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{{short description|American actor and television host (1924–1995)}} | |||
'''Art Fleming''' (], ] – ], ]) was born '''Arthur Fleming Fazzin''' in ]. His parents, ] and ], had emigrated to the ] from ]. They were a popular dance team in ] and had brought their show to the U.S. | |||
{{for|persons of a similar name|Arthur Fleming (disambiguation)}} | |||
==Education== | |||
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2021}} | |||
Fleming (who stood 6 foot, 4 inches tall and weighed 220 pounds) was a varsity letterman football player at ] in ]. He later attended ] and ] Universities, starring on the ] and ] teams at both colleges. | |||
{{Infobox person | |||
| name = Art Fleming | |||
| image = Art Fleming in 1970.png | |||
| caption = Fleming in August 1970 | |||
| birthname = Arthur Fleming Fazzin | |||
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1924|5|1}} | |||
| birth_place = New York City, U.S. | |||
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1995|4|25|1924|5|1}} | |||
| death_place = ], U.S. | |||
| known_for = Original host of '']'' | |||
| occupation = {{Hlist|Television host|radio host|actor}} | |||
| yearsactive = 1949–1992 | |||
| spouse(s) = {{unbulleted list|{{marriage|Mildred Goodrich|1946|1954|reason=divorce}}{{marriage|Peggy Ann Ellis|1954|1972|reason=divorced}}|{{marriage|Becky Weaver|1977}}}} | |||
}} | |||
'''Arthur Fleming Fazzin''' (May 1, 1924 – April 25, 1995) was an American actor and television host. He hosted the first version of the television ] '']'', which aired on ] from 1964 until 1975 and again from 1978 to 1979. | |||
==Military service== | |||
Fleming was a ] veteran who served in the ] for three and a half years as the ] of a ] in the ]. | |||
== |
==Early life== | ||
Fleming was born in ].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ancestry.ca/sharing/29823790?h=c2dcd6 | title=Arthur Volk Fazzini discovered in U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 }}</ref> His parents, William and Marie Fazzin, had immigrated to the ] from ]. They were a popular dance team in ] and brought their show to America. Their son Art was a varsity letterman football player at ] in ],<ref name="jeopardy.edogo"></ref> standing {{convert|6|ft|4|in|m}}, weighing {{convert|220|lb|kg}}. He later attended ] and ] Universities,<ref name="jeopardy.edogo" /> starring on the ] team, as well as the ] teams at both colleges. Fleming was a ] veteran who served in the ] for three and a half years as the ] of a ] in the ].<ref name="jeopardy.edogo" /> | |||
After leaving the Navy, Fleming became an ] at a ] in ], ]. It was here that he first shortened his name to "Art Fleming." His radio career would later take him to ], ], and back home to ]. He was the first announcer to deliver the popular ], "]", for ] ]s. | |||
==Career== | |||
From ] to ], Fleming hosted a daily ] on ] in ]. On Sunday evenings, he occasionaly co-hosted ''Trivia Spectacular'' with David Strauss. He also hosted the syndicated radio program '']''. | |||
After leaving the navy, Fleming became an ] at a ] in ], ]. Here, he changed his name to "Art Fleming". His radio career later took him to ], and back home to New York. He was the first announcer to deliver the ] "]" for ] ]s.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Fisher|first1=Marc|title=A Host of Questions: Art Fleming of Jeopardy!|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1995/04/26/a-host-of-questions-art-fleming-of-jeopardy/f79b0afc-be14-4f07-8fd0-9fe515bdc061/|access-date=January 29, 2021|date=April 26, 1995|newspaper=]}}</ref> | |||
], ], ], and Fleming]] | |||
Fleming's acting career began at age four, when he appeared in a ] musical.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Baber |first1=David |title=Television Game Show Hosts: Biographies of 32 Stars |date=2015 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-0480-0 |page=97 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VbrwCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA97 |access-date=January 29, 2021 |language=en}}</ref> His first ] role was as a ] for ] in the detective series '']''. In 1959 he starred as detective Ken Franklin in the ] TV series '']'', credited as Arthur Fleming. He also played ] Jeremy Pitt in '']'', an ] ] set in ] during the gold rush of the 1850s. | |||
==Television career== | |||
Fleming's acting career began at age four, when he starred in a ] play. His first ] role was as a ] for ] in the detective series ]. He would later star in ], ], and ]. | |||
