Jim Lange 1932-2014, Host of "Name That Tune"

[Zoneboy]

Link

Jim Lange, the first host of the popular game show "The Dating Game," has died at his home in Mill Valley, Calif. He was 81.

He died Tuesday morning after suffering a heart attack, his wife Nancy told The Associated Press Wednesday.

Though he had a successful career in radio — which was his first love — Lange is best known for his role on "The Dating Game," which debuted in the mid-1960s and on which he appeared for more than a decade.

He played host to many celebrity guests including Michael Jackson, Steve Martin and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The show's format: a young man or woman questions three members of the opposite sex, hidden from her view, to determine which one would be the best date.

Lange is survived by a sister, five children, two stepchildren and four grandchildren.

[Vahan]

I have fond memories watching him via reruns of his version of Name that Tune when it was rerun from 1989 to 1991 on USA Network.

[bmasters9]

I saw some of him on Bullseye, and I think that such was his best show outside of The Dating Game.

[let'swatchtv]

I really hate it when a legend pass away from our small screens to the pearly gates in heaven. and this one is no exception to the rule.

hopefully GSN will air some classic Dating Game episodes in a one-day only marathon or someone from Sony makes a new version of the dating game in Jim Lange's honor and not some wanna-be reality clone like Baggage or Bzzz!

R.I.P Mr. Lange, hopefully heaven will get the date you really wanted.

[howilu]

It's a sad day in the game show world with the passing of Jim Lange. Though he is best known for hosting The Dating Game, he also hosted shows such as Bullseye, The $1,000,000 Chance of a Lifetime and The 100,000 Name That Tune. He was a very good host who was cordial to contestants and even celebrities when he hosted Hollywood Connection. He will always remembered for the way he brought on the bachelors and bachelorettes on The Dating Game when he exclaimed "And here they are!"

May he rest in peace.

[ohmrwilson]

He was one of the best.

[Marvo301]

Jim Lange

[faraj]

Guest starred as himself on the Dating Game show episode. http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/...-dies-22692713

[AB]

Rest in peace.

[KurtfromPitts]

I hope someone (Sony?) releases classic Dating Game episodes on DVD in Jim's honor.

[JamesG]

Jim Lange Tribute
by Matt Webb Mitovich
2/28/14


GSN will remember legendary game show host Jim Lange, who passed away on Tuesday, with a marathon of his most memorable episodes as host of "The Dating Game", airing Wednesday, March 5, from 8 am until noon EST.

http://tvline.com/2014/02/28/mistres...r-pad-returns/

[simmytbone]

Jim Lange was a TRUE Legend and a Class Act and IMO, the best Game Show that he ever hosted outside The Dating Game is w/o question BULLSEYE which is the 1st Game Show that I ever watched even in reruns on CBN, USA and GSN

God Bless You Jim Lange, may you R.I.P. and I hope that you go upstairs and hit the BULLSEYE

Please say hello to Barry & Enright for me

and BTW, Jim Lange appeared on The Super Mario Bros. Super Show entitled Game Show Host

[Zoneboy]

Lange spent more than 50 years in radio and TV and hoped to have a TV talk show. But he felt stymied by his 'Dating Game' tenure.

Link

Jim Lange was the original and best-known host of a television show that has come to be identified with the swinging late 1960s and 1970s: "The Dating Game."

"We were really the first reality show," he said in a 2002 Times interview, "paving the way for Howard Stern, Jerry Springer, 'Big Brother.'"

Not that Lange, who graduated cum laude from the University of Minnesota, was so proud of those offspring. He spent more than 50 years in radio and television and hoped to one day have a TV talk show. But Lange felt his association with "The Dating Game" stymied loftier ambitions, and he knew it would be his legacy.

"It'll be on my tombstone," he said in a 1991 San Francisco Chronicle interview.

Lange, 81, died Tuesday at his home in Mill Valley. The cause was a heart attack, said his daughter, Romney.

"The Dating Game" first went on the air on the ABC network in late 1965 when Lange was already a popular host on KSFO-AM radio in San Francisco. "He used to do the 6-to-10 morning drive time at the radio station," Romney Lange said, "then three days a week he would get on a plane, fly to L.A., tape five 'Dating Game' shows and fly back."

The upbeat daytime TV show, in which three single men would answer staff-written questions read by an unseen prospective date, was designed to be slightly titillating. "We dealt in innuendo, romance," Lange said in the Times interview. "No swear words or off-color stuff."

Although male contestants were occasionally featured as questioners, in most cases it was a woman who would be doing the asking before picking her date (an expenses-paid, chaperoned outing) based on his answers. Lange said this marked a reversal in the era's norms.

"When 'The Dating Game' came out, women had to wait for a man to call" for a date, Lange said. "Having them make the choices appealed to the female population, the target demographic."

Some contestants later became famous, including Farrah Fawcett, introduced by Lange as "an accomplished artist and sculptress." John Ritter was on a panel as "a college student majoring in drama." Michael Jackson, Steve Martin, Andy Kaufman, Burt Reynolds and Tom Selleck also appeared, as did two future governors: Arnold Schwarzenegger of California and Jennifer Granholm of Michigan.

