Game Show Host - Gene Rayburn

[cachluv]

[SIZE=6]Gene Rayburn[/SIZE]




AKA Eugene Rubessa


Born: 22-Dec-1917
Birthplace: Christopher, IL
Died: 29-Nov-1999
Location of death: Gloucester, MA
Cause of death: Heart Failure

Gender: Male
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Game Show Host
Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Host of Match Game
Military service: US Army Air Corps (WWII)
Father: Milan Rubessa (stepfather)
Wife: Helen Ticknor (m. 1-Jan-1940, d. Oct-1996)
Daughter: Lynn (b. 5-Oct-1942)

High School: Lindbloom High School, Chicago, IL
University: Knox College, Galesburg, IL

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0713073/ - for impressive body of work

Gene Rayburn was born on December 22, 1917, in Christopher, Illinois. After his father died at a very young age, his mother moved to Chicago and married Milan Rubessa, and Gene adopted his stepfather's name. As Gene Rubessa, he acted in high school plays and hoped to follow an acting career. He moved to New York City in the 1930s where he was a page for NBC, later working as an usher for the NBC symphony orchestra. Before World War Two he went to announcers school and worked with various radio personalities around New York City. He married Helen Tricknor in 1940 with whom he had one child, Lynn in 1942. Soon afterwards he was called to Military Service and joined the US Air Corps. After the war Gene worked on the Rayburn and Fitch show and later the Gene Rayburn Show in the early fifties. During the 50s Rayburn was instrumental in highlighting corruption on radio, by playing an older song so many times that it became a hit. This was alleged to have proved that record promoters could be paid to play records on stations for bribes, making the said songs very popular, albeit for a price. His breakthrough came in the mid-50s as the announcer on _"Tonight Show, The" (1954)_ with Steve Allen. Rayburn and Allen were associated on the Tonight Show for three years and Rayburn became a household name for many years after that. In 1955, he hosted his first game show called "The Sky's the Limit" (1954). Subsequent game shows included "The Match Game" (1962), "Make the Connection" (1955), "Musical Chairs" (1955), "Play Your Hunch" (1958), "Tic Tac Dough" (1956), and "Dough Re Mi" (1958). He always flew by jet from his home in Massachusetts to host his various shows. Rayburn was also a Broadway performer, and appeared in plays such as Charles Nelson Reilly was his understudy. He also had a small part in the movie It Happened to Jane (1959).

Trivia:

Chose the stagename 'Rayburn' by sticking his finger in a phonebook.
Is Croatian, and speaks Serbo-Croatian.

Attended Lindbloom High School in Chicago and Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois.

His father died when he was still an infant.

Landed his first job as a page for NBC in New York City during the late 1930s.

Succeeded Dick Van Dyke as Albert Peterson in the Broadway production of "Bye Bye Birdie" when Van Dyke departed in April of 1961.

Personal Quotes

When asked what his greatest fear was, he replied, "Being caught stealing something cheap."

[cleanskull]

Sure had a long skinny one didn't he.

[Kathyf]

Loved him on match Game. I really liked that Long microphone.

[cachluv]

OOhhhh, cleanskull Hoo Hooo HOOOOO!

[Jazbabee]

very funny guy....loved Match Game

[Danny62]

very funny guy....loved Match Game

I still love to watch it on GSN! Except Richard Dawson kind of ruins it with his ego!!

Gene Rayburn was funny as hell though!

[poizenvixenx]

Match Game was the shit. I used to love watching Charles Nelson Reilly and Brett Somers insult each other. I wasn't aware that she died earlier this year.

[midnitelamp]

Choose Up Sides ,kinda like howdydoody,with gene. the imdb entry says about all.

i have to wonder since one side is led by an astronaut ,the other by a cowboy if somebody at ToyStory was a fan.

[Harry in Connecticut]

He was the best of the game show hosts.

[GrinReaper]

I didn't watch much Match Game when it was on. But thanx to You Tube I'm able to watch and love every show I see.

Which Match Game celebs are no longer with us?
Gene Rayburn
McLean Stevenson
Charles Nelson Reilly
Brett Summers
Avery Schriber

Anyone else?

[Danny62]

I didn't watch much Match Game when it was on. But thanx to You Tube I'm able to watch and love every show I see.

Which Match Game celebs are no longer with us?
Gene Rayburn
McLean Stevenson
Charles Nelson Reilly
Brett Summers
Avery Schriber

Anyone else?

Debralee Scott

[Death Hag Chris]

Match Game RULED!!! and Gene Rayburn was one of my all time favorite game show hosts. man, I miss those crazy shows from the 70's and 80's.

[midnitelamp]

i missed very few matchgames in its' original format,which evidently was not saved liked the latter incarnation

[stinkythejokedog]

GR WAS A GOD!!! Just creating the name of "Gene Rayburn" was an act of pure genius...he probably had them all from Ruth Buzzi to Betty White...I'd like to smell his fingers but he's dead and that would be kinda creepy!