Fleming also appeared in many ]s. He was first spotted by ] on a commercial for ]. Griffin thought Fleming was "authoritative, yet warm and interesting |
Fleming also appeared in many ]s, in addition to anchoring the eleven o’clock news on ].<ref>Rogak, Lisa, Who is Alex Trebek?: A Biography, Thomas Dunne Books, 2020, p. 72.</ref> He was first spotted by ] on a commercial for ]. Griffin thought Fleming was "authoritative, yet warm and interesting", and Fleming was invited to audition to be the host of Griffin's new game show '']''. Fleming won the job, and hosted the show during its original run of March 30, 1964, to January 3, 1975,<ref>David Schwartz, Steve Ryan & Fred Wostbrock, ''The Encyclopedia of TV Game $hows'', Checkmark Books, 1999, pp. 112–115.</ref> and again from October 2, 1978, to March 2, 1979. Rather than describe him as the "host" of the program, announcer ] introduced him by saying, "and here's the star of Jeopardy!, Art Fleming". Fleming would immediately return the favor and thank Pardo during his introduction. As "the world's greatest quiz show's" first host, Fleming earned two ] nominations. While he was host of ''Jeopardy!'', Fleming never missed a taping. | ||
Because he hosted a |
Because he hosted a quiz show, and in part because he was an avid reader with multiple college degrees, Fleming earned a reputation as being a storehouse of trivia. While appearing as a guest star on '']'' (another 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 ], one of the three choices read to him. The female contestant (who had selected Fleming) turned to ''Hollywood Squares'' MC ], saying, "Art Fleming would never lie! I agree!" He was right, and the contestant won $11,000. Fleming later said he did not 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 5,000 episodes of |
Throughout his career, Fleming starred in about 5,000 episodes of television programs and 48 motion pictures. After ''Jeopardy!'s'' first cancellation in 1975, Fleming returned to acting. In 1977 he played the role of ] in the movie '']'' starring ], and appeared in the comedy film ''American Raspberry'', and also appeared in episodes of '']'', '']'', and the 1976 TV ] '']''. | ||
Fleming also hosted a radio version of '']'' for ] from 1979 to 1982. He hosted the NBC radio weekend magazine ''Monitor'' during 1972. Fleming reprised his role as host of ''Jeopardy!'' in the 1982 movie '']'' and in ]'s music video "]". Fleming was also often called upon to host mock versions of ''Jeopardy!'' at ] and conventions. | |||
==Later life== | |||
In ], Fleming retired and moved with his wife to ], ]. He remained active in ], hosting ] videos for the ] (]) ] and becoming involved with the ] (where his wife served as director). | |||
Fleming declined an offer to reprise his role as ''Jeopardy!'' host when Merv Griffin began developing a revival of the show in 1983.<ref name=laterinterview>, early 1990s, posted by ] on ].</ref> As a result, ] (a personal friend of Fleming's)<ref name=perception> interview with Art Fleming, 1987.</ref> took the position instead and continued to host the program until his death in 2020.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/alex-trebek-dead-dies-longtime-host-of-jeopardy-1234825564/|title=Alex Trebek, Revered Host of 'Jeopardy!' for 36 Years, Dies at 80|access-date=April 11, 2022|date=November 8, 2020|last=Dagan|first=Carmel|work=Variety}}</ref> In interviews conducted in the early years of the Trebek version, he stated that he disliked the show's new direction and the various changes that the revival's producers had made. He disapproved of moving production from his native New York to Los Angeles, suggesting to a ''Sports Illustrated'' journalist in 1989 that filming in California made the show feel superficial and anti-intellectual: | |||
Art Fleming died of ] at his home in ] on ], ], six days shy of his 71st birthday. | |||
{{blockquote|text= hates the glitz, the polish. "It's not part of the real world." he says, "it's part of Hollywood." | |||
In his day, the show was filmed in Manhattan. "People are more intelligent in New York," says Fleming, a native of the Bronx. "New Yorkers are alive, with-it. They know what's going on in the world. In California there's no mental stimulation. A typical conversation consists of 'I've got a new diet. How's your tennis game? Are those clothes from Gucci?' And then you look at each other."|author=Franz Lidz|title="What is Jeopardy!"|source=''Sports Illustrated'' (May 1, 1989)}}<ref name="autogenerated89">, 05.01.89 – ''Sports Illustrated''</ref> | |||
{{start box}} | |||
{{succession box | title=Host of '']''| before=None | after=]| years=1964–1975 and 1978–1979 }} | |||
