Bud Collyer originally sought a career in law, attending Williams College, where he was a member of Psi Upsilon fraternity, and Fordham University law school.
19 Facts About Bud Collyer
2.
Bud Collyer changed his surname, and by 1940 he had become a familiar voice on all three major radio networks.
3.
Bud Collyer held starring or major supporting roles in The Man I Married ; Kate Hopkins, Angel of Mercy ; Pretty Kitty Kelly ; Terry and the Pirates ; Renfrew of the Mounted ; and Abie's Irish Rose.
4.
Bud Collyer was the announcer for a number of radio soap operas, including The Guiding Light and The Goldbergs.
5.
Bud Collyer's best-remembered radio starring role began in early 1940 in The Adventures of Superman on the Mutual Broadcasting System, a role he performed in the subsequent Superman cartoons.
6.
Bud Collyer supplied the voices of both Superman and his alter ego Clark Kent, opposite radio actress Joan Alexander as Lois Lane.
7.
Bud Collyer got his first helping of game shows when he co-hosted ABC's Break the Bank with future Miss America Pageant mainstay Bert Parks; and, when he was picked to host the radio original of the Mark Goodson-Bill Todman team's first game, Winner Take All.
8.
Bud Collyer went on to host the television versions of both shows.
9.
Bud Collyer did an excellent job keeping the show fast-paced; he spoke quickly and brightly, and was often moving around the stage as much as the contestants.
10.
Frequently Bud Collyer would interrupt a stunt to offer helpful advice, or demonstrate a more efficient way to win the game.
11.
Bud Collyer typically wore bow ties, and liked to point out when contestants were "bow-tie guys" like himself, though initially, through the mid-1950s, he wore straight "four-in-hand" neckties most weeks.
12.
Bud Collyer enjoyed meeting families of contestants, and was fond of children.
13.
In 1956, Bud Collyer became equally, if not more, familiar as the host of a new Goodson-Todman production, To Tell the Truth, on CBS.
14.
Bud Collyer would read an affidavit from the actual contestant, and then monitor the panel's cross-examination.
15.
In 1966, Bud Collyer reprised his role as the voice of Superman in the Filmation animated television series The New Adventures of Superman, reuniting him with radio vis-a-vis Joan Alexander.
16.
Bud Collyer was always particularly happy to have a contestant that was a minister on the show and would ask about his congregation.
17.
Bud Collyer taught a Sunday school class at his Presbyterian church in Connecticut for more than thirty-five years and spent some of his off time as a caretaker at his church.
18.
Bud Collyer wrote two inspirational books, Thou Shalt Not Fear and With the Whole Heart.
19.
Bud Collyer had two daughters, Cynthia and Pat, and a son, Michael, who died in 2004.