John Reed King (October 25, 1914 – July 8, 1979) was an American radio and television

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or Let's Play, demonstrative and are typically directed b ...

host who hosted numerous game shows during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s.

Career

King was one of the announcers for ''

The American School of the Air ''The American School of the Air'' was a half-hour educational radio program presented by CBS as a public affairs teaching supplement over an 18-year period during the 1930s and 1940s. CBS followed the lead of the first ''School of the Air'' w ...

'' on

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 ...

,Dunning, John. (1998). ''On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio''. Oxford University Press. and he had one of the top-rated radio shows of the 1930s in New York City with ''Missus Goes A-Shopping''. He was also an announcer for the radio version of ''

Death Valley Days ''Death Valley Days'' is an American old-time radio and television anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program ...

'' and for '' The Jack Berch Show''. On August 1, 1944, he hosted the

live television Live television is a television production broadcast in real-time, as events happen, in the present. In a secondary meaning, it may refer to streaming television over the Internet when content or programming is played continuously (not on demand) ...

version of ''Missus Goes A-Shopping'', and on January 29, 1946, he hosted the television version of ''It's a Gift'', making these among the first television

quiz show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, sh ...

s ever aired, after ''

CBS Television Quiz ''CBS Television Quiz'' is a televised game show, running from July 2, 1941, to January 7, 1943, on the CBS television station in New York, WCBW Channel 2 (the forerunner of WCBS-TV). It was the first game show to be broadcast regularly on televisi ...

'' (1941-1942). In the late 1940s and early 1950s, King was host of ''The John Reed King Show'', an audience-participation quiz show. It began on WOR-TV and moved to WCBS-TV on February 2, 1950. He worked at KDKA radio and television in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

during the 1960s. He was a morning news anchor for the radio station, and hosted a daily talk show on television. In 1970, he was a news anchor at

KGO-TV KGO-TV (channel 7) is a television station licensed to San Francisco, California, United States, serving as the San Francisco Bay Area's ABC network outlet. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, KGO-TV maint ...

, the

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 ...

owned-and-operated television station in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

Personal life

He was married to Jean Abbot King and had three children, Joanne King, Julianne King, and John Reed King Jr.

Radio Shows, Host

*''Missus Goes A-Shopping'' (1934-1944)

CBS Radio CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broadc ...

and local NYC *''

Our Gal Sunday ''Our Gal Sunday'' is an American soap opera produced by Frank and Anne Hummert, network broadcast via CBS from March 29, 1937, to January 2, 1959, starring Dorothy Lowell and, after Lowell's 1944 death, Vivian Smolen in the title role. The orig ...

'' (1937-1940) announcer *''

Duffy's Tavern ''Duffy's Tavern'' is an American radio situation comedy that ran for a decade on several networks ( CBS, 1941–42; NBC-Blue Network, 1942–44; and NBC, 1944–51), concluding with the December 28, 1951, broadcast. The program often featured ...

'' (1941-1942) announcer *''

The Gay Nineties Revue ''The Gay Nineties Revue'' was an American variety series that aired live on ABC Television from August 11, 1948 to mid-1949 on Wednesdays at 8pm ET. The host was songwriter Joseph E. Howard, who was reportedly age 71 at the time he hosted the ...

'' (1941) announcer *'' What's My Name?'' (1941) *''Double or Nothing'' (1944 - 1945) *''

'' and ''The Sheriff'' (1945-1951) announcer *''Give and Take'' (1945-1953) CBS *''Chance of a Lifetime'' (1949-1952)

*''

Sky King ''Sky King'' was an American radio and television series. Its lead character was Arizona rancher and aircraft pilot Schuyler "Sky" King. The series had strong Western elements. King usually captured criminals and spies and found lost hikers, ...

'' (1954) playing the part of Sky King

Television Shows, Host

*'' Missus Goes A-Shopping'' (1944-1949)

CBS Television 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 Entertainmen ...

*''It's a Gift'' (1946) CBS *''King's Party Line'' (1946) *''The John Reed King Show'' (1949) *'' Chance of a Lifetime'' (1950-1952)

; (1953-1955) ( DuMont) *'' Battle of the Ages'' (1952) *''

Beat the Clock ''Beat the Clock'' is an American television game show that involves people trying to complete challenges to win prizes while faced with a time limit. The show was a creation of Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions. The show began on radio as ' ...

'' (1952) *'' Where Was I?'' (1952-1953) DuMont *'' What's Your Bid?'' (Feb-April 1953) ABC *''There's One In Every Family'' (1952-1953) CBS *''Give and Take'' (1952-1953) CBS *''Why?'' (1953) *''Let's See'' (1954) ABC *'' Have a Heart'' (1955) DuMont *''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central character ...

'', episode "Old Comrade" (1962) guest starred as a townsman

Books

*''John Reed King's Quiz and Game Book'' (1949)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:King, John Reed 1914 births 1979 deaths American television personalities