{{end box}} | |||
He also claimed that the new show was too easy and he feuded publicly with the staff of the modern ''Jeopardy!'' over the nature of the clues, as he believed that the writers were inserting hints into the clues to make the correct response seem obvious and easy to guess.<ref name=laterinterview/> | |||
==External link== | |||
*{{imdb name|id=0281601|name=Art Fleming}} | |||
From 1979 to until his retirement in 1992, Fleming hosted a daily ] on ] in ].<ref name="jeopardy.edogo" /><ref name=perception/> On Sunday evenings, he occasionally co-hosted ''Trivia Spectacular'' with David Strauss, a St. Louis schoolteacher.<ref name=perception/> He also hosted the syndicated radio program '']'', as well as two installments of the PBS science program ] as part of the National Science Test, where a studio audience tested their knowledge of science against a celebrity panel.<ref>Baber, David. Television Game Show Hosts: Biographies of 32 Stars. McFarland: Jefferson, North Carolina, 2008, page 101.</ref> | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
==Personal life== | |||
] | |||
Fleming married Mildred Goodrich in 1946 in North Carolina.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ancestry.ca/sharing/29822728?h=ddcf58 | title=Arthur Fazzin discovered in North Carolina, U.S., Marriage Records, 1741-2011 }}</ref> They had a daughter Jan.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ancestry.ca/sharing/29823757?h=ebd3e0 | title=Discovered in 1950 United States Federal Census }}</ref> In 1954 he married actress Peggy Ann Ellis, who worked on '']''. Fleming denied having any children in a 1974 interview, conducted after his divorce from Ellis.<ref name=daytimeinterview> from ''Daytime TV'' magazine, July 1974</ref> Despite insisting he would never marry again after his divorce from Ellis,<ref name=daytimeinterview/> Fleming married Becky Lynn in a private ceremony at Norman Vincent Peale's home. He soon adopted Becky's two children from a prior marriage. Together they had five grandchildren. In 1992, Fleming retired and the family moved to ]. He remained active in ]: he hosted ] videos for the ] ] and became involved with the Citrus County Abuse Shelter Association, Inc. (where Becky served as director). He also hosted a syndicated television program, called ''Senior America'', which showcased seniors and senior activities. | |||
==Death== | |||
Fleming died of ] on April 25, 1995, at age 70, at his home in Florida.<ref name="Los Angeles Times">{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-04-26-mn-58996-story.html|title=Art Fleming, 70; Original Host of 'Jeopardy!' TV Game Show|website=]|date=April 26, 1995|accessdate=September 28, 2022}}</ref> According to his obituary in the '']'', he had been diagnosed with cancer two weeks before his death.<ref name="Los Angeles Times"/> He was cremated and his ashes were scattered at sea.<ref name=nyt>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/27/obituaries/art-fleming-70-television-host-who-gave-polish-to-jeopardy.html|title=Art Fleming, 70, Television Host Who Gave Polish to 'Jeopardy!'|date=April 27, 1995|first=Rober Mcg.|last=Thomas Jr.|work=]}}</ref> | |||
==Partial filmography== | |||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
|- | |||
! Year | |||
! Title | |||
! Role | |||
! Notes | |||
|- | |||
|1957|| '']'' || Jack - Mounted Cop || | |||
|- | |||
|1959|| '']'' || Mounted Policeman || Uncredited | |||
|- | |||
|1977|| ''American Raspberry'' || Colonel Grant || | |||
|- | |||
|1977|| '']'' || W. Averell Harriman || | |||
|- | |||
|1982|| '']'' || Himself || | |||
|} | |||
{{Portal|Biography|New York City|Los Angeles|Ohio|United States|Florida|Radio|Television}} | |||
==Sources== | |||
{{Reflist}} | |||
==External links== | |||
{{Commons category|Art Fleming}} | |||
*{{IMDb name|id=0281601}} | |||
{{Jeopardy!}} | |||
{{S-start}} | |||
{{s-media}} | |||
{{Succession box| title=Host of '']'' |years=1964–1975, 1978–1979 |before=Position created |after=]}} | |||
{{succession box | title='']'' host| before=] | after=] <BR> ''1984 Televised Semifinals and Finals''| years=1978–1979 (Televised Semifinals and Finals)}} | |||
{{s-end}} | |||
{{Authority control}} | |||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fleming, Art}} | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
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] | |||
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Latest revision as of 07:35, 6 November 2024
American actor and television host (1924–1995) For persons of a similar name, see Arthur Fleming (disambiguation).
