John Byron Jacobs (June 22, 1916 – February 8, 1982) was an American television announcer, often for Chuck Barris productions—namely, ''

The Newlywed Game ''The Newlywed Game'' is an American television game show that puts newly married couples against each other in a series of revealing question rounds to determine how well the spouses know or do not know each other. The program, originally create ...

'' and ''

The Dating Game ''The Dating Game'' is an American television game show that first aired on December 20, 1965, and was the first of many shows created and packaged by Chuck Barris from the 1960s through the 1980s. ABC dropped the show on July 6, 1973, but it ...

''.

Early life

He was born in

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

Early career

Radio

Jacobs was the announcer for ''The Steve Allen Show'' 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 ...

in 1950. The program was a summer replacement for ''

Our Miss Brooks ''Our Miss Brooks'' is an American sitcom starring Eve Arden as a sardonic high-school English teacher. It began as a radio show broadcast on CBS from 1948 to 1957. When the show was adapted to television (1952–56), it became one of the medi ...

'', which starred

Eve Arden Eve Arden (born Eunice Mary Quedens, April 30, 1908 – November 12, 1990) was an American film, radio, stage and television actress. She performed in leading and supporting roles for nearly six decades. Beginning her film career in 1929 ...

. In 1952–1953, he was the announcer for ''

The Doris Day Show ''The Doris Day Show'' is an American sitcom which was originally broadcast on CBS from September 1968 until March 1973, remaining on the air for five seasons and 128 episodes. The series is remembered for its multiple format and cast chang ...

'' on CBS. In 1955, he was the announcer for the ''Gary Crosby Show'' on CBS.

Television

In the early 1950s, he was the emcee of a television show called ''Bachelor's Haven''. Also, he was the original announcer for the last season of ''

I Love Lucy ''I Love Lucy'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning six seasons. The show starred Lucille Ball, her husband, Desi Arnaz, along wit ...

'', in 1956. He was a regular on

Betty White Betty Marion White (January 17, 1922December 31, 2021) was an American actress and comedian. A pioneer of Golden Age of Television, early television, with a television career spanning almost seven decades, White was noted for her vast work i ...

's comedy show in 1958 and did announcing work for the early 1960s revival of ''

The Steve Allen Show ''The Steve Allen Show'' was an American variety show hosted by Steve Allen from June 1956 to June 1960 on NBC, from September 1961 to December 1961 on ABC,

''. Other shows he worked on included the '' Gene Autry Show'' and the ''

Dinah Shore Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, and television personality, and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during ...

Show''. Throughout his career, he occasionally acted in television shows, making guest appearances on '' Batman'' (episode 3), '' Leave It to Beaver'' and ''

The Munsters ''The Munsters'' is an American sitcom depicting the home life of a family of benign monsters. The series starred Fred Gwynne as Frankenstein's monsterEpisodes referring to the fact that Herman is Frankenstein's monster include #55, "Just Anoth ...

''. He also appeared, as himself, in ''

The Gong Show Movie ''The Gong Show Movie'' is a 1980 American slapstick film starring, co-written and directed by Chuck Barris, the host and creator of the popular game show with the same name. Plot The film shows a fictional week in the life of Chuck Barris as ...

''.

Game shows and final years

He was the first announcer for ''

The Joker's Wild ''The Joker's Wild'' is an American television game show that aired at different times between 1972 and 2019. In the show, contestants answer questions based on categories determined randomly by a mechanism resembling a slot machine. The show's ...

'', which starred Jack Barry and debuted on

in 1972. Barry employed Jacobs to announce many such Jack Barry/ Barry & Enright Productions game shows during the early to middle 1970s as ''

Blank Check A blank cheque in the literal sense is a cheque that has no monetary value written in, but is already signed. In the figurative sense, it is used to describe a situation in which an agreement has been made that is open-ended or vague, and therefo ...

'', the 1976 ABC run of ''Break The Bank'', and '' Hollywood's Talking'' for CBS. Most notably, however, Chuck Barris employed Jacobs's voice talents on the aforementioned ''

'' and ''

'', and also for other such Barris productions as ''

The Gong Show ''The Gong Show'' is an American amateur talent contest franchised by Sony Pictures Television to many countries. It was broadcast on NBC's daytime schedule from June 14, 1976, through July 21, 1978, and in first-run syndication from 1976 to ...

'', ''

Three's a Crowd ''Three's a Crowd'' (also known as ''Three's Company, Too'' in the ''Three's Company'' syndication package) is an American sitcom television series produced as a spin-off continuation of ''Three's Company'' that aired on ABC from September 25 ...

'' and '' The $1.98 Beauty Show''. His last job was announcing a Barris-produced version of '' Treasure Hunt'' which was syndicated during the 1981-82 season. (Jacobs had also announced Barris' middle 1970s version of ''Treasure Hunt'' as well.) However, illness forced him to step down from this version of ''Treasure Hunt'' by late 1981, and he was replaced by frequent Barris fill-in announcer Tony McClay. Jacobs died in Stockton, California, where he owned radio station KWG, at the age of 65.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobs, Johnny 1916 births 1982 deaths Game show announcers Radio and television announcers People from Milwaukee