Bill Rafferty

**Bill Rafferty** (June 17, 1944 - August 11, 2012) was an actor, comedian and impressionist. To Game Show audiences, he was best known for hosting the syndicated, nighttime version of Card Sharks from 1986-1987 and the short-lived revival of *Blockbusters* for NBC in 1987.

## Early Life

He was born in Queens, New York. The 4th and youngest child of parents Henry Rafferty, Sr. and Martha (Degnan) Rafferty. Before breaking into the world of television, Bill was a Military Policeman in the United States Army. He also worked as butcher at a meat market in Bolinas, California.

## Rise to Television

His first national TV exposure came as playing the role of a roving reporter on the NBC reality series *Real People*, which ran from April 18,1979 to July 4, 1984. He also landed guest starring roles on episodes of *Laugh-In* in the late 1970s version of the show.

## Game Shows

Rafferty was well known in the Game Show Community for his short-lived hosting stints on various game shows. He hosted his first game show *Every Second Counts*, premiering on September 17, 1984 and ran until September 1985.

From there, he moved onto his most notable hosting gig, the syndicated nighttime version of Card Sharks (Bob Eubanks hosted the CBS daytime version), which ran from September 8, 1986 to May 29, 1987.

While he hosted the nighttime version of Card Sharks, Bill pulled double duty when he hosted the short-lived revival of *Blockbusters* (previously hosted by Game Show veteran Bill Cullen from 1980-1982) for NBC Daytime. This version lasted only five months, debuting on January 5, 1987 and ended on May 1, 1987.

After the endings of *Blockbusters* and the nighttime version of Card Sharks, Bill hosted two Game Show pilots in late 1987, *Run for the Money* and *Boggle*. Neither of these two pilots were picked up by any of the three major networks but *Boggle* was eventually picked up in the mid-1990s and renamed *Boggle: The Interactive Game* and was hosted by Wink Martindale.

Bill was also known for developing creative catchphrases for his game shows, including "dual implication" on *Blockbusters* (meaning that either contestant can win or that someone has to win) as well as "the land of parting gifts", a line he also used on *Card Sharks* (meaning that the contestant who lost the game wins whatever prizes are mentioned by the announcer in the closing plug).

He also appeared on a special "Game Show Hosts" edition of *Scrabble* and as a panelist on *Super Password*, both on NBC Daytime.

## Death

On the morning of August 11, 2012, Rafferty passed away from congestive heart failure in his home in San Rafael, California. He is survived by his wife, Regina Miletic, whom he married on May 25, 1968, their three children and one grandchild. As of 2016, he and Jim Perry are the only hosts of Card Sharks to have passed away.

One of his last televised appearances was in October 2007 when he hosted a show called "Retired and Wired" on RLTV. His very last TV appearance came on May 2, 2008, when he appeared as a celebrity guest on Game Show Network's interactive series *GSN Live*.

## Gallery

Black & White headshot of BillB&W publicity photo of Bill promoting *Blockbusters*Bill on the set of the short-lived 1987 revival of *Blockbusters*Bill on set of *Blockbusters*Bill on a Game Show Hosts edition of *Scrabble*Bill on the set of (nighttime) Card Sharksas part of a heartfelt tribute to Bill after his passing