While hosting, Lange was often decked out in fashions of the era, including neon-colored jackets with wide lapels resembling glider wings. Sometimes he sported a pastel-colored tux and a shirt with voluminous ruffles. "That was not my dad's choice," Romney Lange said. "He was never a fan of that."

A nighttime version of the show ran on ABC from 1966 to 1970. The daytime version was on the network until 1973, then in syndication for an additional year. The show was revived in 1978, again in syndication, and ran until 1980. He went on to host other TV game shows, including the "$1,000,000 Chance of a Lifetime" and the "$100,000 Name That Tune." But he was trapped by his "Dating Game" image. "It stigmatized me," he said in the Chronicle interview. "I wouldn't even be considered for commercials because I was so identified with that one image."

James John Lange was born Aug. 15, 1932, in St. Paul, Minn. At age 15 he won an audition to work at a local radio station, as a disc jockey and sports reporter. He studied radio and television speech, with a minor in journalism at the university, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. In the mid-1950s he got his first TV hosting job, portraying the title character on the local "Captain 11" show in which he'd introduce science fiction adventures such as "Buck Rogers."

After a stint in the Marines, Lange moved to San Francisco, where he called himself the All-Night Mayor while working the night shift at KGO radio, according to the Bay Area Radio Digest. He moved to KSFO in 1960 and two years later got his break in national television as the announcer on a show staring country singer Tennessee Ernie Ford. "They wanted a young, urbane-type person," Lange told the Chronicle, "to counteract his country image."

Though he gained international fame from "The Dating Game," Lange's true love in the broadcast field was radio. "TV happened kind of by accident," said Romney Lange. "He had a good voice and he was good-looking. But radio is what he grew up on and he always loved it."

In addition to working at stations in San Francisco, where he had shows until 2005, Lange worked at KMPC radio in Los Angeles in the early 1970s and then again in the 1980s.

In addition to his daughter, Lange is survived by his wife, Nancy; sons Gavin and Nicolas; stepdaughter Ingrid; stepson Steig; sister Midge; and four grandchildren.

[simmytbone]

Hey guys,

Game Show Legends Bob Eubanks, Chuck Woolery and Wink Martindale pays tribute to their longtime friend Jim Lange

http://rumorfix.com/2014/02/bob-euba...nge-exclusive/

Bob Eubanks Pays Tribute To Jim Lange — Exclusive

Jim Lange, the first host of the ’60s and ’70s The Dating Game, died Tuesday and a fellow host is sharing his comments exclusively with RumorFix.
Bob Eubanks, who hosted the companion show The Newlywed Game, told us, “I think Jim was the most underrated host on television.”

Lange died of a heart attack at his home in Mill Valley, California. He was 81.
Eubanks, 76. who still makes appearances across the country and hosts the Rose Bowl Parade, adds, “ He was a great golfer, loved radio and was one of the nicest guys in the world. I never met anyone who didn’t like Jim Lange. He will be missed beyond words. God Bless you my friend.”

http://www.insideedition.com/enterta...ses-away-at-81

Chuck Woolery Remembers Jim Lange

Jim Lange, the original host of the legendary show, The Dating Game, is dead at age 81. His wife, Nancy, said he died Tuesday morning after suffering a heart attack at his home in California.

The Dating Game debuted in 1965 and Lange hosted it for more than a decade. He's being remembered today by Chuck Woolery, who hosted that other classic dating show, Love Connection.

Woolery said, "He was the best at what he did. He was the best at that show."

Lange gave many up-and-coming celebrities an early break on TV, including Suzanne Somers. Arnold Schwarzenegger also appeared as a contestant when he was still just a body builder. Even a pre-Charlie’s Angels Farrah Fawcett appeared on the popular game show.

Years later, Lange was a local radio host in San Francisco. Now, fans everywhere are remembering Jim Lange.

Woolery said, "Jim will be remembered as a wonderful and very capable host. A wonderful professional man and a wonderful guy."

NOTE: Woolery hosted The Dating Game from 1997-1999 while Jim was still doing radio

Wink Martindale who hosted Tic Tac Dough shared on his official facebook page moments and memories of Jim Lange who hosted Tic Tac's Sister Show Bullseye

https://www.facebook.com/winkmartindalegames

I was saddened beyond words to hear of the passing of my longtime pal Jim Lange. We first met when Jim, Bob Eubanks and I were hosts in the Chuck Barris stable. But my relationship with Jim reached far beyond television. First and foremost we were both avid radio performers. Jim's initial success came in his beloved San Francisco. Then LA. For me it was Memphis. Then LA.

Jim had been a mid-day fixture on Gene Autry's flagship KMPC when he chose to return to Frisco radio. I was chosen to take over Jim's noon-three slot on KMPC, where I remained for the next twelve years.

Jim's presence on radio and television made a permanent mark that will not be forgotten. When recently asked how he would like to be remembered Jim said, "As a gentleman who did his best as a husband, father and performer, and enjoyed life all the way."

Jim Lange was a gentleman pro, in every sense of the word. He will be sorely missed.

Wink

[Vahan]

All of them great tributes. Thank you for sharing them.