John Leonard Olson (May 22, 1910 – October 12, 1985)
was an American
radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
personality and
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
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 narrations, ...
. Olson is perhaps best known for his work as an announcer for
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 ...
s, particularly the work he did for
Mark Goodson
Mark Leo Goodson (January 14, 1915 – December 18, 1992) was an American television producer who specialized in game shows, most frequently with his business partner Bill Todman, with whom he created Goodson-Todman Productions.
Early life and e ...
-
Bill Todman
William Selden Todman (July 31, 1916 – July 29, 1979) was an American television producer and personality born in New York City. He produced many of television's longest-running shows with business partner Mark Goodson, with whom he created ...
Productions. Olson was the longtime announcer for the original ''
To Tell the Truth'' and ''
What's My Line?
''What's My Line?'' is a panel game show that originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent U.S. revivals. The game uses celebrity panelis ...
'', and spent over a decade as the announcer for both ''
Match Game
''Match Game'' is an American television panel game show that premiered on NBC in 1962 and has been revived several times over the course of the last six decades. The game features contestants trying to match answers given by celebrity panelis ...
'' and ''
The Price Is Right
''The Price Is Right'' is a television game show franchise created by Bob Stewart, originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman; currently it is produced and owned by Fremantle. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also inc ...
'', working on the latter series at the time of his death.
Early career
Born in
Windom, Minnesota
Windom is a city in Cottonwood County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 4,646 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Cottonwood County and is situated in the Coteau des Prairies.
Although it is a small, rural farming commu ...
, Olson enrolled in
pharmacy
Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it links heal ...
classes at the
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...
. He also worked a string of odd jobs, from
soda jerk
Soda jerk (or soda jerker) is an American term used to refer to a person — typically a young man — who would operate the soda fountain in a drugstore, preparing and serving soda drinks and ice cream sodas. The drinks were made by mixing fl ...
to singer. After 1928, he landed jobs at
WIBA in
Poynette, Wisconsin
Poynette is a village in Columbia County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,590 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Poynette was named after Pierre Paquette (1796–1836), an early f ...
and KGDA in
Mitchell, South Dakota
Mitchell is a city in and the county seat of Davison County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 15,660 at the 2020 census making it the sixth most populous city in South Dakota.
Mitchell is the principal city of the Mitchell Micr ...
.
Olson joined
WTMJ in
Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...
in early 1933, organizing a five-piece
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
band called The Rhythm Rascals, and became one of the station's most popular personalities. The Rascals eventually made it to
Hollywood, and would send daily recordings of their shows back to WTMJ. Olson would eventually return to Milwaukee and WTMJ, where he would go on to create the first iteration of ''
Johnny Olson's Rumpus Room''. The show attracted major national performers, including
Spike Jones
Lindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones (December 14, 1911 – May 1, 1965) was an American musician and bandleader specializing in spoof arrangements of popular songs and classical music. Ballads receiving the Jones treatment were punctuated with gun ...
and
The Andrews Sisters
The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews (July 6, 1911 – May 8, 1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn Andrews (January ...
. By 1942, the immense popularity of ''Rumpus Room'' prompted WTMJ to dedicate the large unfinished
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
studio (plans for what would later become
WTMJ-TV
WTMJ-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company alongside Kenosha-licensed Ion Television station WPXE-TV (channel 55). WTMJ-TV's studios are ...
were suspended due to
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
) in their new facility to the program.
Olson's first network job on radio was in New York City in 1944, hosting (with his wife) the audience-participation show ''
Ladies Be Seated'', a stunt game along the lines of ''
Truth or Consequences
''Truth or Consequences'' is an American game show originally hosted on NBC radio by Ralph Edwards (1940–1957) and later on television by Edwards (1950–1954), Jack Bailey (1954–1956), Bob Barker (1956–1975), Steve Dunne (1957–1958), ...
