Rod Roddy
Encyclopedia
Robert Ray "Rod" Roddy was an American
radio and television announcer
. He is primarily known for his role as an offstage announcer on game shows. Among the shows that he announced are the CBS game shows Whew!
, Press Your Luck
and The Price Is Right
. On the latter two, Roddy appeared on camera on many episodes. Roddy succeeded original announcer Johnny Olson
on Price and held the role from 1986 until his death in 2003.
, Roddy was a disc jockey
and talk show
host on KLIF and KNUS-FM (Dallas, Texas). He also worked overnights and middays at the Buffalo, New York
radio station WKBW AM
, a big-signal station covering the Eastern Seaboard of the U.S., and at other high-profile stations. Returning to KLIF and KNUS during the 1970s, Roddy hosted a call-in program, "Rod Roddy's Hotline," whose controversial host and topics made Roddy a frequent target of death threats. He conducted a long-running on-air feud with an elderly woman, dubbed "Granny Hate" by an earlier host, who claimed to represent the local Ku Klux Klan
.
Roddy announced the situation comedy
Soap from 1977 to 1981 (replacing Casey Kasem
), where he provided the opening and closing narration: "Confused? You won't be after this week's episode of Soap!"
Roddy's first work as a game show announcer was on Whew!
, which aired from 1979 to 1980. From there, he went on to announce several other game shows, including Battlestars
(1981–1982), Love Connection
(1983–1985, 1986), Hit Man
(1983) and the popular Press Your Luck
(1983–1986). Roddy also voiced a number of national television commercials, including those for Pennzoil
and Public Storage
.
died in October 1985, Roddy was chosen as one of several substitute announcers (along with Rich Jeffries
, Bob Hilton
, and Gene Wood
) to announce The Price Is Right
. The job was first offered to Hilton, who had to decline due to prior announcing engagements. Despite only announcing for six episodes (the least of the four), on February 17, 1986 Roddy was announced as the show's regular announcer. Roddy also was the announcer on Tom Kennedy's Nighttime Price Is Right after Olson's death.
Roddy later adopted a rigorous diet and exercise program. Overweight for much of his adult life, the program resulted in Roddy's loss of close to 200 pounds, an accomplishment often hailed by Barker on camera, but also subject to some mild teasing as camera technicians distorted their lenses to show an elongated and overly-skinny Roddy intentionally distorted in the manner of a funhouse
mirror when Barker would ask how much weight he has lost. With his weight-loss regimen becoming a much-lauded success, he was frequently shown on-camera while he announced "the next contestant on The Price Is Right", and was occasionally featured in Showcase skits aiding the "Barker's Beauties
".
Roddy was also noted for wearing brightly colored and sequined sport jackets, a practice he first adopted as a trademark when making personal appearances emceeing teen dances and concerts for WKBW
in Buffalo
in the 1960s. On Price he first wore pastel jackets made in Hong Kong, and with the encouragement of Bob Barker
turned them into a staple of the show. Preferring Thai silk for its colorfulness, he traveled to Bangkok several times a year to have new clothing custom-made. He would also frequently travel to Thailand as the official ambassador to Chiang Mai.
Beginning in Season 31, Roddy's on-air camera appearances were eliminated from the show. FremantleMedia claimed that it was against its policies for announcers to appear on camera during any of its game shows; however, insiders speculated that a falling-out between Roddy and Barker was the real reason Roddy was never shown again. The policy was later claimed to be a fabrication in a 2009 interview by series model Holly Hallstrom
, who was dismissed from the show in 1995 but remained friends with Roddy.
. Roddy returned a month later. A year later, the colon cancer returned, and Roddy temporarily took another leave of absence to undergo and recover from surgery on September 20, 2002. Again, he recovered within a month. In March 2003, Roddy was diagnosed with breast cancer
. He underwent surgery and afterwards, experienced major complications. As a result, Roddy was unable to announce for The Price Is Right for the rest of Season 31. The diagnoses led to Roddy becoming a spokesperson for early detection of cancer in his last years. In an interview with CBS, Roddy commented to the general public:
Despite Roddy's illness for over two years, he continued to announce for The Price Is Right for as long as he was able to, up until his last hospitalization two months before his death on October 27, 2003, less than a month after his 66th birthday. When he was away, several substitute announcers filled in for him, most often Burton Richardson and Randy West
; however, he was eventually replaced by Rich Fields
in April 2004. Roddy's final announced episode aired on October 20, 2003, just one week before his death.
