Arthur Godfrey

Arthur Godfrey

August 31, 1903 (121 years old) in New York City, New York, USA

Arthur Morton Godfrey (August 31, 1903 – March 16, 1983) was an American radio and television broadcaster and entertainer who was sometimes introduced by his nickname, "The Old Redhead". No television personality of the 1950s enjoyed more clout or fame than Godfrey until an on-camera incident undermined his folksy image and triggered a gradual decline; the then-ubiquitous Godfrey helmed two CBS-TV weekly series and a daily 90-minute television mid-morning show through most of the decade but by the early 1960s found himself reduced to hosting an occasional TV special. Arguably the most prominent of the medium's early master commercial pitchmen, he was strongly identified with many of his many sponsors, especially Chesterfield cigarettes and Lipton Tea. After many years for Chesterfield (during which Godfrey came up with the idea and slogan "Buy 'em by the carton"), he severed the relationship during one of his television programs, when his doctors convinced him that his lung cancer was due to smoking. Subsequently, he became a prominent spokesman for anti-smoking education. Description above from the Wikipedia article Arthur Godfrey, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Love Boat The Love Boat
The Lucy Show The Lucy Show
The Dick Cavett Show The Dick Cavett Show
The Mike Douglas Show The Mike Douglas Show

Credits