![]() DuMont had set up his shingle in Upper Montclair, New Jersey in 1931, founding DuMont Laboratories to conduct experiments and develop equipment for a nascent idea called television.Ī few years earlier, Dr. Thank you also to Dennis’ friends and co-workers, who shared their memories and insights: Merrill Heatter, Tom Kennedy, Chris Korman, Elaine LaLanne, Gary Lortz, Craig MacEachern, and Peter Marshall.Įnjoy the book. Much thanks, not just to Stu, but especially to Dennis’ family, Randy, Brad, and Dennis’ lovely wife, Micki, for sharing their memories, their father’s treasures, and his vast collection of photos. It just took Stu Shostak bringing up that fairly obvious void that needed to be filled. See what I mean? Isn’t a guy like that entitled to a book about him? I thought so. He is also the man who popularized the telethon format for fundraising, the first man to appear in a videotaped commercial, the first cigarette spokesman to act on his conscience and walk away from the job, and the first man hired to host The Price is Right in 1972. He is often considered to be the first TV variety show host, first host of what would now be called an infomercial, first TV sports commentator, first network TV game show host, and the man who brought pro wrestling into the Big Time. Somebody should be writing a book about Dennis-anybody. To be honest, the thought hadn’t crossed my mind until Stu suggested it, and taking in everything that had just been discussed during the past two hours, I realized I really should be writing that book. Stu asked, Adam, have you considered writing a book about Dennis? After the program, I showed off the album, got the autographs, and started to tip my non-existent hat and head for the door. Stu obliged and even let me answer a few questions on the show. ![]() The autographs honestly weren’t that important to me, but I like the opportunity to show the performers-or in their absence, their families-that I value the work that they did. I asked Stu if I could come in just so I could show the Dennis James album to his family and even get it autographed as a memento. One of my hobbies for many years has been collecting photos of game show hosts, all neatly sorted and organized into their own dedicated albums lining the shelves of my bookcases. Stu graciously allowed me to sneak into the broadcast. His guests were two of Dennis’ sons in the Los Angeles area, Randy and Brad (Dennis’ oldest son, Dennis Jr., was over on the other side of the country), as well as Dennis’ grandson, Colton. Stu Shostak, founder of Shokus Video and Shokus Internet Radio and host of Stu’s Show, dedicated his Februbroadcast to the life and times of Dennis James. When he's not working on game shows, he's writing about them, with previous titles including This Day in Game Show History, Quizmaster: The Life and Times and Fun and Games of Bill Cullen, The Matchless Gene Rayburn, and It's More Than Password: The Life (and Wife) of Allen Ludden. Dennis hosted the United Cerebral Palsy telethons for more than forty years, and UCP is honored to continue Dennis' legacy.ADAM NEDEFF has worked behind the scenes on game shows including Wheel of Fortune, The Price is Right, Idiotest, Emogenius, and Funny You Should Ask. A portion of every book sold benefits United Cerebral Palsy. When it came to being first, he was number one. The unusual part is that this book is about one man: Dennis James. This is an unusual book chronicling many of television's firsts … the first host of a TV variety show the first host of a network game show the first host of an infomercial the first TV wrestling commentator the first TV boxing commentator the first reporter to cover a political convention for TV the first person to host an Easter parade on network television the first person to appear on a videotaped commercial the host of the first major annual telethon the first man to put Dick Van Dyke, Jonathan Winters, and The Carpenters on television the first host hired for The New Price is Right.
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