Art Fleming - wikipedia Art Fleming Art Fleming Art Fleming in August 1970. Arthur Fleming Fazzin ( 1924 - 05 - 01 ) May 1, 1924 New York, New York April 25, 1995 ( 1995 - 04 - 25 ) ( aged 70 ) Crystal River, Florida Cause of death Pancreatic cancer Occupation TV presenter, game show host Years active 1949 -- 1995 Known for Original host of Jeopardy ! Spouse ( s ) Rebecca Lynn ( 1977 - 1995, his death ) Arthur Fleming Fazzin ( May 1, 1924 -- April 25, 1995 ) was an American actor and television host. He is most notable for being the original host of the television game show Jeopardy !, which aired on NBC from 1964 until 1975. Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Personal life 4 Death and legacy 5 Partial filmography 6 Sources 7 External links Early life Fleming was born in New York City. His parents, William and Marie Fazzin, had immigrated 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 City, standing 6 foot, 4 inches ( 1.93 m ), weighing 220 pounds ( 100 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. Career After leaving the Navy, Fleming became an announcer at a radio station in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Here, he first shortened his name to `` Art Fleming ''. His radio career later took him to Akron, Ohio, and back home to New York. He was the first announcer to deliver the slogan `` Winston tastes good, like a cigarette should '' for Winston cigarettes. A 1970 NBC publicity photo featuring Art James, Bob Clayton, Jack Kelly, and Art Fleming 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. In 1959 he starred as detective Ken Franklin in the ABC TV series International Detective, credited as Arthur Fleming. 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 March 30, 1964, to January 3, 1975, and again from October 2, 1978, to March 2, 1979. Although often described as the `` host '' of the program, announcer Don Pardo 's introduction of him announced, `` and here 's the star of Jeopardy !, Art Fleming. '' As `` the world 's greatest quiz show 's '' first host, 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 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 did not 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. In 1977 he played the role of W. Averell Harriman in the movie MacArthur starring Gregory Peck, and appeared in the comedy film American Raspberry, and also appeared in episodes of Starsky and Hutch, Kingston : Confidential, and the 1976 TV miniseries The Moneychangers. Fleming also hosted a radio version of College Bowl for CBS Radio from 1979 to 1982. He hosted the NBC radio weekend magazine Monitor during 1972. Fleming reprised his role as host of Jeopardy ! in the 1982 movie Airplane II : The Sequel 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. It was reported that Fleming was asked to reprise his role as Jeopardy ! host when Merv Griffin began developing a revival of the show in 1983. He declined, later stating in 1989 that he did not like the direction the show had gone in moving the show to Hollywood ( being partial to his native New York, he felt that the Hollywood setting made the show dumber and less realistic ). As a result, Alex Trebek took the position instead and has hosted the program ever since. From 1980 to 1992, Fleming hosted a daily radio talk show on KMOX in St. Louis, which continued until his retirement. 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. Personal life Mr. Fleming was first married to actress Peggy Ann Ellis, who worked on The Merv Griffin Show. They had a daughter, Jan Marie Hanna and were divorced after five years. Fleming then married Becky Lynn in a private ceremony at Norman Vincent Peale 's home. He soon adopted Becky 's two children from a prior marriage. Together they had five grandchildren. In 1992, Fleming retired and the family moved to Crystal River, Florida. He remained active in charity work : he hosted fundraising videos for the Citrus County United Way and became involved with the Citrus County Abuse Shelter Association, Inc. ( where Becky served as director ). He also hosted a syndicated television program, called Senior America, which showcased seniors and senior activities. Death and legacy Fleming died of pancreatic cancer at his home on April 25, 1995, six days before his 71st birthday. His ashes were scattered at sea. Studio 25 of The Burbank Studios is named in his honor. Partial filmography A Hatful of Rain ( 1957 ) - Jack - Mounted Cop Career ( 1959 ) - Mounted Policeman ( uncredited ) American Raspberry ( 1977 ) - Colonel Grant MacArthur ( 1977 ) - The Secretary Airplane II : The Sequel ( 1982 ) - Himself Biography portal New York City portal Los Angeles portal Ohio portal Missouri portal Florida portal Radio portal Television portal World War II portal United States Navy portal Sources ^ Jump up to : Harris, Bob ( 2006 ). Prisoner of Trebekistan : A Decade in Jeopardy !. Random House Digital. p. 13. ISBN 978 - 0 - 307 - 33956 - 0. Jump up ^ http://jeopardy.edogo.com/index.php/cast-biography/art-fleming/ ^ Jump up to : Jeopardy tribute website Jump up ^ David Schwartz, Steve Ryan & Fred Wostbrock, The Encyclopedia of TV Game $ hows, Checkmark Books, 1999, pp. 112 -- 115. Jump up ^ `` What is Jeopardy ! ?, 05.01. 89 -- Sports Illustrated Jump up ^ https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/27/obituaries/art-fleming-70-television-host-who-gave-polish-to-jeopardy.html Jump up ^ `` Art Fleming ''. Find a Grave. Retrieved March 30, 2014. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Art Fleming. Art Fleming on IMDb Media offices Preceded by None Host of Jeopardy ! 1964 -- 1975, 1978 -- 1979 Succeeded by Alex Trebek This article is in the category Category : People from Crystal River, Florida, but no reliable sources are cited to verify its inclusion. Please help by adding references that support its inclusion, or remove the category if none exist. This article is in the category Category : Radio personalities from St. Louis, but no reliable sources are cited to verify its inclusion. Please help by adding references that support its inclusion, or remove the category if none exist. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Art_Fleming&oldid=864993587 '' Categories : 1924 births 1995 deaths American game show hosts American talk radio hosts American people of Austrian descent Radio personalities from St. Louis Deaths from pancreatic cancer Entertainers from New York City Male actors from Akron, Ohio Deaths from cancer in Florida United States Navy pilots of World War II People from Crystal River, Florida Hidden categories : Articles with hCards All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from May 2015 Articles with unsourced statements from October 2018 Articles with uncited categories Talk Contents About Wikipedia Español Français Simple English Edit links This page was last edited on 20 October 2018, at 23 : 51 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. 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Question: who was the first host of the show jeopardy
Answer: Arthur Fleming