Art Fleming
Encyclopedia
Art Fleming was an American
television host, most notably the original host of the TV game show
Jeopardy!
.
. His parents, William and Marie Fazzin, had emigrated to the United States
from Austria
. They were a popular dance team in Europe
, who had brought their show to America. Their son Art was a varsity letterman football player at James Monroe High School
in New York
, standing 6 foot, 4 inches (1.93 m), weighing 220 pounds (99.79 kg). He later attended Colgate
and Cornell
universities , starring on the football
team, as well as water polo
teams at both colleges. Fleming was a World War II
veteran who served in the U.S. Navy
for three and a half years as the pilot
of a patrol bomber
in the Atlantic
.
at a radio station
in Rocky Mount
, North Carolina
. It was here that he first shortened his name to "Art Fleming." His radio career would later take him to Akron
, Ohio
, and back home to New York
. He was the first announcer to deliver the popular, grammatically controversial slogan
"Winston tastes good, like a cigarette should" for Winston
cigarette
s.
Fleming's acting career began at age four, when he starred in a Broadway
play. His first television
role was as a stunt double
for Ralph Bellamy
in the detective series Man Against Crime
. He would later star in The Flying Tigers and International Detective. He also played attorney
Jeremy Pitt in The Californians
, an NBC
Western
set in San Francisco
during the gold
rush of the 1850s.
Fleming also appeared in many television commercials. He was first spotted by Merv Griffin
on a commercial for Trans World Airlines
. Griffin thought Fleming was "authoritative, yet warm and interesting," and Fleming was invited to audition for the role of host for a quiz show Griffin was developing. Fleming (an actor with no prior TV quiz show experience) was initially skeptical, but his agent encouraged him to "act like a game show host" at his audition and Fleming ultimately won the job. The show was Jeopardy!
, which Fleming hosted from 1964 to 1975 and again from October 2, 1978, to March 2, 1979. As the first host of "the world's greatest quiz show," Fleming earned two Emmy Award
nominations. While he was host of Jeopardy!, Fleming never missed a taping.
Because he hosted a quiz show, Fleming earned a reputation as being a storehouse of trivia. While appearing as a guest star on Hollywood Squares
(another popular NBC game show in the 1960s and 1970s), Fleming was once selected as the "secret square." His question was, "In 1938, who won the Wimbledon women's tennis championship?" Fleming picked Helen Wills Moody, one of the three choices read to him. The female contestant (who had selected Fleming) turned to Hollywood Squares MC Peter Marshall, saying, "Art Fleming would never lie! I agree!" He was right, and the contestant won $11,000. Fleming later said he didn't know a thing about tennis and had guessed the answer. He hoped the contestant would disagree, thinking he was wrong.
Throughout his career, Fleming starred in about 5,000 episodes of television
programs and 48 motion pictures
. After Jeopardy!'s first cancellation in 1975, Fleming returned to acting. He played the role of W. Averell Harriman
in the movie MacArthur
and also appeared on episodes of Starsky and Hutch
, Kingston: Confidential
as well as the TV miniseries
The Moneychangers
.
He also hosted a radio version of College Bowl
for CBS
. Fleming hosted the NBC radio weekend magazine "Monitor" during 1972. Fleming reprised his role as host of Jeopardy! in the movie Airplane II and in "Weird Al" Yankovic
's music video "I Lost on Jeopardy
". Fleming was also often called upon to host mock versions of Jeopardy! at trade shows
and conventions.
From 1979 to 1992, Fleming hosted a daily radio talk show
on KMOX in St. Louis
. On Sunday evenings, he occasionally co-hosted Trivia Spectacular with David Strauss, a St. Louis schoolteacher. He also hosted the syndicated radio program When Radio Was
. "The Howard Stern Show" (1 episode)... aka "The Howard Stern Summer Show" - USA (promotional title) Episode dated 2 February 1991- Wack Pack Jeopardy. In this segment Howard had Art Fleming, the original host of Jeopardy, sitting in to play the Wack Pack Jeopardy game. Howard had the Wack Pack, i.e., Fred the Elephant Boy, Quentin the Stutterer and Stuttering John come in to play. Howard said Art, of course, had the answers for the game. Art and Howard spent a minute talking about how the Jeopardy game was originally created by Merv Griffin and his wife. Art was reading the answers and the Wack Packers had to give the correct question. Howard had Art do his well practiced Jeopardy thing with the guys. After the game, Howard thanked Art for coming in, and said goodbyes to Art and said "he's a good dude".
