Art Linkletter, T.V. Host, Dies At Age 97
LOS ANGELES (CBS/AP) Television and radio personality Art Linkletter died Wednesday, at the age of 97.
The beloved host of long-running programs such as "People Are Funny" and CBS TV and Radio's "House Party" passed away at his home in the Bel-Air section of Los Angeles from natural causes and had not been diagnosed with any life-threatening disease.
"He lived a long, full, pure life, and the Lord had need for him," says his son-in-law Art Hershey, husband of Sharon Linkletter.
Linkletter was known on TV for his funny interviews with children and ordinary people. He collected their comments in a number of best-selling books including "Kids Say The Darndest Things" which sold in the millions.
The host of one of television's longest-running variety shows "Art Linkletter's House Party" debuted on radio in 1944 and was seen on CBS television from 1952 to 1969.
The charismatic persona of Linkletter's broadcast style was mirrored his personal life with his wife of more than half a century, Lois. The pair had five children, whom he affectionately nicknamed the "Links."
Three children died before him. The first, his 20-year-old daughter Diane, jumped to her death from a sixth-floor Hollywood apartment in 1969. Linkletter cited LSD use, but toxicology tests found no LSD in her body.
Still, the tragedy prompted Linkletter to become a crusader against drug abuse. Son, Robert, died in a car accident in 1980. Another son, Jack, was 70 when he passed away from lymphoma in 2007.
Linkletter is survived by his wife, Lois, whom he married in 1935, and daughters Dawn Griffin and Sharon Linkletter, as well as seven grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.