[suzycreamcheese1]

Paul Lynde, Wally Cox, Cliff Arquette

[More Cheese Please]

I didn't watch much Match Game when it was on. But thanx to You Tube I'm able to watch and love every show I see.

Which Match Game celebs are no longer with us?
Gene Rayburn
McLean Stevenson
Charles Nelson Reilly
Brett Summers
Avery Schriber

Anyone else?

Nipsy Russell
Joey Bishop
Robert Urich
Ethel Merman
Jack Albertson
Isabel Sanford... tons more

I loved Match Game and I love Tattletales too!

[herekittykitty]

Got it all for ya right here, baby.

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/matchgame/main.html

I like the "Memory Match" on this site. It's like Husker Du, where you try to find the matched pairs of Match Game celebs.

I miss Bobby Van. Soooo handsome! He was Elaine Joyce's hubby.

[More Cheese Please]

Got it all for ya right here, baby.

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/matchgame/main.html

I like the "Memory Match" on this site. It's like Husker Du, where you try to find the matched pairs of Match Game celebs.

I miss Bobby Van. Soooo handsome! He was Elaine Joyce's hubby.

Thanks for the link!!! Bobby Van was mega hot..... mmmmmmm Elaine is married to Neal Simon now.

[More Cheese Please]

Whoaaaa! I'm a SENIOR hag now

[CCB72]

Gene was an outstanding game show host. He was very personable to everyone and didnt have a huge ego like Richard Dawson

[Danny62]

Gene was an outstanding game show host. He was very personable to everyone and didnt have a huge ego like Richard Dawson

I hear him and Richard Dawson didn't excatly get along on Match Game?

[Kathyf]

I bet they didn't

[Kathyf]

Found this very interesting:
Miscellaneous info

Did you know that...
Gene did needlepoint in his spare time, especially while flying to Los Angeles to tape Match Game. Mark Goodson gave Gene a needlepoint bag as a gift on an episode of Match Game 74. Once, Richard Dawson surprised Gene with a blown up picture of Gene knitting a pair of socks during his radio days. Gene explained that they did that for some charity.
Gene's classic microphone got a lot of abuse from Gene using it as a sword, or a javelin. For a publicity shot, he put the mike in his teeth as if it was a long stemmed rose. Once during Match Game PM, the cord completely came off of it, and they had to cut to commercial to give Gene a new mike. Once on Match Game 75, instead of his usual mike, someone placed an old style radio mike on the desk. Richard Dawson explained that his usual mike was not working, and he had to use that old one. Gene was very amused and tried to pick it up. It was obviously VERY heavy, as he was hunched over trying to carry it! Meanwhile, Richard reached under the desk and revealed Gene's usual microphone, much to Gene's relief.
Gene Rayburn was the original announcer on Steve Allen's Tonight Show? He also guest hosted the show many times.
One of Gene's earliest roles on Broadway was in the Neil Simon play "Come Blow Your Horn". The play was somewhat biographical of Neil Simon, and Gene portrayed Neil's father.
In the mid 1990's, Gene and Charles Nelson Reilly reunited once more and worked together in "La Caux Au Foilles."
Gene visited with the panelists he'd gotten to know so well. In 1997, Brett Somers surprised him on The Maury Povich Show, and Gene was elated to see her. Gene also sported one of his MG microphones, which was chrome plated. It would be the last time they appeared together on TV.
Gene made an appearance on the Jenny Jones Show. Unfortunately, Jenny only talked to him for about 5 or 10 minutes, and was ignored thruout the rest of the show. Not the right way to treat a legend...
Gene also did promos for "BobCat Goldtwhait's Big A** Show", along with other game show legends. He only had a couple of lines, and one would wonder if Gene ACTUALLY knew what he was promoting!
GSN had aired segments of an interview they did with Gene Rayburn before his death, and aired them during a Match Game Marathon
Gene made two other appearances before his death. He was interviewed on Access Hollywood, and also made some commentary on an A&E Biography of Mark Goodson.
In the many appearances Gene made on talk shows and specials, fans could count on seeing Gene's "pretty nipples" blooper which was edited out of the original broadcast, and the "cuckoo friend and Ollie" answer. Even though he must've seen the nipples blooper MANY times, he still looked incredibly embarrassed after they showed it. Gene always spoke fondly of Brett and Charles, but never spoke of Richard Dawson except for a TV Guide interview. He acknowledged that in the beginning, Richard was very funny, and they were friends, but when Family Feud became a hit, he said Richard became a "loner with a very large ego".
Gene Rayburn died at the age of 81, on November 29th, 1999. Gene's wife, Helen died in 1996. Gene retired after The Movie Masters, and in 1998 relocated to Los Angeles. Before his death, he moved back to New York. He remained quite sharp and able at his age, and even at his old age retained that goofy grin. Gene is missed dearly by many game show fans.
Posthumously, Charles and Brett appeared on The Today Show to reminisce about Match Game, and surprised them with one of Gene's microphones. Brett mentioned that she'd get letters from people thinking she had cancer, and she set the record straight that she's NEVER had cancer.

