Bob Clayton (born James Robert Box, August 17, 1922 – November 1, 1979) was an American television game show

announcer An announcer is a voice artist who relays information to the audience of a broadcast media programme or live event. Television and other media Some announcers work in television production, radio or filmmaking, usually providing narration ...

and

host A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places * Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County People *Jim Host (born 1937), American businessman * Michel Host ...

of several shows. He spent his early television career hosting shows in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

before moving to New York in the 1960s.

Career

A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Clayton became a vaudeville singer at age 15. He served in the Army as a combat engineer during World War II and was an announcer for the

Armed Forces Radio Network The American Forces Network (AFN) is a government television and radio broadcast service the U.S. military provides to those stationed or assigned overseas. Headquartered at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland, AFN's broadcast operations, which i ...

after the war. He graduated from

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

and studied drama in New York City. In 1948, Clayton joined the staff of WWDX-FM in Paterson, New Jersey, as an announcer. In Miami, he was a staff announcer on WCKT (now

WSVN WSVN (channel 7) is a television station in Miami, Florida, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is the flagship station of locally based Sunbeam Television. WSVN's studios are located on 79th Street Causeway ( SR 934) in North ...

) channel 7 and hosted a kiddieshow called ''Bobsville''. After his first national hosting job on the game ''Make a Face'' (

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

, 1961–1962), Clayton assumed announcing duties on the long-running

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

game ''

Concentration In chemistry, concentration is the abundance of a constituent divided by the total volume of a mixture. Several types of mathematical description can be distinguished: '' mass concentration'', ''molar concentration'', '' number concentration'', ...

'' in 1963, and took over hosting duties on the show in January 1969 as successor from original emcee

Hugh Downs Hugh Malcolm Downs (February 14, 1921July 1, 2020) was an American radio and television broadcaster, announcer and programmer; television host; news anchor; TV producer; author; game show host; talk show sidekick; and music composer. A regular t ...

. He was replaced in March 1969 by

Ed McMahon Edward Leo Peter McMahon Jr. (March 6, 1923 – June 23, 2009) was an American announcer, game show host, comedian, actor, singer, and combat aviator. McMahon and Johnny Carson began their association in their first TV series, the ABC game sh ...

, but later returned in September 1969 after viewer outrage and declining audience ratings.

Wayne Howell Wayne Howell Chappelle (February 16, 1921 – July 8, 1993) was a voice-over announcer for the NBC television and radio networks from 1947 through 1986. He was born in Lexington, Kentucky, and became one member of a core group of New York-base ...

replaced Clayton in the announcer's booth; Clayton remained on the show until its 1973 cancellation. Clayton also had a brief flirtation with the movies when he played the bell captain in Jerry Lewis' 1960 film, ''

The Bellboy ''The Bellboy'' is a 1960 American comedy film written, produced, directed by and starring Jerry Lewis. It was released on July 20, 1960 by Paramount Pictures and marked Lewis's directorial debut. Plot In a prologue sequence, fictitious executi ...

'', which was shot on location in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

Later work

After the cancellation of ''Concentration'', Clayton served as announcer on several shows created by Bob Stewart, including the ''

Pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...

'' series of games, beginning with

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

' ''

The $10,000 Pyramid ''Pyramid'' is the collective name of a series of American television game shows that has aired several versions domestically and internationally. The original series, ''The $10,000 Pyramid'', debuted on March 26, 1973, and spawned seven subsequ ...

'' in 1973. ''Pyramid'' began airing the Monday after the final episode of ''Concentration'' aired, in the same time slot, though on another network. Other Stewart shows he did included '' Blankety Blanks'', ''

Shoot for the Stars ''Shoot for the Stars'' is a game show created and produced by Bob Stewart, and aired on the NBC television network. The show aired from January 3 to September 30, 1977, and was produced in New York City. During most of its run, it videotaped at ...

'' and '' Pass the Buck.''

Personal life

He was married to Tahitian dancer Mireille of the

Mai-Kai Restaurant The Mai-Kai is a Polynesian-themed restaurant and tiki bar in Oakland Park, Florida. It opened to the public on December 28, 1956, and is one of the few "Grand Polynesian Palaces of Tiki" still in operation today. In 2015 it was named the "best ...

in Fort Lauderdale.January 1965 ''Happy Talk'' magazine

Death

On November 1, 1979, Clayton died of

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and poss ...

. Steve O'Brien, a New York disc jockey, took over ''Pyramid'', and he and Alan Kalter announced the show for the remainder of its days in New York.

References

* ''The Encyclopedia Of TV Game Shows, Third Edition'' by David Schwartz, Steve Ryan, and Fred Wostbrock (1999) Published by Checkmark Books, an imprint of Facts on File. 1922 births 1979 deaths American television talk show hosts American game show hosts Game show announcers Vaudeville performers Georgia Tech alumni United States Army personnel of World War II {{US-tv-bio-stub