Adding to the growing list of 2014 celebrity deaths, Jim Lange died of a heart attack at the age of 81 in his Mill Valley, California home on Tuesday (February 25).
As the original host of “The Dating Game” back in the 1960s and 1970s, Lange had the opportunity to rub shoulders with celebrities like Farrah Fawcett, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Steve Martin and Michael Jackson.
Lange’s wife Nancy told press, "As much as he's known for his television work, his real love was radio. He loved doing local radio, especially before it was computerized."
To that end, Jim had once noted, "[With radio] you don't have to worry about lighting directors and cameramen or script writers and all that. Good radio is still the most fun. It always will be. Plus, you don't have to wear makeup and you don't have to shave."
In addition to his “Dating Game” run and local radio jobs, Lange also hosted “Hollywood Connection,...
As the original host of “The Dating Game” back in the 1960s and 1970s, Lange had the opportunity to rub shoulders with celebrities like Farrah Fawcett, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Steve Martin and Michael Jackson.
Lange’s wife Nancy told press, "As much as he's known for his television work, his real love was radio. He loved doing local radio, especially before it was computerized."
To that end, Jim had once noted, "[With radio] you don't have to worry about lighting directors and cameramen or script writers and all that. Good radio is still the most fun. It always will be. Plus, you don't have to wear makeup and you don't have to shave."
In addition to his “Dating Game” run and local radio jobs, Lange also hosted “Hollywood Connection,...
- 2/27/2014
- GossipCenter
Jim Lange, the first host of the iconic 1960s and ’70s game show The Dating Game, died Tuesday of a heart attack in his Mill Valley, CA home. He was 81. Lange hosted the game show for more than a decade after it debuted in 1965, and over those years played host to contestants including Michael Jackson, Steve Martin, Farrah Fawcett and Arnold Schwarzenegger competing for the right to win a date by answering questions that were intended to illicit PG-13 responses well before there was such a thing as PG-13. Lange, a St Paul, Mn native, would go on to host other game shows like Hollywood Connection, $100,000 Name That Tune and The New Newlywed Game. He also had a long career in radio in La and San Francisco, and was an DJ in the Bay Area before he retired in 2005.
- 2/27/2014
- by THE DEADLINE TEAM
- Deadline TV
Before The Bachelor and Bachelorette and all the tawdry looking-for-love shows on the air today, there was The Dating Game, hosted by Jim Lange. On Tuesday, sadly, the former ABC personality died of a heart attack at his home in Mill Valley, Calif., his wife Nancy Fleming said, per USA Today. He was 81. Lange hosted The Dating Game from its debut in 1965 through 1985. His hosting tenure included many celebrity guests as contestants, including Michael Jackson, Steve Martin, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Burt Reynolds, Tom Selleck and a pre-Charlie's Angels Farrah Fawcett. After Lange stepped down from The Dating Game, he went on to host Hollywood Connection, $100,000 Name That Tune and The New Newlywed Game. He...
- 2/27/2014
- E! Online
Jim Lange, host of The Dating Game, died on Tuesday, Feb. 25 of a heart attack at the age of 81. Lange’s wife, Nancy Fleming, confirmed the news, adding that he died in his California home.
Lange hosted The Dating Game for 20 years, from the show’s inception in 1965 to 1985. After his successful run on The Dating Game, Lange moved on to host Hollywood Connection and The Newlywed Game, among other television contests. During his years at The Dating Game, Lange crossed paths with many celebrity contestants, including Michael Jackson and Arnold Schwarzenegger, something he said was one of the highlights of his television career.
“The best memories [from The Dating Game] are working with the wonderful people who were on the show. Over the years we had, I guess, almost every celebrity who was single, from Michael Jackson to Burt Reynolds to Tom Selleck. They all came through the show, even Groucho Marx. So...
Lange hosted The Dating Game for 20 years, from the show’s inception in 1965 to 1985. After his successful run on The Dating Game, Lange moved on to host Hollywood Connection and The Newlywed Game, among other television contests. During his years at The Dating Game, Lange crossed paths with many celebrity contestants, including Michael Jackson and Arnold Schwarzenegger, something he said was one of the highlights of his television career.
“The best memories [from The Dating Game] are working with the wonderful people who were on the show. Over the years we had, I guess, almost every celebrity who was single, from Michael Jackson to Burt Reynolds to Tom Selleck. They all came through the show, even Groucho Marx. So...
- 2/27/2014
- Uinterview
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