| Johnny Olson | |
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 Johnny Olson on The Price Is Right |
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| Born | John Leonard Olson May 22, 1910 Windom, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Died | October 12, 1985 (aged 75) Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Announcer |
| Years active | 1944 – 1985 |
John Leonard "Johnny" Olson (May 22, 1910 – October 12, 1985) was an American radio personality and television announcer. His work spanned 32 game shows produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman from the late 1950s through the mid 1980s. He was also the announcer of The Jackie Gleason Show from 1962 to 1970.
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Early career
Born in Windom, Minnesota, while landing jobs at WIBA and KGDA in and nearby Madison, Wisconsin after 1928, Olson enrolled in pharmacy classes at the University of Minnesota. He also worked a string of odd jobs, from soda jerk to singer. His first network job on radio was in 1944, announcing the musicalgame show, Ladies Be Seated, a stunt game along the lines of Truth or Consequences broadcast on the Blue Network; as late as 1956, Olson had a crack at another radio quiz, the short-lived Second Chance, somewhat similar to the earlier hit Queen for a Day in that this show, too, focused on guest contestants' tribulations, in this case a chance at rectifying a mistake or a loss in life.
Early announcing work
Olson's first TV announcing job was on the final year of the original Name That Tune in 1958; in that year Olson also announced the Merv Griffin-hosted Play Your Hunch, which lasted until 1963 and began his long association with Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions, five years earlier. In the late 1960s, he was also a substitute announcer on the ABC version of Supermarket Sweep.
Beginning in 1960, Olson announced the CBS prime-time panel game To Tell The Truth (on which he greeted each team of challengers with the question, "What is your name, please?"). The following year, he added duties on sister show What's My Line?, and in 1962 began announcing in the original Match Game (hosted by Gene Rayburn) in daytime on NBC until that series ended in 1969.
Olson was also announcer for The Jackie Gleason Show from 1962 until its cancellation in 1970. The first few seasons of the variety show were recorded in New York City (as Olson would say at the beginning of each show, "the entertainment capital of the world"), while the last few seasons were produced in Miami Beach, Florida (replaced by "the sun and fun capital of the world").
Olson continued to announce Line? and Truth after both shows moved from CBS to syndication in the late 1960s; his involvement with both of them ended when he was designated announcer of the 1972 revivals of The Price Is Right and I've Got a Secret, both of which were taped in Hollywood, and left New York for the west coast.
The Price Is Right
While Name That Tune, To Tell the Truth, What's My Line, and The Match Game put Olson in the upper echelons of television game show announcers, the revival of The Price Is Right cemented Olson's fame. From the first show (airing September 4, 1972) to his passing in 1985, his role transcended that of an announcer.
In addition to serving as Bob Barker's sidekick, Olson was a beloved and valued member of the cast. He warmed up the audience prior to taping; during taping, he often had on-camera exposure (occasionally bantering with Barker) prior to calling out the contestants' names; he also appeared in many of the shows' Showcases.
His exhortations for contestants to "Come on down!" became a catch phrase, and a Price Is Right tradition observed by his successors, Rod Roddy (1986-2003) and Rich Fields (2004-present).
On a side note, current announcer Fields attended a taping of The Price Is Right in 1978, asking Olson how he could get the announcing job. Olson then had Fields come up on stage and shout: "Johnny Olson, come on down!" Feigning annoyance, Olson told Fields: "Gimme back that microphone, kid, before Mr. Barker hears you backstage. Now go sit down!" Fields eventually got the announcing gig 26 years after his first-ever visit to the show.
Match Game and later career
In 1973, Olson started announcing for a revived Match Game, another show transplanted from New York to California; the show's "Get ready to match the stars!" became a second catch phrase associated with him for the following nine years. Like executive producer Mark Goodson, Olson filled in on the days when a scheduled guest failed to appear in time for a taping. Olson only missed one taping of Match Game during the CBS years; his fill-in for one week of daytime shows and one nighttime show was Bern Bennett.
On an episode of Match Game in 1975, Charles Nelson Reilly forgot to change his clock for Daylight Saving Time and overslept, missing the taping of the show. Johnny Olson took his place on the panel. He matched for two out of the three questions he participated in, although none of his answers were booed by the crowd as bad.
During the 1970s and early 1980s, while going strong with his announcing duties on Price and Match, he announced nine other shorter-lived game shows, including Now You See It, Mindreaders, Double Dare, a revival of Tattletales, and his final non-Price assignment, Body Language.
Olson's name was occasionally the solution to clues and puzzles on shows he announced for; this happened on both Now You See It and Body Language. Additionally, when "Come on _______" was used as a question in the "Super Match" portion of an episode of Match Game '78 (with Price host Bob Barker serving as a panelist), host Gene Rayburn called Olson to center stage to read the top answer ("Come on down!").
Olson spent his off time on his spacious farm located at Buckingham Acres in Lewisburg, West Virginia.
Death
Olson died on Saturday, October 12, 1985 in Santa Monica, California from a cerebral hemorrhage he had suffered several days earlier. He was cremated. The staff and crew of The Price Is Right learned of Olson's condition as Studio 33 at CBS was being prepared for another day's taping. Production was canceled for the rest of the week (shows were recorded several weeks in advance of broadcast). There was no on-air mention of Olson's death until October 15 when host Bob Barker paid tribute to Olson in an attached segment that followed the end credits.[citation needed] The last Olson-announced episode aired on November 8, 1985.
A biography, Johnny Olson: A Voice in Time, written by fellow announcer Randy West (who Olson had mentored at the start of his career), was published in late 2009.
References and notes
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This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2007) |
| Preceded by Johnny Gilbert (in the original version, 1963-1965) |
The Price Is Right announcer September 4, 1972–November 8, 1985 |
Succeeded by Rod Roddy 1986–2003 |
External links
- Johnny Olson at the Internet Movie Database
- Johnny Olson at the Internet Broadway Database
- A Tribute to Johnny Olson, written by fellow announcer Randy West
- http://www.j-shea.com/TPIR/nighttime/ audio of Johnny Olson announcing 1970s nighttime episodes of The Price Is Right
- Rare audio clip of Olson's classic Warm-Up routine for Price is Right audiences.
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