BERT CONVY

'Bernard Whalen "Bert" Convy' (July 23, 1933 – July 15, 1991) was an American game show host and panelist, actor and singer known for his tenure as the host for ''Tattletales'', ''Super Password'', and ''Win, Lose or Draw''.

Contents

Biography

Early life

Career

Performer/Singer

Game Shows

Variety Series

Films

Awards

Personal life

See also

External link

Biography

Early life

Convy was born in St. Louis, Missouri to Monica and Bert Convy. Convy was a member of the 1950s vocal band, The Cheers, who had a Top 10 hit in 1955 with "Black Denim Trousers And Motorcycle Boots". He was also a minor league baseball player, within the Philadelphia Phillies organization.

Career

Performer/Singer

Convy started his career in the entertainment business as a featured performer and singer in the ''Billy Barnes Revues'' of the 1950s and '60s. Convy went on to became a Broadway actor, starring in ''Fiddler on the Roof'' (1964), ''The Impossible Years'' (1965), and ''Cabaret'' (1966). He also appeared on the soap opera, ''Love of Life'' playing Glenn Hamilton, a rapist.

Game Shows

In the 1960s and '70s, Convy was a popular semi-regular panelist on several game shows, including ''What's My Line?'', ''To Tell the Truth'', ''The Match Game'' and ''Password''. Convy soon took the podium himself as host of several game shows, including the fourth edition of ''Password'', ''Super Password'' (1984–1989), but he remains best known for his first television game show, ''Tattletales'' (1974–1978, 1982–1984), for which he was awarded an Emmy in 1977.
He also hosted the syndicated version of ''Win, Lose or Draw'' (1987–1990), which he co-produced with Burt Reynolds (under the firm Burt and Bert Productions). His last game show was ''3rd Degree'', a syndicated program that ran during the 1989–90 TV season. He was also slated to host the 1990 revival of ''Match Game'' but was too ill to do so (comedian Ross Shafer took the role instead).

Variety Series

Convy also attempted to parlay his fame in a short-lived variety series, ''The Late Summer Early Fall Bert Convy Show'' in 1976. In 1979, he appeared with the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders in a movie of the same name.

Films

Convy also starred in several movies, most memorably in the film ''Semi-Tough'' (1977) where he played a caricature of Werner Erhard named "Frederick Bismark". He also made a fine appearance in 'Help Wanted: Male' (1982). His final feature film was in the 1981 movie ''Cannonball Run'', in which he played a character named Bradford Compton.

Awards

★ Emmy Award, ''Tattletales'', 1977.

Personal life

Convy was surprised when he was called to come on down on ''The Price Is Right''. Bob Barker invited Convy up on stage and had him thank the show for having him as a guest and he returned to his seat before an alternative contestant was called down to Contestant's Row. Convy also made two guest appearances on ''The Price Is Right'' during the 1970s appearing with models Anitra Ford and Dian Parkinson.
Convy claimed to have the ability to predict the sex of unborn children. A few times on ''Super Password'', he would put his hands on a pregnant contestant's stomach and remarked how he had guessed correctly the sex of 19 babies in a row, including all of the actor John Ritter's children. (Convy and Ritter had appeared together in the 1979 theatrical release, ''Hero At Large''.) On another episode, he claimed his on-going tally was 34 out of 36; he also said that on one occasion he simply could not predict if a particular woman was going to have a boy or girl, and it turned out the lady had twins--one boy, one girl. One of the celebrity contestants on that episode, Dick Cavett, quipped, "Why did I see you the other day putting your hands like that on a woman who wasn't pregnant?"
Convy was married twice: to Anne Anderson, with whom he had three children; and to Catherine Hall, with whom he was married until his death. Bert's daughter Jennifer also has been involved in television, moderating shows on Home and Garden Television (HGTV). His son Jonah Convy is also involved in show business.
In April of 1990, Convy was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center after collapsing while visiting his mother. It was there that he was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and was given a short time to live. After seeking many treatments from several hospitals, Convy died from the tumor on July 15, 1991 eight days shy of his 58th birthday. He is buried in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale with the epitaph, "His Star Will Shine Forever".

See also

★ List of notable brain tumor patients

★ Werner Erhard

External link

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★ Find-A-Grave profile for Bert Convy