and liked almost every game show at that time....

R.I.P. Mr. James

My sympathies go out to Art's family. I remember Art most for his gig on Super Pay Cards. Whenever I was home sick from school I remember tuning in. Of course that means every time I saw Art I pretty much had a fever and congested head. I don't think I ever saw him while feeling well! But the simple fact that I still made an effort to watch the Guy as sick as I was goes to show you what a good host I felt he must of been. I'll Miss you Art. Thanks for making a simple Card Game look like so much fun!



John

My maternal grandmother was a contestant on The Who, What, or Where Game in 1970.

Art certainly was a good host, on just about all the shows he did. He was among my favorite hosts.

I live a very short distance from his childhood town of Dearborn, Michigan; and would sometimes hear his name mentioned on WJR radio, where he worked before moving to New York to be announcer on Concentration. I think he could've been a good successor for Hugh Downs on the show, but Bob Clayton did a terrific job himself.

God's speed, Art James! You'll truly be missed!

This article mentions that his last show was FF Challenge in 1992...did Art sub-announce for Gene? I don't remember anyone but Gene doing Combs era Feud.

ITSBRY
itsbry@juno.com

I may have mentioned this before, but Art James was one of the first game show hosts I can recall watching. I first saw him when he was hosting Concentration sometime in the mid-60s. (Well, I was only a toddler then!) But to me, his BEST hosting gig will always be The Who, What or Where Game.

Another thing, Art James was one of the few 'heartthrob' hosts of that period between the quiz show scandals and Chuck Barris. He, Narz, Ludden, Kennedy, Rayburn, Hall, Fleming (who was often mistaken for James), and possibly Johnny Gilbert all kinda picked up where March and DeWitt left off; and thus paving the way for all those Martindales, Langes, Malones, Eubankses, Marshalls, Thaxtons, and Darrows who came along in the second half of the 1960s.

I'll miss you, Art..... (SOB)

Cordially,
Tammy Warner--the 'Janice Pennington of the Big Board!'

An excerpt from Steve Ryan's "CC" Book:

When Art James speaks of "Concentration". He remembers it fondly with a smile and a tear in his eye

I think whenever we speak of Art James, we will also remember him fondly with a smile and a tear in our eyes.

You did good work Art, I'm sure Bob Clayton is looking foreward to greeting you again.
-Joe R.

I always enjoyed Art's GS work...his hosting style was best suited to straight Q&A, but his comedic abilities served him well on other shows, and having had the privilege to personally speak w/him when he called us at GSC8 in 1998, it seemed as though he hadn't lost a beat, sharing humorous anecdoted and behind-the-scenes tidbits as if we were old friends.

RIP, Art...you were a fine host, and will be missed by everyone on this board, as well as GS fans everywhere. :-(

Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")

Art James could turn a cheesy show into something more.

One of the shows that is almost never mentioned is a very cheap show called "The Shopping Game" which aired on an almost-unheard-of cable channel called SPN in the early 1980's. It was a Nicholson-Muir Production, and it was taped in Nashville with Elyse Brown as his announcer and co-host. Robair may have some tape of this rare show in his archives. But with Art James hosting, it was indeed passable.

We enjoyed watching him on "Say When!" and 3W's in the 60's, and "Pay Cards" (the original Cincinnati version) was a fine show.

Add me to the list of those saddened by Art James' passing. I always liked his work, especially because he was New York-based during much of his career. He also hosted It's Academic in the New York market only for several years in the late '60s.

He was also nice enough to reply to an e-mail query I sent a few years back -- as with many of the game show personalities who've been kind enough to write to me over the years, I should have kept up the correspondance, but there seems such a fine line between friendly and annoying when it comes to fans of a particular show or genre, and I felt it was best to err on the side of caution. It's moments like this that make me wish I hadn't been so reticent.

RIP, Art.

I send my condolences as well.

My favorite Art James games; Who What or Where, Blank Check, Magnificent Marble Machine (if Nick Clooney didn't move to LA), Super Pay Cards & Catch Phrase.

If MMM had been a hit, I always imagined that game centers all over malls would have the arcade version of Magnificent Marble Machine.

He will be missed by the game show community.

My thoughts and prayers go to Art's family in this time of loss. Art was one of those honest game show hosts who always brought class to anything he did.
I strongly remember "Temptation" on ABC, where Art wore a tuxedo on just about every episode. That was a fun show, even though it did not last that long.
Also "Say When" was a lot of fun when I was a child, and the "3W's" is a mini-classic, a perfect companion to "Jeopardy" for five years on NBC. Plus "Pay Cards" and its remake were a lot of fun as well.
He was also a very good announcer. One of the shows people forget he did some announcing on was "Sports Challenge", but of course his voice for the original "Concentration" began his career. He will sorely be missed by the game show community.

Very sad news indeed. It's ironic too, I was just looking at a website the other day, which had a picture of 3 hosts playing on the original "Jeopardy!". Bill Cullen, Peter Marshall were 2 of the contestants, and somewhat behind Art Fleming was Art James behind him. Now just 2 days later, this sad news. Very sudden it would seem indeed.

Art Fleming, Art Carney & Art James, 3 "Fine Arts" who all left an indelible mark in my memories.

I think to honor Mr. James' untimely passing, I will play a round of Super Pay Cards at the flashgame site now.

Regards,
Bill McD.