[midnitelamp]

to give shape to my misspent yout,match game came on in'62 when i was 9. wiki says only 11 of the 1700sumptin still exist of the original show.

[Kathyf]

Interesting.

[midnitelamp]

well,the original show was "staid" and that is understatement,to what would come.

[Schizoid2k]

I hear him and Richard Dawson didn't excatly get along on Match Game?

They were very friendly at first, but after time the relationship got worse. Most if it was due to Richard Dawson's gaining popularity and the fact that he felt he was the entire show.

[kelbons]

I loved the Match Game so much... my old babysitter used to watch it every day and I got hooked.

Oh, Mrs. Mellish... those were the days!

[ComputerGuy]

It was a terrific show

[FloridaDeathHag]

I heard he had an affair with Madge, the Palmolive lady.

[AtlantaBlair]

Nipsy Russell
Joey Bishop
Robert Urich
Ethel Merman
Jack Albertson
Isabel Sanford... tons more

I loved Match Game and I love Tattletales too!

Ethel Merman on Match Game? I'd like to see that!!

[MegantheMonster]

He's dead?!



I love that show. Still watch it to this day. He is probably one - if not the best game show host around. He had a rapport with all the panelists and contestants. It's something you rarely see nowadays.

Megan <3

[BANTAMBILL]

I once ran into Gene Rayburn in a convenince store in Brookfield, CT which was only 15 minutes away from his home in Roxbury, CT.. He was in front of me paying for his purchase. His purchase was a ccouple of packages of CONDEMS.

BILL, CT

[BANTAMBILL]

This was around 1987-88

[dukemayfield]

Deceased game show hosts finger banging oldladies? Too much for me sorry

[FloridaDeathHag]

I once ran into Gene Rayburn in a convenince store in Brookfield, CT which was only 15 minutes away from his home in Roxbury, CT.. He was in front of me paying for his purchase. His purchase was a ccouple of packages of CONDEMS.

BILL, CT

I think they were for Madge, the Palmolive lady. Rumor has it he was banging her at the time and although well past menopause, Madge got around, often several times a day with different men, and didn't want a "mess."

[opheliahardin]

"Madge, you're soaking in it!"

[don't_axe_me]

Oh goodness...that was my first thought too!

[opheliahardin]

Oh goodness...that was my first thought too!

Great minds think alike!

[ApricotRoses]

I watch the Match Game every Saturday at noon. I LOVE it. Charles Nelson Reilly was an absolute HOOT!!!! Lots of fun for sure. GR was a great man.

[leevancleef]

ive read that BRETT SOMMERS remembers him VERY fondly.

[BANTAMBILL]

I think they were for Madge, the Palmolive lady. Rumor has it he was banging her at the time and although well past menopause, Madge got around, often several times a day with different men, and didn't want a "mess."

NOW THAT YOU MENTIONED IT THE PALMOLIVE LADY, CAN'T THINK OF HER NAME, SHE DID LIVE IN BROOKFIELD, CT AND ALSO SOUTHBURY, CT. I BET THE CONDEMS WERE USED WITH HER

[ApricotRoses]

Loved Match Game..... Gene was the best.

Read somewhere that for a period of about a year, Richard Dawson REFUSED to smile AT ALL while on the show... can't remember what the reason was, but I've seen a few of the shows where he's scowling the whole way through.

[knothere]

dawson had no prbs huggin n a kissin tho lol

[raymel1]

RIP Gene, possibly the best gameshow host of all time (sorry bob barker, i was never a fan of yours)

[Auntie Vi]

well...I guess i'm the only one who thought Gene was a bit of a dirty old man. And i hate that microphone. This did not stop me from watching it everyday after school, along with tattletails

[Danny62]

Loved Match Game..... Gene was the best.

Read somewhere that for a period of about a year, Richard Dawson REFUSED to smile AT ALL while on the show... can't remember what the reason was, but I've seen a few of the shows where he's scowling the whole way through.

I think it was when they introduced the wheel because all the contestants would pick Richard. And then I think he was under contract when he started Family Fued and wanted out of the show.

I am sure his ego didn't help any either.

[Norma Desmond]

I RAN, not walked, home from high school every single day to catch Gene Rayburn and "Match Game." Those were the days...long gone and SORELY missed.

[ibestevie]

Thanks for the link!!! Bobby Van was mega hot..... mmmmmmm Elaine is married to Neal Simon now.

Elaine Joyce was freakin hot!! Before she married Neil Simon she was in a relationship with J.D Salinger of "Catcher in the Rye" fame. The reclusive J.D. saw her on TV and was totally smitten. Somehow they hooked up and had a relationship. I don't have a link but a google search will get you there.

[TheLazenby]

Wow, the Christopher Walken episode from this season's SNL has been on *twice* now, and NO ONE has mentioned the "Gene Rayburn" parody of "Greased Lightning"? Really?!