, Florida
. He remained active in charity work
, hosting fundraising
videos for the Citrus County United Way, becoming involved with the Citrus Abuse Shelter Association (where Becky served as director). He also hosted a syndicated television program, called Senior America; it showcased seniors and senior activities. Fleming, twice, tried to file a lawsuit against Alex Trebek and Merv Griffin Enterprises, stating that the new version did not have the runners up win any cash, like the older version, however, the case was rejected and thrown out, with Fleming losing the case.
at his home on April 25, 1995 shortly before his 71st birthday. His ashes were scattered at sea.
Studio 25 of the NBC
Burbank Studios is named in his honor.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television host, most notably the original host of the TV game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
.
Early life
Fleming was born Arthur Fleming Fazzin in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. His parents, William and Marie Fazzin, had emigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
from Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. They were a popular dance team in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, who had brought their show to America. Their son Art was a varsity letterman football player at James Monroe High School
James Monroe High School (New York)
For schools with a similar name, see James Monroe High School.James Monroe High School was a comprehensive high school located at 1300 Boynton Avenue and E 172nd Street in the Soundview section of the Bronx....
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, standing 6 foot, 4 inches (1.93 m), weighing 220 pounds (99.79 kg). He later attended Colgate
Colgate University
Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York, USA. The school was founded in 1819 as a Baptist seminary and later became non-denominational. It is named for the Colgate family who greatly contributed to the university's endowment in the 19th century.Colgate has 52...
and Cornell
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
universities , starring on the football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team, as well as water polo
Water polo
Water polo is a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Game play involves swimming, treading water , players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a...
teams at both colleges. Fleming was a World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
veteran who served in the U.S. Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
for three and a half years as the pilot
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
of a patrol bomber
Patrol bomber
A maritime patrol aircraft , also known as a patrol aircraft, maritime reconnaissance aircraft, or by the older American term patrol bomber, is a fixed-wing aircraft designed to operate for long durations over water in maritime patrol roles - in particular anti-submarine, anti-ship and search and...
in the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
.
Career
After leaving the Navy, Fleming became an announcerAnnouncer
An announcer is a presenter who makes "announcements" in an audio medium or a physical location.-Television and other media:Some announcers work in television production , radio or filmmaking, usually providing narrations, news updates, station identification, or an introduction of a product in...
at a radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
in Rocky Mount
Rocky Mount, North Carolina
Rocky Mount is an All-America City Award-winning city in Edgecombe and Nash counties in the coastal plains of the state of North Carolina. Although it was not formally incorporated until February 28, 1867, the North Carolina community that became the city of Rocky Mount dates from the beginning of...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. It was here that he first shortened his name to "Art Fleming." His radio career would later take him to Akron
Akron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, and back home to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. He was the first announcer to deliver the popular, grammatically controversial slogan
Slogan
A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a political, commercial, religious and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose. The word slogan is derived from slogorn which was an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic sluagh-ghairm . Slogans vary from the written and the...
"Winston tastes good, like a cigarette should" for Winston
Winston (cigarette)
Winston cigarettes are manufactured by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company or its newer incarnation as RJR Nabisco and/or its affiliates.The brand was introduced in 1954, and became the best-selling brand of cigarettes in the United States...
cigarette
Cigarette
A cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in or to the mouth and in some cases a cigarette holder may be used as well...
s.
Fleming's acting career began at age four, when he starred in a Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
play. His first television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
role was as a stunt double
Stunt double
A stunt double is a type of body double, specifically a skilled replacement used for dangerous film or video sequences, in movies and television , and for other sophisticated stunts...
for Ralph Bellamy
Ralph Bellamy
Ralph Bellamy was an American actor whose career spanned sixty-two years.-Early life:He was born Ralph Rexford Bellamy in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Lilla Louise , a native of Canada, and Charles Rexford Bellamy. He ran away from home when he was fifteen and managed to get into a road show...
in the detective series Man Against Crime
Man Against Crime
Man Against Crime , one of the first television programs about private eyes, ran on CBS, the DuMont Television Network and NBC from October 7, 1949 to August 26, 1956. The show was created by Lawrence Klee and was broadcast live until 1952...
