Anson Randolph Merriman (December 1, 1911 – October 27, 2005) was an American television producer, game show host and radio broadcaster. He was the first host of ''

The Big Payoff ''The Big Payoff'' is a daytime and primetime game show that premiered on NBC in 1951, and ended its network run on CBS in 1959. It had a brief syndication revival in 1962. NBC used ''The Big Payoff'' to replace the 15-minute show ''Miss Susan'' st ...

'' game show on NBC.

Early life

Merriman was born in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, Minnesota. After his parents died when he was two years old, he was raised by his grandparents. Fascinated by show business—he painted local dogs as zebras to perform in his personal circus—he left his military school at 17 to join the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus as a prop man. Because of his loud voice, he later became a barker.Malikie Fornah
"Capping a Career"
''South Florida Sun Sentinel'', August 17, 2001.

Career

Merriman subsequently returned to Minneapolis, where he worked as an usher at the Stage Theater until it closed. He and his best friend Tom Green then went into

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

as a double act; after Green quit, Merriman became emcee of a

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical theatre, musical performances, sketch comedy, magic (illusion), magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is ...

. His first job in broadcasting was at local Minneapolis-St. Paul radio station KSTP, where he hosted ''Tavern Trouper'', a

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 ...

show enabling Minnesotans serving in the South Pacific to talk to those back home, before touring for the

USO The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

with

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 5 ...

."Merriman, Randy"
in Harris M. Lentz III, ''Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2005: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture'', Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 2006, , p. 257.
Pavek Museum, Minnesota Broadcasting Hall of Fame, retrieved December 4, 2019. After the war he returned to Minneapolis and KSTP, with Jimmy Valentine hosting the early

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 ...

''Fun For Your Money'' on the NBC affiliate

KSTP-TV KSTP-TV (channel 5) is a television station licensed to Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, serving the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities area as an affiliate of American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It is the Flagship (broadcasting), flagsh ...

. In 1951 he became the first host of ''The Big Payoff'' in New York, working with assistant and former Miss America

Bess Myerson Bess Myerson (July 16, 1924 – December 14, 2014) was an American politician, model and television actress who in 1945 became the first Miss America who was also Jewish. Her achievement, in the aftermath of the Holocaust, was seen as an af ...

. He was also involved in the show's production. He left the show in 1957 to be replaced by Bob Paige. After returning to Minnesota in 1958, he worked for WCCO, hosting shows including ''Honest to Goodness'' with Dick Chapman and the ''Fan in the Stands'' pre-game radio shows on WCCO AM for the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

. He was inducted into the

Minnesota Broadcasting Hall of Fame Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to i ...

in 2003.

Personal life and death

Merriman was married twice; his first wife, with whom he had a daughter and two sons, died in the mid-1970s and he remarried two years later. He retired to

Boca Raton, Florida Boca Raton ( ; es, Boca Ratón, link=no, ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It was first incorporated on August 2, 1924, as "Bocaratone," and then incorporated as "Boca Raton" in 1925. The population was 97,422 in the ...

, where he was active in the Zuhrah Shrine Merrymakers and became a member of the

International Brotherhood of Magicians International Brotherhood of Magicians (I.B.M.) is an organization for both professional and amateur close-up and stage magicians, with approximately 15,000 members worldwide. The headquarters is in St. Charles, Missouri. There are over 300 lo ...

. He died at home of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

on October 27, 2005.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merriman, Randy American game show hosts 1911 births 2005 deaths