Roddy is interred at Greenwood Memorial Park in Fort Worth, Texas.
Roddy was given an 18-second tribute by Barker, which was mocked by Howard Stern
for its brevity. Craig Kilborn
, then in his final season as host of The Late Late Show
, paid tribute to Roddy (a frequent guest and friend of Kilborn's) in a lengthy clip montage to end the October 28, 2003 show.
In a similar manner to the 18-second tribute, Roddy is mentioned a single time in Barker's autobiography, "Priceless Memories", when Barker lists the show's announcers since 1972.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
radio and television announcer
Announcer
An announcer is a presenter who makes "announcements" in an audio medium or a physical location.-Television and other media:Some announcers work in television production , radio or filmmaking, usually providing narrations, news updates, station identification, or an introduction of a product in...
. He is primarily known for his role as an offstage announcer on game shows. Among the shows that he announced are the CBS game shows Whew!
Whew!
Whew! is an American game show that aired on CBS from April 23, 1979, until May 30, 1980. It was hosted by Tom Kennedy and announced by Rod Roddy.The game was created by Jay Wolpert...
, Press Your Luck
Press Your Luck
Press Your Luck is an American television daytime game show created by Bill Carruthers and Jan McCormack. It premiered on September 19, 1983 on CBS and ended on September 26, 1986. In the show, contestants collected "spins" by answering trivia questions and then used the spins on an 18-space game...
and The Price Is Right
The Price Is Right (U.S. game show)
The Price Is Right is an American game show which was created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Contestants compete to identify the pricing of merchandise to win cash and prizes. The show is well-known for its signature line of "Come on down!" when the announcer directs newly selected contestants to...
. On the latter two, Roddy appeared on camera on many episodes. Roddy succeeded original announcer Johnny Olson
Johnny Olson
John Leonard "Johnny" Olson 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...
on Price and held the role from 1986 until his death in 2003.
Early career
After graduating from Texas Christian University (TCU)Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University is a private, coeducational university located in Fort Worth, Texas, United States and founded in 1873. TCU is affiliated with, but not governed by, the Disciples of Christ...
, Roddy was a disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
and talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
host on KLIF and KNUS-FM (Dallas, Texas). He also worked overnights and middays at the Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
radio station WKBW AM
WWKB
WWKB is an AM radio station in Buffalo, New York that operates on a frequency of 1520 kHz. It is owned and operated by Entercom Communications. The station carries a progressive talk radio format. Declaring itself as A New Voice, A New Choice, The Voice of the New Majority; WWKB carries a number...
, a big-signal station covering the Eastern Seaboard of the U.S., and at other high-profile stations. Returning to KLIF and KNUS during the 1970s, Roddy hosted a call-in program, "Rod Roddy's Hotline," whose controversial host and topics made Roddy a frequent target of death threats. He conducted a long-running on-air feud with an elderly woman, dubbed "Granny Hate" by an earlier host, who claimed to represent the local Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
.
Roddy announced the situation comedy
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
Soap from 1977 to 1981 (replacing Casey Kasem
Casey Kasem
Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem is an American radio personality and voice actor who is best known for being the host of the nationally syndicated Top 40 countdown show American Top 40, and for voicing Shaggy in the popular Saturday morning cartoon franchise Scooby-Doo.Kasem, along with Don Bustany and...
), where he provided the opening and closing narration: "Confused? You won't be after this week's episode of Soap!"
Roddy's first work as a game show announcer was on Whew!
Whew!
Whew! is an American game show that aired on CBS from April 23, 1979, until May 30, 1980. It was hosted by Tom Kennedy and announced by Rod Roddy.The game was created by Jay Wolpert...
, which aired from 1979 to 1980. From there, he went on to announce several other game shows, including Battlestars
Battlestars (game show)
Battlestars is an American game show that aired for two separate runs on NBC during the early 1980s. The show's first run aired from October 26, 1981 to April 23, 1982...
