Success in Two Countries
As the result of his successful work in both the United States and Canada, Perry spent over a decade commuting between Southern California and Toronto, Ontario (except for the period between the end of taping for Card Sharks in 1981 and the beginning of taping for Sale of the Century in late 1982, where he was based in Canada; Perry did do some pilot work in the interim in Los Angeles but nothing sold). By hosting Card Sharks in the United States and Definition and Headline Hunters in Canada, Perry in 1978 became one of two emcees to simultaneously host a television game show in the United States and in Canada along with Alex Trebek, who for a brief time that year hosted High Rollers, which taped in Los Angeles at NBC, and The $128,000 Question, which Trebek took over following its move to Don Mills, Ontario in fall 1977. Geoff Edwards and Howie Mandel have since accomplished this, with Edwards helming Chain Reaction and Jackpot! for a brief period in 1989 and 1990 and Mandel hosting both the United States and Canadian English versions of Deal or No Deal simultaneously. Upon the success of Card Sharks, Jim moved his family, who had lived in Toronto, to Southern California, where they remained until his retirement.
Perry's hair went gray at an early age, and for most of the 1970s he wore his hair like that. In 1977 he began coloring his hair, returning it to its natural dark brown, and it proved to be a turning point in his career. Following his retirement Perry stopped the practice and his hair eventually turned white as he has aged.
In total, Jim Perry hosted approximately ten different game shows (including unsold pilots) in a career that spanned about 25 years. He was also involved in charitable causes, both in Southern California and Canada, and was a regular host of the annual Telemiracle telethon in Saskatchewan for many years in support of the Kinsmen Clubs in that province. His daughter Erin also appeared on several of these telethons, and on one occasion they performed a song together.
The game show host Muppet Guy Smiley is said to be modeled after Jim Perry.
Read more about this topic: Jim Perry (television Personality)
Famous quotes containing the words success in, success and/or countries:
“The best augury of a man’s success in his profession is that he thinks it the finest in the world.”
—George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)
“Failure makes us envious. Success makes us greedy.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“It is a noble land that God has given us: a land that can feed and clothe the world; a land whose coastlines would enclose half the countries of Europe; a land set like a sentinel between the two imperial oceans of the globe.”
—Albert J. Beveridge (1862–1927)