Robert Earle | |
|---|---|
 Earle hosting theCollege Bowl, c. 1960s | |
| Born | (1926-01-05)January 5, 1926 Baldwin, New York, U.S. |
| Died | June 5, 2019(2019-06-05) (aged 93) Ithaca, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Game show host, voice actor |
| Years active | 1950s–1975, 1984 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4 |
Robert Earle (January 5, 1926 – June 5, 2019) was a host ofG.E. College Bowl, an Americangame show that was broadcast first byCBS, later byNBC. Earle was the second host of the show, succeedingAllen Ludden, who left the show in 1962 to hostPassword. Earle hostedCollege Bowl during the first NBC run, from 1962 to 1970.
In the early 1950s, Earle was an announcer and news anchor forUtica, New York television stationWKTV. After he left the station, he was replaced at the anchor desk byDick Clark, another up-and-coming television personality.[1] Earle then joined the staff ofIthaca College.
Earle was working in General Electric's public-relations office when he heard that Allen Ludden would be leavingCollege Bowl, and that the producers were seeking a replacement. Earle wanted the job, and his competition consisted of game-show hosts who were unfamiliar with the show's format. Earle prepared for his audition by recording the soundtrack of aCollege Bowl telecast, retaining the students' answers but removing Allen Ludden's questions.[2] With the help of Ithaca College's audio-visual department, Earle had himself recorded, reading the questions and controlling the recorded answers with a foot pedal. Earle's clever demonstration tape won him the job.
Robert Earle had the same coloring and well-spoken manner as Allen Ludden. Columnist Bob Stahl wrote inTV Guide (Jan. 25, 1964), "When Earle first took over the show... a number of viewers noted his physical resemblance to Ludden. Both are fairly short, have sandy hair, wear horn-rimmed glasses, and sound almost alike." According to Ludden's wifeBetty White (from her memoirHere We Go Again), theCollege Bowl producers deliberately emphasized the resemblance: "They took [Robert] to Allen's optometrist and ordered the same tortoiseshell frames that Allen wore at the time." The pleasant, unflappable Earle projected a calmer, more academic demeanor than Ludden had, which served the tone of the series well until 1970, when the series lapsed. (The sponsor thought it unwise to continue the series while student unrest was in the news.)
AfterCollege Bowl, Robert Earle became a familiar face and voice in television commercials. On the weeklyGadabout Gaddis programThe Flying Fisherman, Earle represented the sponsor,Liberty Mutual Insurance.
Earle hosted a game show pilot for ABC in 1975 calledKing of the Hill. The pilot did not sell, but the premise of its endgame was adopted in 1978 asCard Sharks.[3]
Earle served in theUnited States Navy.[4] In 1951 he graduated from Utica College, then part ofSyracuse University, with a bachelor's degree in English. He settled inIthaca, New York, where he was a media lecturer at Ithaca College.
Earle married Marion Hanna in 1948 and remained married until he died of cancer on June 5, 2019, at age 93.[4] Earle was latercremated. Marion died one year later of congestiveheart failure in 2020, at age 96.
| Preceded by | G.E. College Bowl host 1962–1970 | Succeeded by Art Fleming 1978-79 Televised Semifinals and Finals |
| International | |
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| National | |