Art Fleming | |
---|---|
Fleming in August 1970 | |
Born | Arthur Fleming Fazzin (1924-05-01)May 1, 1924 New York City, U.S. |
Died | April 25, 1995(1995-04-25) (aged 70) Crystal River, Florida, U.S. |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1949–1992 |
Known for | Original host of Jeopardy! |
Spouses |
|
Arthur Fleming Fazzin (May 1, 1924 – April 25, 1995) was an American actor and television host. He hosted the first version of the television game show Jeopardy!, which aired on NBC from 1964 until 1975 and again from 1978 to 1979.
Early life
Fleming was born in New York City. His parents, William and Marie Fazzin, had immigrated to the United States from Austria. They were a popular dance team in Europe and brought their show to America. Their son Art was a varsity letterman football player at James Monroe High School in New York City, standing 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m), weighing 220 pounds (100 kg). He later attended Colgate and Cornell Universities, starring on the football team, as well as the water polo teams at both colleges. Fleming was a World War II veteran who served in the U.S. Navy for three and a half years as the pilot of a patrol bomber in the Atlantic.
Career
After leaving the navy, Fleming became an announcer at a radio station in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Here, he changed his name to "Art Fleming". His radio career later took him to Akron, Ohio, and back home to New York. He was the first announcer to deliver the slogan "Winston tastes good, like a cigarette should" for Winston cigarettes.
Fleming's acting career began at age four, when he appeared in a Broadway musical. His first television role was as a stunt double for Ralph Bellamy in the detective series Man Against Crime. In 1959 he starred as detective Ken Franklin in the ABC TV series International Detective, credited as Arthur Fleming. He also played attorney Jeremy Pitt in The Californians, an NBC Western set in San Francisco during the gold rush of the 1850s.
Fleming also appeared in many television commercials, in addition to anchoring the eleven o’clock news on WNBC. He was first spotted by Merv Griffin on a commercial for Trans World Airlines. Griffin thought Fleming was "authoritative, yet warm and interesting", and Fleming was invited to audition to be the host of Griffin's new game show Jeopardy!. Fleming won the job, and hosted the show during its original run of March 30, 1964, to January 3, 1975, and again from October 2, 1978, to March 2, 1979. Rather than describe him as the "host" of the program, announcer Don Pardo introduced him by saying, "and here's the star of Jeopardy!, Art Fleming". Fleming would immediately return the favor and thank Pardo during his introduction. As "the world's greatest quiz show's" first host, Fleming earned two Emmy Award nominations. While he was host of Jeopardy!, Fleming never missed a taping.
Because he hosted a quiz show, and in part because he was an avid reader with multiple college degrees, Fleming earned a reputation as being a storehouse of trivia. While appearing as a guest star on Hollywood Squares (another 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, saying, "Art Fleming would never lie! I agree!" He was right, and the contestant won $11,000. Fleming later said he did not 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 about 5,000 episodes of television programs and 48 motion pictures. After Jeopardy!'s first cancellation in 1975, Fleming returned to acting. In 1977 he played the role of W. Averell Harriman in the movie MacArthur starring Gregory Peck, and appeared in the comedy film American Raspberry, and also appeared in episodes of Starsky and Hutch, Kingston: Confidential, and the 1976 TV miniseries The Moneychangers.
Fleming also hosted a radio version of College Bowl for CBS Radio from 1979 to 1982. He hosted the NBC radio weekend magazine Monitor during 1972. Fleming reprised his role as host of Jeopardy! in the 1982 movie Airplane II: The Sequel 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.
Fleming declined an offer to reprise his role as Jeopardy! host when Merv Griffin began developing a revival of the show in 1983. As a result, Alex Trebek (a personal friend of Fleming's) took the position instead and continued to host the program until his death in 2020. In interviews conducted in the early years of the Trebek version, he stated that he disliked the show's new direction and the various changes that the revival's producers had made. He disapproved of moving production from his native New York to Los Angeles, suggesting to a Sports Illustrated journalist in 1989 that filming in California made the show feel superficial and anti-intellectual:
hates the glitz, the polish. "It's not part of the real world." he says, "it's part of Hollywood." In his day, the show was filmed in Manhattan. "People are more intelligent in New York," says Fleming, a native of the Bronx. "New Yorkers are alive, with-it. They know what's going on in the world. In California there's no mental stimulation. A typical conversation consists of 'I've got a new diet. How's your tennis game? Are those clothes from Gucci?' And then you look at each other."
— Franz Lidz, "What is Jeopardy!", Sports Illustrated (May 1, 1989)
He also claimed that the new show was too easy and he feuded publicly with the staff of the modern Jeopardy! over the nature of the clues, as he believed that the writers were inserting hints into the clues to make the correct response seem obvious and easy to guess.
