Art Linkletter

Art Linkletter was born in Canada, but there is no question he was an American. The couple who gave him life named him Gordon Arthur Kelly but they also gave him away. He got his name from his adoptive parents, a middle-aged couple named John and Mary Linkletter. They had started out in Prince Edward Island but after stopping in Saskatchewan they moved on to Lowell, Massachusetts, then Point Fermin, California and eventually San Diego. He is an alumnus of San Diego State University where he was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. He is also a three-time Emmy Award winner, including a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003. His entertainment career began in radio and he is best known for his performances in two of the longest running shows in broadcast history. House Party ran for 25 years on radio and then television, and, People are Funny which ran on radio and television for 19 years. Linkletter wrote some 23 books, including Kids Say the Darndest Things, one of the top 14 best sellers in American publishing history. His last book was titled Old Age Is Not For Sissies. Primarily a personality and host, he occasionally worked as an actor but seemed best when he was just being himself. He was 97 when he died at his home in Los Angeles.