(1981–1982), Love Connection
Love Connection
Love Connection is an American television game show, hosted by Chuck Woolery, in which singles attempted to connect with a compatible partner of the opposite gender. The show debuted in syndication on September 19, 1983 and ended on July 1, 1994, after more than 2,000 shows. Reruns continued to air...
(1983–1985, 1986), Hit Man
Hit Man (game show)
Hit Man is an American television game show that ran from January 3 to April 1, 1983 on NBC. Peter Tomarken hosted this Jay Wolpert production in association with Metromedia Video Productions, while Rod Roddy was the announcer.-Round 1:...
(1983) and the popular Press Your Luck
Press Your Luck
Press Your Luck is an American television daytime game show created by Bill Carruthers and Jan McCormack. It premiered on September 19, 1983 on CBS and ended on September 26, 1986. In the show, contestants collected "spins" by answering trivia questions and then used the spins on an 18-space game...
(1983–1986). Roddy also voiced a number of national television commercials, including those for Pennzoil
Pennzoil
Pennzoil is an American oil company founded in Los Angeles, California in 1913. In 1955, it was acquired by Oil City, Pennsylvania company South Penn Oil, a former branch of Standard Oil. In 1963, South Penn Oil merged with Zapata Petroleum; the merged company took the Pennzoil name. During the...
and Public Storage
Public Storage
Public Storage , a real estate investment trust , is one of the largest self-storage companies in the United States with headquarters in Glendale, CA.Public Storage built its first self-storage facility in 1972...
.
The Price Is Right
After Goodson-Todman announcer Johnny OlsonJohnny Olson
John Leonard "Johnny" Olson 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...
died in October 1985, Roddy was chosen as one of several substitute announcers (along with Rich Jeffries
Rich Jeffries
Rich Jeffries is a former American television announcer, who announced on the revival of Blockbusters in 1987.Jeffries also was the first announcer of Super Password until November 23, 1984, and would substitute sporadically afterwards, while regularly assisting main announcer Gene Wood in warming...
, Bob Hilton
Bob Hilton
Robert "Bob" Wesley Hilton is an American television game show personality. He hosted The Guinness Game, a revival of Truth or Consequences and the 1990 revival of Let's Make a Deal, and announced on several other shows....
, and Gene Wood
Gene Wood
Eugene Edward "Gene" Wood was an American television personality, known primarily for his work as an announcer on various game shows. From the 1960s to the 1990s, he announced many game shows, primarily Mark Goodson–Bill Todman productions such as Family Feud, Card Sharks, Password, and Beat the...
) to announce The Price Is Right
The Price Is Right (U.S. game show)
The Price Is Right is an American game show which was created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Contestants compete to identify the pricing of merchandise to win cash and prizes. The show is well-known for its signature line of "Come on down!" when the announcer directs newly selected contestants to...
. The job was first offered to Hilton, who had to decline due to prior announcing engagements. Despite only announcing for six episodes (the least of the four), on February 17, 1986 Roddy was announced as the show's regular announcer. Roddy also was the announcer on Tom Kennedy's Nighttime Price Is Right after Olson's death.
Roddy later adopted a rigorous diet and exercise program. Overweight for much of his adult life, the program resulted in Roddy's loss of close to 200 pounds, an accomplishment often hailed by Barker on camera, but also subject to some mild teasing as camera technicians distorted their lenses to show an elongated and overly-skinny Roddy intentionally distorted in the manner of a funhouse
Funhouse
A funhouse or fun house is an amusement facility found on amusement park and funfair midways in which patrons encounter and actively interact with various devices designed to surprise, challenge, and amuse the visitor. Unlike thrill rides, funhouses are participatory attractions, where visitors...
mirror when Barker would ask how much weight he has lost. With his weight-loss regimen becoming a much-lauded success, he was frequently shown on-camera while he announced "the next contestant on The Price Is Right", and was occasionally featured in Showcase skits aiding the "Barker's Beauties
Barker's Beauties
The American television game show The Price Is Right has, since its 1972 relaunch, had a stable of models to showcase the prizes and items that are given away on the show. From 1972–2007, the group was referred to as Barker's Beauties, a term coined by producer Mark Goodson.-1956–1965:The original...
".
Roddy was also noted for wearing brightly colored and sequined sport jackets, a practice he first adopted as a trademark when making personal appearances emceeing teen dances and concerts for WKBW
WWKB
WWKB is an AM radio station in Buffalo, New York that operates on a frequency of 1520 kHz. It is owned and operated by Entercom Communications. The station carries a progressive talk radio format. Declaring itself as A New Voice, A New Choice, The Voice of the New Majority; WWKB carries a number...
in Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
in the 1960s. On Price he first wore pastel jackets made in Hong Kong, and with the encouragement of Bob Barker
Bob Barker
Robert William "Bob" Barker is a former American television game show host. He is best known for hosting CBS's The Price Is Right from 1972 to 2007, making it the longest-running daytime game show in North American television history, and for hosting Truth or Consequences from 1956 to 1975.Born...
turned them into a staple of the show. Preferring Thai silk for its colorfulness, he traveled to Bangkok several times a year to have new clothing custom-made. He would also frequently travel to Thailand as the official ambassador to Chiang Mai.
Holly Hallstrom
Holly Hallstrom was one of the models on the daytime game show The Price Is Right, from 1977–1995...
, who was dismissed from the show in 1995 but remained friends with Roddy.
Illness and death
On September 11, 2001, Roddy was diagnosed with colon cancer. He temporarily took a leave of absence to undergo and recover from surgery and chemotherapyChemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....
. Roddy returned a month later. A year later, the colon cancer returned, and Roddy temporarily took another leave of absence to undergo and recover from surgery on September 20, 2002. Again, he recovered within a month. In March 2003, Roddy was diagnosed with breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
. He underwent surgery and afterwards, experienced major complications. As a result, Roddy was unable to announce for The Price Is Right for the rest of Season 31. The diagnoses led to Roddy becoming a spokesperson for early detection of cancer in his last years. In an interview with CBS, Roddy commented to the general public:
Despite Roddy's illness for over two years, he continued to announce for The Price Is Right for as long as he was able to, up until his last hospitalization two months before his death on October 27, 2003, less than a month after his 66th birthday. When he was away, several substitute announcers filled in for him, most often Burton Richardson and Randy West
Randy West
Randy West is an American television personality who is best known for his work on game shows. He has been an announcer on American television game shows since 1990, with credits including Supermarket Sweep, Trivial Pursuit, Hollywood Showdown, and a substitute role on The Price Is Right.West's...
; however, he was eventually replaced by Rich Fields
Rich Fields
Richard Wayne "Rich" Fields is an American broadcaster, spokesman, announcer and meteorologist, best known for being the announcer of the American version of The Price Is Right from 2004–2010....
in April 2004. Roddy's final announced episode aired on October 20, 2003, just one week before his death.
Roddy is interred at Greenwood Memorial Park in Fort Worth, Texas.
Roddy was given an 18-second tribute by Barker, which was mocked by Howard Stern
Howard Stern
Howard Allan Stern is an American radio personality, television host, author, and actor best known for his radio show, which was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2005. He gained wide recognition in the 1990s where he was labeled a "shock jock" for his outspoken and sometimes controversial style...
for its brevity. Craig Kilborn
Craig Kilborn
Craig Kilborn is an American actor and talk show host. He was the original host of The Daily Show, a former anchor on ESPN's SportsCenter, and Tom Snyder's successor on CBS' The Late Late Show. On June 28, 2010, he launched The Kilborn File after a six-year absence from television...
, then in his final season as host of The Late Late Show
The Late Late Show (CBS TV series)
The Late Late Show is an American late-night television talk and variety show on CBS hosted by Craig Ferguson since 2005. It immediately follows Late Show with David Letterman and is produced by Letterman's Worldwide Pants Incorporated...
, paid tribute to Roddy (a frequent guest and friend of Kilborn's) in a lengthy clip montage to end the October 28, 2003 show.
In a similar manner to the 18-second tribute, Roddy is mentioned a single time in Barker's autobiography, "Priceless Memories", when Barker lists the show's announcers since 1972.