'', broadcast on
NBC Blue
The Blue Network (previously known as the NBC Blue Network) was the on-air name of a now defunct American Commercial broadcasting, radio network, which broadcast from 1927 through 1945.
Beginning as one of the two radio networks owned by the N ...
.
He had previously hosted several radio shows in Chicago, including the second iteration of ''Johnny Olson's Rumpus Room'', a late-night variety show broadcast from 10:30 p.m. to 12 midnight, which was also the name of a later daytime talk show he hosted on the DuMont Television Network.
He also was host of ''Johnny Olson's Luncheon Club'' on ABC radio in 1950-1951.
[
]
Work for DuMont Television Network
In 1945, Olson and his wife hosted a five-week run of a TV version of ''Ladies Be Seated''. From May 1947 to July 1949, Olson hosted ''Doorway to Fame
''Doorway to Fame'' is an American talent show broadcast on the now defunct DuMont Television Network. The series ran from May 2, 1947, to July 11, 1949.
Overview
The series used early television scene-blending technology to project the perfor ...
'', an evening television talent show on the new DuMont Television Network
The DuMont Television Network (also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont Television, simply DuMont/Du Mont, or (incorrectly) Dumont ) was one of America's pioneer commercial television networks, rivaling NBC and CBS for the distinction of being ...
. From January 1949 to July 1952, Olson hosted '' Johnny Olson's Rumpus Room'', a daytime television
Daytime is a block of television programming taking place during the late-morning and afternoon on weekdays. Daytime programming is typically scheduled to air between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., following the early morning da ...
talk show which was the first daytime show broadcast from DuMont's flagship station WABD
WABD (97.5 FM) is an American radio station licensed to serve the community of Mobile, Alabama. The station, established in 1973 as WABB-FM, is owned and operated by Cumulus Media. Its studios are on Dauphin Street in Midtown Mobile, and its ...
over DuMont's small East Coast network. Olson also hosted the Saturday-morning children's show ''Kids and Company
''Kids and Company'' is an American children's TV show that aired on the now-defunct DuMont Television Network on Saturday mornings from September 1, 1951 to May 2, 1953 and was hosted by Johnny Olson (billed as "Johnny Olsen" in the credits) and ...
'' on DuMont from September 1951 to June 1952, with co-host Ham Fisher.
Early announcing work
On television, Olson was an announcer on '' Break the Bank'' and was the announcer and sometimes the host on ''Fun for the Money'' on ABC-TV in 1949. Olson also was the announcer for ''Play Your Hunch
''Play Your Hunch'' was an American game show first hosted by Merv Griffin from 1958 to 1962, and then hosted by Robert Q. Lewis until 1963. The announcers for the show were, respectively, Johnny Olson, Wayne Howell and Roger Tuttle. In 2001, ' ...
''.
Olson was host of ''Homemaker's Jamboree'', an audience-participation game show that debuted on WJZ-TV
WJZ-TV (channel 13) is a television station in Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, airing programming from the CBS network. It is Owned-and-operated station, owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division, and ma ...
on October 5, 1952.
Beginning in 1960, Olson announced the 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 ...
prime-time panel game '' To Tell the Truth''. The following year, he added duties on sister show ''What's My Line?
''What's My Line?'' is a panel game show that originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent U.S. revivals. The game uses celebrity panelis ...
'', and in 1962 began announcing on the original ''Match Game
''Match Game'' is an American television panel game show that premiered on NBC in 1962 and has been revived several times over the course of the last six decades. The game features contestants trying to match answers given by celebrity panelis ...
'' in daytime on 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 ...
until that series ended in 1969. Before going live, Olson did an audience warm-up by asking questions and getting the audience ready for the live telecast.
Olson was also announcer for ''The Jackie Gleason Show
''The Jackie Gleason Show'' is the name of a series of American network television shows that starred Jackie Gleason, which ran from 1952 to 1970, in various forms.
''Cavalcade of Stars''
Gleason's first variety series, which aired on the DuMon ...
'' from 1962 until its cancellation in 1970.