Wow. That is pretty sad. For a moment, I thought this was a really dumb [and tasteless...] April Fool's joke, but it isn't. I personally haven't experienced much of his work, outside of "Mallrats", his "Feud" substitute announce job, and his classic "Say When" flub.

>> One of the shows that is almost never mentioned is a very cheap show called "The Shopping Game" which aired on an almost-unheard-of cable channel called SPN in the early 1980's. It was a Nicholson-Muir Production, and it was taped in Nashville with Elyse Brown as his announcer and co-host.
I think Brad Francini has this one somewhere---I remember seeing a pic from the show on gscentral.net long ago [along with some from other rare shows, and the Canadian show "Headline Hunters"]

I got an episode of "Temptation" a few years back and I was blown away by his finesse and his utter cool. No other host of the 60's could do that.

I have to agree with the brother unit and say that sure, he hosted some shows that proved to be clinkers, but dammit, they were his clinkers and he was sure proud of them. And "Marble Machine" stands tall as the game show world's everlasting gift to us pinball freaks who stand at the machines and wish they could pay money like in the 30's again.

Nobody's touched on his contributions to the game show world in one way...with his own company having staged game shows for corporate get-togethers and motivational purposes. I'm sure he was as personable with stodgy executives as he was with those folks in TV-land.

Art James will be missed.

My favorite Art James show was The Who, What or Where Game.

R.I.P., Art. :(

I have the home version of the 3W's board game and enjoyed playing it for many years with friends and family. When I was younger I used to hold a microphone from my tape recorder to the television and record opens & closes for shows. One I remember vividly was the 3Ws when the music ran out at the end of the show, the audience kept clapping for what seemed like an endless time. I agree with the brotherhood when saying Art was a cordial host who never got in the way of the game and was always pleasant.

massman, seeing how you were around 12 at the time, we won't call you crazy. I'd bet most all of us game show fans as kids loved 98% of the shows, no matter how bad we found they were later, because, doggone, they were our kind of show! I know I did! I remember building home game models of nearly every show Milton Bradley, Parker or Pressman didn't pounce on - including Blank Check - and today I look back at them and say, "Did I really like this show???" Needless to say, I've thinned a lot of them out as times and tastes have changed, and only a few get heavy play - I take Chain Reaction or Every Second Counts to a lot of parties and we have a great time. I think breaking out Blankety Blanks today would send guests back to the punch bowl - but I didn't back then....

This is a very sad day. I was just watching a couple of his shows to remember how good he actually was. I can't stand so many of the "popular" hosts because of the phony attitude they exude but he was real. He let the contestants be the "star", as it should be. I've got several old Minneapolis "Star-Tribune" articles that were written about him during the 1990's I'll try to put up on my site in case anyone is interested. Check out the "links".

http://www.shawnwilsie.tv

-Shawn

I hate to admit it but, Magnificent Marble Machine got me hooked on pinball games starting around 1977 or so. Since then, I always keep an eye out for pinball games whether it be at arcades or on a videogame.

RIP: Art James

Art called us at GSC8 about 5 years ago. He was a very kind man.
Mary Lou Basaraba had written a letter to Chuck Donegan, talking about her being stalked at some point during her stint on SPC. When we asked Art James about that, he commented, jokingly "That was ME!"

He also said that the staffers of Blank Check called the show "Blank Mind" due to its simplicity.

Art commented he really liked Catch Phrase and thought it deserved a longer run.

I just happened to think, I once had a small portion of audio of Art James from a 1967 "Matches N' Mates" ep on an old open-reel tape, but I'm positive it got erased a long time ago. It was from the same reel as the "Snap Judgment" open I included as a sound file on my KCIT-TV 50 page, and unless I recorded over it myself for some reason back then, the reason it *did* get wiped out--along with all but the last 10-15 minutes of that reel, is too sad for words.

It went something like this: "Well thank you for being with us today on 'M-M-M-M-M-M-Ma-Ma-Matches N' Mates' (audience laughs) and you've just heard our announcer for today, Bob McLain...", then the closing theme.

I remember hearing Jack say that, too..only in a later episode, Art accidentally misread a piece of plug copy, and Jack came back immediately after the plug with,
"Well said, Art!" in a very sarcastic tone. It wasn't much later that Art was gone. It was the last memory I have of hearing Art, and I felt bad it was on a down note. For Jack to blow his cool on the air like that, it kinda gave me the impression there had been other problems that had somehow been kept behind the scenes. it even had me wondering about Art's personal state at the time. Thanks for the earlier posts that mention he made up for whatever the deal was with later jobs.

oh - and for what it's worth about the WWW being a Joker category, it could have been an inside joke or a suggestion by the ex-producer himself. Ron Greenberg was employed by B&E when I went to visit in '79 and was seen in audience shots on Percentages in 80. Don't know when he left.

yes, indeed it was. And that instant response from Jack surprised me. I thought most of those plug clips were pre-recorded and inserted in editing. I caught a week of Joker tapings in November of 79, and Bob Hilton was handling the warm-ups and announcing. I don't remember hearing any live reads going back into programming - however, at the end of one of the shows, someone on the floor muttered that "ol' fumble-tongue" struck again and a show end credit had to be recorded again for post. Several posters around here have mentioned how cheap B&E liked to run. So you spend a couple of extra bucks after someone makes a human mistake. Why beat up on the guys? Is a small fix in post really that expensive?