Ralph Edwards

Ralph Edwards

Born: June 13, 1913
Died: November 16, 2005
Ralph Edwards was born near Merino, Colorado, in 1913, moving with his family to Oakland, California, when he was 12. He worked his way through college at radio stations in Oakland and San Francisco, graduating from the University of California at Berkeley in 1935 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in drama. Edwards moved to New York in 1936 and became one of radio's busiest announcers, doing as many as 45 network shows a week. In 1940, in response to this hectic pace, Edwards created, produced and hosted the landmark audience participation show "Truth or Consequences".

The show's great popularity led to his appearance in the Lucille Ball-Victor Mature film Seven Days' Leave (1942). He moved the show and his production company to Hollywood in 1945, where he made three more films for RKO: Radio Stars on Parade (1945), The Bamboo Blonde (1946) and Beat the Band (1947), all with Frances Langford. His big-screen career took a decided back seat in 1948, when Edwards first brought to the air his other long-running show, This Is Your Life (1952).

On radio for its first two years, Edwards took the program to NBC-TV in 1952, where it remained until 1961, winning two Emmys (he also hosted a syndicated version from 1971-1973). His last feature film appearance came in the Susan Hayward MGM bio-pic of Lillian Roth, I'll Cry Tomorrow (1955), which ends with a recreation of Roth's appearance on This Is Your Life (1952). Edwards' television career began in earnest in 1950, when The New Truth and Consequences (1950) aired one season on CBS-TV and earned the first Emmy awarded for an audience participation show. He turned over host duties to Jack Bailey in 1954 and, in 1956, launched the career of Bob Barker as host of the daytime version. Edwards, also well-known for his extensive charitable and philanthropic activities, became one of TV's most prolific producers.

Date of Birth 13 June 1913, Merino, Colorado

Date of Death 16 November 2005, West Hollywood, California (congestive heart failure)

Movies for Ralph Edwards...

He Who Made Monsters: The Life and Art of Jack Pierce
Title: He Who Made Monsters: The Life and Art of Jack Pierce
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: July 9, 2008
Type: Movie
Tribute to Universal make-up artist Jack Pierce who created some of the studio's most famous works including Frankenstein's Monster, the Wolf Man, the Mummy and countless other creatures. Rick Baker, Tom Savini, Howard Berger, Bob Burns, Scott Essman, Kim Newman, Gregory Nicotero and others discuss the work of Pierce and his enduring legacy.
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Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the Holocaust
Title: Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the Holocaust
Character: Self
Released: January 1, 2004
Type: Movie
Daniel Anker’s 90-minute documentary takes on over 60 years of a very complex subject: Hollywood’s complicated, often contradictory relationship with Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. The questions it raises go right the very nature of how film functions in our culture, and while hardly exhaustive, Anker’s film makes for a good, thought provoking starting point.
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This Is Your Life: 30th Anniversary Special
Title: This Is Your Life: 30th Anniversary Special
Character: Host
Released: February 26, 1981
Type: Movie
30th anniversary special of This is Your Life, hosted by David Frost.
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Title: Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Character: Self
Released: September 9, 1967
Type: TV
An American sketch comedy television program hosted by comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin.
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The New March of Dimes Presents: The Scene Stealers
Title: The New March of Dimes Presents: The Scene Stealers
Character: Self
Released: January 6, 1962
Type: Movie
A TV movie with intertwining music numbers and sketches.
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Title: The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
Character: Self
Released: October 5, 1956
Type: TV
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show is an American variety series hosted by Dinah Shore, and broadcast on NBC from October 1956 to June 1963. The series was sponsored by the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors and its theme song, sung by Shore, was "See the U.S.A. in Your Chevrolet", which continued to be used in Chevrolet advertising for several more years after the cancellation of the show.
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Title: The Steve Allen Show
Character: Self - This Is Your Life
Released: June 24, 1956
Type: TV
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Title: This Is Your Life
Character: Self - Host
Released: October 1, 1952
Type: TV
This Is Your Life is an American television documentary series broadcast on NBC, originally hosted by its producer, Ralph Edwards from 1952 to 1961. In the show, the host surprises a guest, and proceeds to take them through their life in front of an audience, including special guest appearances by colleagues, friends and family. Edwards revived the show in 1971-72, while Joseph Campanella hosted a version in 1983. Edwards returned for some specials in the late 1980s, before his death in 2005. The show originated as a radio show on NBC Radio airing from 1948 to 1952.
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Title: The Colgate Comedy Hour
Character: Self
Released: September 10, 1950
Type: TV
The Colgate Comedy Hour is an American comedy-musical variety series that aired live on the NBC network from 1950 to 1955. The show starred many notable comedians and entertainers of the era, including Eddie Cantor, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Fred Allen, Donald O'Connor, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, Bob Hope, Jimmy Durante, Ray Bolger, Gordon MacRae, Ben Blue, Robert Paige, Tony Curtis, Burt Lancaster, Broadway dancer Wayne Lamb and Spike Jones and His City Slickers.
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Title: Truth or Consequences
Character: Host
Released: September 7, 1950
Type: TV
Truth or Consequences is an American television show originally hosted on NBC radio by Ralph Edwards and later on television by Edwards, Jack Bailey, Bob Barker, Bob Hilton and Larry Anderson. The television show ran on CBS, NBC and also in syndication. The premise of the show was to mix the original quiz element of game shows with wacky stunts. The daily syndicated show was produced by Ralph Edwards Productions, in associated with and distributed by Metromedia Producers Corporation and Lorimar-Telepictures.
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Beat the Band
Title: Beat the Band
Character: Eddie Martin
Released: February 19, 1947
Type: Movie
Singer Ann wants back her money that the manager of a big-band has embezzled.
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The Bamboo Blonde
Title: The Bamboo Blonde
Character: Eddie Clark
Released: July 15, 1946
Type: Movie
A pilot of a B 29 meets Louise Anderson, a singer in a New York nightclub. He falls in love with her, but he had to leave next day for action in the Pacific. He lets paint her picture on his bomber, the "Bamboo Blonde" and becomes a hero with his crew sinking a Japanese battleship and shooting down a Japanese fighter wing. Back in New York, he leaves his fiancée and engages him to Louise.
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Radio Stars on Parade
Title: Radio Stars on Parade
Character: Ralph Edwards
Released: August 1, 1945
Type: Movie
A Hollywood talent agency tries to avoid finacial ruin by getting its best clients on the air.
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Manhattan Merry-Go-Round
Title: Manhattan Merry-Go-Round
Character: Radio Man (uncredited)
Released: November 26, 1937
Type: Movie
In this musical comedy, a crooked record producer uses his mob connections to force performers to do their stuff. The trouble really begins when the gangster's strong-arm tactics nearly cause a singer to lose his fiancée. A wide variety of entertainers appear including cowboy crooner Gene Autry, baseball hero Joe DiMaggio, and big band stars Cab Calloway, Ted Lewis, and the Kay Thompson Singers. Songs include "Mamma I Wanna Make Rhythm," "Manhattan Merry-Go-Round," "Heaven?," "I Owe You," and "It's Round-up Time in Reno."