Olson continued to announce ''What's My Line?'' and ''To Tell the Truth'' after both shows moved from CBS to syndication in the late 1960s. His involvement with those shows ended when he was designated announcer of the 1972 revivals of ''The Price Is Right
''The Price Is Right'' is a television game show franchise created by Bob Stewart, originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman; currently it is produced and owned by Fremantle. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also inc ...
'' and ''I've Got a Secret
''I've Got a Secret'' is an American panel game show produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman for CBS television. Created by comedy writers Allan Sherman and Howard Merrill, it was a derivative of Goodson-Todman's own panel show, ''What's My Line ...
'', both of which were taped in Hollywood, where he relocated.
He was the announcer, from 1966 to 1970, for five of The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon
The ''MDA Labor Day Telethon'' was an annual telethon held on (starting the night before and throughout) Labor Day in the United States to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). The Muscular Dystrophy Association was founded ...
s.
''The Price Is Right''
While ''Name That Tune'', ''To Tell the Truth'', ''What's My Line'', and ''The Match Game'' put Olson in the elite class of television game-show announcers, the revival of ''The Price Is Right
''The Price Is Right'' is a television game show franchise created by Bob Stewart, originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman; currently it is produced and owned by Fremantle. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also inc ...
'' cemented Olson's fame. In addition to serving as host Bob Barker's sidekick, Olson was a beloved and valued member of the "cast." He warmed up the audiences prior to taping; during taping, he often received on-camera exposure (occasionally bantering with Barker) prior to calling out the contestants' names; he also frequently appeared in the showcases.
His exhortation for contestants to "Come on down!" became a catchphrase
A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...
, and a ''Price Is Right'' tradition observed by his successors Rod Roddy
Robert Ray Roddy (September 28, 1937 – October 27, 2003) was an American radio and television announcer
An announcer is a voice artist who relays information to the audience of a broadcast media programme or live event.
Television and ...
(1986–2003), Rich Fields
Richard Wayne Fields (born November 30, 1960) is an American broadcaster, spokesman, announcer, and meteorologist. He is best known for a seven-season stint in which he announced for the American version of ''The Price Is Right''.
Early life and ...
(2004–2010), and George Gray (2011–present).
''Match Game'' and later career
In 1973, Olson began announcing for the revived ''Match Game
''Match Game'' is an American television panel game show that premiered on NBC in 1962 and has been revived several times over the course of the last six decades. The game features contestants trying to match answers given by celebrity panelis ...
'', another show transplanted from New York to California; the show's tagline, "Get ready to match the stars!" became a second catchphrase associated with him for the following nine years. Like executive producer Mark Goodson
Mark Leo Goodson (January 14, 1915 – December 18, 1992) was an American television producer who specialized in game shows, most frequently with his business partner Bill Todman, with whom he created Goodson-Todman Productions.
Early life and e ...
, Olson filled in on the days when a scheduled guest failed to appear in time for a taping. Olson only missed one taping of ''Match Game'' during the CBS years; Bern Bennett served as his fill-in for one week of daytime shows and one nighttime show in 1975 (a week's worth of shows was taped in one workday).
During the 1970s and early 1980s, during the peak of his announcing duties on ''Price'' and ''Match'', he worked on several other Goodson-Todman game shows. He announced:
He also filled in for:
Death
On October 6, 1985, Olson suffered a stroke and was taken to St. Johns Hospital and Health Center in Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
, where he died on October 12, 1985, at age 75. Shortly afterwards, Bob Barker paid tribute to him at the end of the remaining episodes of ''TPIR'' that were taped with Olson as announcer before he died:
Johnny Olson Remembered at the end of ''TPIR''
/ref>
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Olson, Johnny
1910 births
1985 deaths
American radio personalities
Game show announcers
People from Lewisburg, West Virginia
People from Windom, Minnesota
Radio and television announcers
Radio personalities from Minneapolis
Television personalities from New York City
The Price Is Right
University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy alumni