John Reed King Explained

John Reed King
Birth Date:October 25, 1914
Birth Place:Wilmington, Delaware
Death Date:July 8, 1979 (aged 64)
Death Place:Woodstown, New Jersey
Nationality:American
Occupation:Host on radio and television programs
Spouse:Jean Abbot King
Children:2 daughters, 1 son

John Reed King (October 25, 1914 – July 8, 1979) was an American radio and television game show host who hosted numerous game shows during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s.

Career

King was one of the announcers for The American School of the Air on CBS,[1] and he had one of the top-rated radio shows of the 1930s in New York City with Missus Goes A-Shopping. He was also an announcer for the radio version of Death Valley Days[1] and for The Jack Berch Show.[2]

On August 1, 1944, he hosted the live television version of Missus Goes A-Shopping, and on January 29, 1946, he hosted the television version of It's a Gift, making these among the first television quiz shows ever aired, after CBS Television Quiz (1941-1942).

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, King was host of The John Reed King Show, an audience-participation quiz show. It began on WOR-TV and moved to WCBS-TV on February 2, 1950.[3]

He worked at KDKA radio and television in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during the 1960s. He was a morning news anchor for the radio station, and hosted a daily talk show on television. In 1970, he was a news anchor at KGO-TV, the ABC owned-and-operated television station in San Francisco, California.

Personal life

He married Jean Elizabeth Abbot (or Abbott). They had two daughters and a son.[4]

Radio Shows, Host

Television Shows, Host

Books

Notes and References

  1. Dunning, John. (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. Oxford University Press.
  2. News: Berch Is Back. Harrisburg Telegraph. June 7, 1941. Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. 24. Newspapers.com. November 30, 2015.
  3. News: Debuts, Highlights, Changes (Continued) . June 22, 2022 . Ross Reports on Television including The Television Index . January 29, 1950 . 2.
  4. https://www.nytimes.com/1979/07/10/archives/john-reed-king-a-host-on-radio-and-early-tv.html Obituary