. He would later star in The Flying Tigers and International Detective. He also played attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
Jeremy Pitt in The Californians
The Californians (TV series)
The Californians is a 54-episode half-hour Western television series, set in the San Francisco gold rush of the 1850s, which aired on NBC from September 24, 1957, to May 26, 1959...
, an NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
Western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
set in San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
during the gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
rush of the 1850s.
Fleming also appeared in many television commercials. He was first spotted by Merv Griffin
Merv Griffin
Mervyn Edward "Merv" Griffin, Jr. was an American television host, musician, actor, and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer who went on to appear in movies and on Broadway. From 1965 to 1986 Griffin hosted his own talk show, The Merv Griffin Show on Group W Broadcasting...
on a commercial for Trans World Airlines
Trans World Airlines
Trans World Airlines was an American airline that existed from 1925 until it was bought out by and merged with American Airlines in 2001. It was a major domestic airline in the United States and the main U.S.-based competitor of Pan American World Airways on intercontinental routes from 1946...
. Griffin thought Fleming was "authoritative, yet warm and interesting," and Fleming was invited to audition for the role of host for a quiz show Griffin was developing. Fleming (an actor with no prior TV quiz show experience) was initially skeptical, but his agent encouraged him to "act like a game show host" at his audition and Fleming ultimately won the job. The show was Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
, which Fleming hosted from 1964 to 1975 and again from October 2, 1978, to March 2, 1979. As the first host of "the world's greatest quiz show," Fleming earned two Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
nominations. While he was host of Jeopardy!, Fleming never missed a taping.
Because he hosted a quiz show, Fleming earned a reputation as being a storehouse of trivia. While appearing as a guest star on Hollywood Squares
Hollywood Squares
Hollywood Squares is an American panel game show in which two contestants play tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The "board" for the game is a 3 × 3 vertical stack of open-faced cubes, each occupied by a celebrity seated at a desk and facing the contestants...
(another popular NBC game show in the 1960s and 1970s), Fleming was once selected as the "secret square." His question was, "In 1938, who won the Wimbledon women's tennis championship?" Fleming picked Helen Wills Moody, one of the three choices read to him. The female contestant (who had selected Fleming) turned to Hollywood Squares MC Peter Marshall, saying, "Art Fleming would never lie! I agree!" He was right, and the contestant won $11,000. Fleming later said he didn't know a thing about tennis and had guessed the answer. He hoped the contestant would disagree, thinking he was wrong.
Throughout his career, Fleming starred in about 5,000 episodes of television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
programs and 48 motion pictures
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
. After Jeopardy!'s first cancellation in 1975, Fleming returned to acting. He played the role of W. Averell Harriman
W. Averell Harriman
William Averell Harriman was an American Democratic Party politician, businessman, and diplomat. He was the son of railroad baron E. H. Harriman. He served as Secretary of Commerce under President Harry S. Truman and later as the 48th Governor of New York...
in the movie MacArthur
MacArthur (film)
MacArthur is a 1977 American biographical war film directed by Joseph Sargent and starring Gregory Peck in the eponymous role as American General Douglas MacArthur.-Plot:...
and also appeared on episodes of Starsky and Hutch
Starsky and Hutch
Starsky and Hutch is a 1970s American cop thriller television series that consisted of a 90-minute pilot movie and 92 episodes of 60 minutes each; created by William Blinn, produced by Spelling-Goldberg Productions, and broadcast between April 30, 1975 and May 15, 1979 on the ABC...
, Kingston: Confidential
Kingston: Confidential
Kingston: Confidential is an American mystery crime drama that aired on NBC for 13 episodes during the spring of 1977, following the success of a 1976 made-for-TV movie entitled Kingston.-Synopsis:...
as well as the TV miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
The Moneychangers
The Moneychangers
The Moneychangers is a 1975 novel written by Arthur Hailey. The plot revolves around the politics inside a major bank.-Plot summary:As the novel begins, the position of CEO of one of America's largest banks, First Mercantile American is about to become vacant due to the terminal...
