Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Bill Cullen, Game Show Master

I like game shows, and while watching quite a few different ones, I have found some game show hosts that I like more than others. One of my favorites is Bill Cullen (Feb, 18, 1920 - Nov. 7, 1990). Today is the anniversary of his birth.

Bill Cullen was usually positioned behind the podium as the show opened instead of running out in the beginning. He had a disability, a limp as the result of polio as a child, but he was not disabled. That was evident by his long career beginning with radio game shows in the 40's and ending in the 1980's. He hosted 23 game shows -- including the first Price Is Right -- served on panels and as a guest celebrity contestant.

Bill would sometimes laugh at a question if it was amusing or outrageous, but he demonstrated the utmost respect for contestants, the audience, both in-studio and at home TV viewers. He had fun, and he was fun to watch. He always had a smile, sometimes a laugh, and he was a master at making contestants comfortable. Games and game shows are supposed to be fun. Bill Cullen made sure they were.

The Game Show Congress, a nonprofit association that seeks to promote the game show industry, inaugurated the Bill Cullen Career Achievement Award with a posthumous honor to Bill in 2004.

Happy Birthday, Bill Cullen. Many of your programs showing on the Game Show Network continue to entertain us. Thank you.

Interesting Links:

wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Cullen

Bill Cullen Homepage


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Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Hearts Everywhere

The heart is the first feature of working minds.

~ Frank Lloyd Wright


We need to keep our hearts strong, so our bodies and minds can remain strong. February is American Heart Month. That's timely because we have just spent a couple of weeks preparing and culminating Saturday with the biggest commercial heart day of the year, Valentines Day. After the playful celebration with our thoughts occupied on candy hearts and romance, our minds turn to several serious observations surrounding the actual hearts in our chests.

One in four American women dies of heart disease. This is more than all cancers combined. February is National Women's Healthy Heart Campaign. Of course, National Wear Red Day, also known as Go Red For Women Day, is observed on the first Friday of February. The day recognizes that heart disease is a major killer of women, women are still more likely to experience delays in emergency medical response -- hinting that the threat for women is still not taken as seriously
as for men.
(read more)


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