From 1979 to until his retirement in 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, a St. Louis schoolteacher. He also hosted the syndicated radio program When Radio Was, as well as two installments of the PBS science program NOVA as part of the National Science Test, where a studio audience tested their knowledge of science against a celebrity panel.
Personal life
Fleming married Mildred Goodrich in 1946 in North Carolina. They had a daughter Jan. In 1954 he married actress Peggy Ann Ellis, who worked on The Merv Griffin Show. Fleming denied having any children in a 1974 interview, conducted after his divorce from Ellis. Despite insisting he would never marry again after his divorce from Ellis, Fleming married Becky Lynn in a private ceremony at Norman Vincent Peale's home. He soon adopted Becky's two children from a prior marriage. Together they had five grandchildren. In 1992, Fleming retired and the family moved to Crystal River, Florida. He remained active in charity work: he hosted fundraising videos for the Citrus County United Way and became involved with the Citrus County Abuse Shelter Association, Inc. (where Becky served as director). He also hosted a syndicated television program, called Senior America, which showcased seniors and senior activities.
Death
Fleming died of pancreatic cancer on April 25, 1995, at age 70, at his home in Florida. According to his obituary in the Los Angeles Times, he had been diagnosed with cancer two weeks before his death. He was cremated and his ashes were scattered at sea.
Partial filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1957 | A Hatful of Rain | Jack - Mounted Cop | |
1959 | Career | Mounted Policeman | Uncredited |
1977 | American Raspberry | Colonel Grant | |
1977 | MacArthur | W. Averell Harriman | |
1982 | Airplane II: The Sequel | Himself |
Sources
- "Arthur Volk Fazzini discovered in U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947".
- ^ Jeopardy tribute website
- Fisher, Marc (April 26, 1995). "A Host of Questions: Art Fleming of Jeopardy!". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
- Baber, David (2015). Television Game Show Hosts: Biographies of 32 Stars. McFarland. p. 97. ISBN 978-1-4766-0480-0. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
- Rogak, Lisa, Who is Alex Trebek?: A Biography, Thomas Dunne Books, 2020, p. 72.
- David Schwartz, Steve Ryan & Fred Wostbrock, The Encyclopedia of TV Game $hows, Checkmark Books, 1999, pp. 112–115.
- ^ Later with Bob Costas interview with Art Fleming, early 1990s, posted by Wink Martindale on YouTube.
- ^ Perception with Don Johnson interview with Art Fleming, 1987.
- Dagan, Carmel (November 8, 2020). "Alex Trebek, Revered Host of 'Jeopardy!' for 36 Years, Dies at 80". Variety. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
- What is Jeopardy!?, 05.01.89 – Sports Illustrated
- Baber, David. Television Game Show Hosts: Biographies of 32 Stars. McFarland: Jefferson, North Carolina, 2008, page 101.
- "Arthur Fazzin discovered in North Carolina, U.S., Marriage Records, 1741-2011".
- "Discovered in 1950 United States Federal Census".
- ^ "YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A GENIUS TO BE A CONTESTANT" "We Want Average Americans Who Are Aware of What's Going On" from Daytime TV magazine, July 1974
- ^ "Art Fleming, 70; Original Host of 'Jeopardy!' TV Game Show". The Los Angeles Times. April 26, 1995. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
- Thomas Jr., Rober Mcg. (April 27, 1995). "Art Fleming, 70, Television Host Who Gave Polish to 'Jeopardy!'". The New York Times.
External links
- Art Fleming at IMDb
Jeopardy! | |
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Concepts | |
Tournaments |
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Hosts |
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Notable contestants |
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Franchise | |
In popular culture | |
Media offices | ||
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Preceded byPosition created | Host of Jeopardy! 1964–1975, 1978–1979 |
Succeeded byAlex Trebek |
Preceded byRobert Earle | College Bowl host 1978–1979 (Televised Semifinals and Finals) |
Succeeded byPat Sajak 1984 Televised Semifinals and Finals |
- 1924 births
- 1995 deaths
- 20th-century American male actors
- American game show hosts
- American talk radio hosts
- American people of Austrian descent
- Deaths from pancreatic cancer in Florida
- Entertainers from New York City
- James Monroe High School (New York City) alumni
- Male actors from Akron, Ohio
- Military personnel from New York City
- People from Crystal River, Florida
- Radio personalities from St. Louis
- United States Navy bomber pilots of World War II