Game Show Career
In the 1953-1954 season, James was the announcer of the quiz program Judge for Yourself, which aired on NBC, with Fred Allen as the emcee.
James gained his greatest fame as the host of numerous game shows. Prior to 1956, he and Bert Parks hosted the ABC musical game show Stop the Music.
In 1956, James emceed the short-lived High Finance on CBS in which contestants answer current events questions to build up a jackpot for prizes. James was responsible for the NBC daytime revival of Name That Tune (1974–1975) and his last game show, the weekly syndicated nighttime version of The (New) Price is Right (1972–1977). James and producer Mark Goodson co-hosted a promotional film, selling stations on the 1972 revival of Price, which was originally hosted by James' fellow TV pioneer Bill Cullen. He appeared with Bill Leyden in the 1962–1964 NBC quiz program Your First Impression. James' game show hosting duties spanned the better part of four decades, presiding over shows such as The Name's the Same, High Finance (which he co-created), Haggis Baggis, People Will Talk, PDQ, and the talent shows Chance of a Lifetime and Your All-American College Show. James was also the official commercial presenter of the one-episode flop You're in the Picture, and appeared on the subsequent "apology" episode as well. He was also Ted Mack's announcer on The Original Amateur Hour.
James was a regular substitute host for Monty Hall on Let's Make a Deal during the late 1960s and early 1970s, and it was during this time that he caught the attention of Mark Goodson, who at the time was putting together The New Price is Right for syndication; the new format would incorporate the original format from 1956–1965 with elements from Deal. James was Goodson's first choice to host both that version and a daytime version commissioned by CBS, but the network insisted on Truth or Consequences host Bob Barker for the daytime show. Barker took the daytime show, which he hosted until 2007, while James hosted the nighttime version which aired in the "access period". James hosted the nighttime Price from 1972–1977, and also filled in for Barker during four daytime episodes that were taped on December 2, 1974 and aired from December 24 to 27 of that year, becoming the only substitute host in the CBS version's history; subsequently, tapings have been postponed if the host is unable to appear.
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