Bill Cullen
William Lawrence Cullen[1] (February 18, 1920 – July 7, 1990) was an American radio and television personality whose career spanned five decades.[2] Known for appearing on game shows and later as a prolific game show host, he hosted 23 shows, earning the nickname "Dean of Game Show Hosts".[3] Aside from his hosting duties, he appeared as a panelist/celebrity guest on many other game shows, including regular appearances on I've Got a Secret and To Tell the Truth.
For the Irish businessman and philanthropist, see Bill Cullen (businessman). For other people named William Cullen, see William Cullen (disambiguation).
Bill Cullen
February 18, 1920
July 7, 1990 (aged 70)
Television personality
Radio announcer
Game show host
1939–1988
Original host of The Price Is Right
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Ruth Ellen Harrington(m. 1943; div. 1948)
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Carol Ames(m. 1948; div. 1955)
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Ann Roemheld Macomber(m. 1955)
Early life[edit]
Cullen was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the only child of William and Lillian Cullen. His father was a Ford dealer in Pittsburgh.[4]
He survived a childhood bout with polio that left him with significant physical limitations for the rest of his life. Cullen was a pre-med student at the University of Pittsburgh, but had to withdraw because of financial problems. After he achieved some success in radio, he returned to the university and earned a bachelor's degree.[5]
Radio[edit]
Cullen's broadcasting career began in 1939[5] in Pittsburgh at WWSW radio,[6] where he worked as a disc jockey and play-by-play announcer or color commentator for Pittsburgh Steelers (NFL) and Pittsburgh Hornets (minor league hockey) games. In 1943, Cullen left WWSW for a brief job at rival station KDKA before leaving Pittsburgh a year later to try his luck in New York. A week after arriving in New York, he was hired as a staff announcer at CBS.
To supplement his then-meager income, he became a freelance joke writer for some of the top radio stars of the day, including Arthur Godfrey, Danny Kaye, and Jack Benny;[7] he also worked as a staff writer for the Easy Aces radio show.[8]
His first venture into game shows was in 1945, when he was hired as announcer for a radio quiz called Give And Take.[9] In the summer of 1950, he was quizmaster on Hit the Jackpot, the summer replacement for Amos 'n' Andy on CBS radio.[10] After a brief stint at WNEW in 1951, he hosted a popular morning show at WNBC radio from 1955 to 1961.[11]
Military service[edit]
Cullen was a pilot for the United States Army Air Forces in World War II.[12] Cullen served in the Civil Air Patrol as an instructor and patrol aircraft pilot in his native Pennsylvania during World War II (having failed to qualify for combat duty due to his physical disabilities), and was interested in mechanics.
Achievements[edit]
Cullen did color commentary on college football games early in his career, and also broadcast track and field on NBC. On I've Got A Secret, producers Mark Goodson and Bill Todman and host Garry Moore quickly learned to never start the questioning with Cullen if the guest's secret was anything sports-related or mechanical, because chances were good that he would guess it immediately.
During his television career, Cullen was nominated three times for Emmy Awards; his only win was a Primetime Emmy for hosting Three On A Match (1973). He was later nominated for Daytime Emmys for his work on Blockbusters (1982) and Hot Potato (1985).
Throughout his entire career in radio and television, Cullen hosted more than 25,000 individual episodes of radio and television shows.[17]
Personal life[edit]
Marriages[edit]
Cullen was married three times and had no children. His first marriage was a brief one while still living in Pittsburgh. His second marriage (1948–1955) was to singer Carol Ames. On December 24, 1955, Cullen married former dancer and model Ann Roemheld Macomber, born Elise Ann Roemheld (whose sister was, at the time, married to game show announcer and future emcee Jack Narz), the daughter of composer Heinz Roemheld; this marriage lasted until his death in 1990. She occasionally worked as a model on Bill's The Price Is Right and made several appearances with him on Tattletales. She died on July 21, 2018, aged 90.[18]
Physical disability[edit]
Cullen contracted polio in August 1921, when he was 18 months old. The long-term sequelae of that illness, combined with injuries sustained in a serious motor vehicle accident in 1937 requiring a nine-month hospitalization, made it difficult for him to walk or stand for an extended period of time.[5]
Directors on his game shows took great care to limit the extent that Cullen was shown walking on camera. Each show's set was designed to accommodate Cullen's limited range of motion; the podiums, game boards, props, and any physical movements by contestants were arranged so that Cullen could, for the most part, remain stationary. Rather than the grand entrance common for most game show hosts, Cullen began each show either already seated, or hidden on set behind a nearby prop so he would only have to take a minimum number of steps to his podium.[19][20] Similar accommodations were made when he appeared as a guest on other game shows.[21]
As a consequence of these arrangements, many of Cullen's peers were likewise unaware of his disability, which occasionally led to awkward situations. In the August 2010 issue of GQ under the heading "Epic Tales of Embarrassment", Mel Brooks related the following story to writer Steve Heisler: