Comedian, TV show host, and actor Jan Murray died yesterday at his home in Beverly Hills, California.
Murray wasn't seen on television in many, many years (the last thing he did were TV show guest spots in the late 80s, but he was on a lot of stuff in the 60s and 70s. He hosted several game shows, including Songs For Sale and Blind Date in the early 50s, and Dollar A Second. He was a guest on several TV shows over the years, including The Tonight Show, The Jackie Gleason Show, Mannix, The Lucy Show, Hunter, The Defenders, Hollywood Squares, Car 54, Where Are You?, Fantasy Island, Dr. Kildare, My Two Dads, and many others. He was also in many movies, including the odd, controversial Who Killed Teddy Bear? with Sal Mineo and Juliet Prowse.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-05-2006 @ 6:13AM
Mark Little said...
Jan Murray was the host of a show called Treasure Hunt in the late 1950's. The main source of interest for me as a prepubescent jerk kid was the fact that the young lady that rolled out the treasure chest was Marian Stafford, an early Playboy bunny and my next door neighbor's cousin. We'd watch the show, then pull out the copy we had stashed and give it a close comparison to what we'd seen on the screen.
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7-05-2006 @ 7:34AM
Brad Holweger said...
I was amazed after reading the reporter's article on Mr. Murray, that the listings didn't include "Treasure Hunt" which is the TV program that I remember him on the most. I didn't watch much Television in the 60's. He will be missed. He was a very lively, aggressive host, and I enjoyed him very much. I always wondered which parent was responsible for the name "Jan" and why?
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7-09-2006 @ 10:44AM
henry rose said...
TO BRAD: How Jan got his name? He was born Murray Janofsky in the East Bronx and while performing as a teenager was told he might be remembered better with something new!
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