.
He also hosted a radio version of College Bowl
College Bowl
College Bowl was a format of college-level quizbowl run and operated by College Bowl Company, Incorporated. It had a format similar to the current NAQT format. College Bowl first aired on US radio stations in 1953, and aired on US television from 1959 to 1970...
for CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
. Fleming hosted the NBC radio weekend magazine "Monitor" during 1972. Fleming reprised his role as host of Jeopardy! in the movie Airplane II and in "Weird Al" Yankovic
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
's music video "I Lost on Jeopardy
I Lost on Jeopardy
"I Lost On Jeopardy" is a song by "Weird Al" Yankovic from his second album, "Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D. The song is a parody of "Jeopardy" by The Greg Kihn Band, and its refrain "Our love's in jeopardy"...
". Fleming was also often called upon to host mock versions of Jeopardy! at trade shows
Trade fair
A trade fair is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products, service, study activities of rivals and examine recent market trends and opportunities...
and conventions.
From 1979 to 1992, Fleming hosted a daily radio talk show
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
on KMOX in St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. On Sunday evenings, he occasionally co-hosted Trivia Spectacular with David Strauss, a St. Louis schoolteacher. He also hosted the syndicated radio program When Radio Was
When Radio Was
-History:The series began as a local program in Chicago, hosted by Carl Amari, who was the founder of Radio Spirits, Inc., which sells tapes and CDs of old time radio programs. Former CBS Radio executive Dick Brescia heard an in-flight version of the program, and soon mounted a nationally...
. "The Howard Stern Show" (1 episode)... aka "The Howard Stern Summer Show" - USA (promotional title) Episode dated 2 February 1991- Wack Pack Jeopardy. In this segment Howard had Art Fleming, the original host of Jeopardy, sitting in to play the Wack Pack Jeopardy game. Howard had the Wack Pack, i.e., Fred the Elephant Boy, Quentin the Stutterer and Stuttering John come in to play. Howard said Art, of course, had the answers for the game. Art and Howard spent a minute talking about how the Jeopardy game was originally created by Merv Griffin and his wife. Art was reading the answers and the Wack Packers had to give the correct question. Howard had Art do his well practiced Jeopardy thing with the guys. After the game, Howard thanked Art for coming in, and said goodbyes to Art and said "he's a good dude".
Personal life
Fleming was married to Becky Fleming, mother of his two stepchildren, Kimberly and Timothy. He also had four grandchildren, Matthew, Nathan, and Adam Woodring, and Madeleine Fleming. In 1992, Fleming retired, moving with Becky to Crystal RiverCrystal River
Crystal River may refer to the following places in the United States of America:*Crystal River, Florida, a town in Florida*Crystal River , a river near the town of the same name...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. He remained active in charity work
Charitable trust
A charitable trust is an irrevocable trust established for charitable purposes, and is a more specific term than "charitable organization".-United States:...
, hosting fundraising
Fundraising
Fundraising or fund raising is the process of soliciting and gathering voluntary contributions as money or other resources, by requesting donations from individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies...
videos for the Citrus County United Way, becoming involved with the Citrus Abuse Shelter Association (where Becky served as director). He also hosted a syndicated television program, called Senior America; it showcased seniors and senior activities. Fleming, twice, tried to file a lawsuit against Alex Trebek and Merv Griffin Enterprises, stating that the new version did not have the runners up win any cash, like the older version, however, the case was rejected and thrown out, with Fleming losing the case.
Death and dedication
Fleming died of pancreatic cancerPancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer refers to a malignant neoplasm of the pancreas. The most common type of pancreatic cancer, accounting for 95% of these tumors is adenocarcinoma, which arises within the exocrine component of the pancreas. A minority arises from the islet cells and is classified as a...
at his home on April 25, 1995 shortly before his 71st birthday. His ashes were scattered at sea.
Studio 25 of the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
Burbank Studios is named in his honor.