The passage of Art Linkletter…

Good morning, Netizens…

[Picture Credit: Reuters News Service]

Art Linkletter, the Canadian-born entertainer has passed away. A mainstay of American broadcasting in the 1950s and ‘60s with long-running shows like “People Are Funny” and “Art Linkletter’s House Party,” died of natural causes at his home in Los Angeles’ upscale Bel Air community, assistant Jennifer Kramer told Reuters.

Linkletter also served as master of ceremonies for opening day at Disneyland in 1955, and returned decades later to officiate at the 50th anniversary celebration of the theme park on his 95th birthday.

He was born Arthur Gordon Kelley on July 17, 1912, in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, but was abandoned by his biological family and adopted by the Linkletter family. His new father was an evangelist who moved the family to California from whence he made his fortune as a businessman and investor, becoming involved in oil drilling, copper mining, an Australian sheep ranch, the Hula Hoop toy and the board game “The Game of Life.”

He married his wife Lois in 1935, he had four children. His son, son Robert, died in a 1980 automobile accident and after the suicide of his daughter Diane was linked to LSD use, Linkletter campaigned against drug abuse. He also traveled the world on behalf of World Vision, a Christian charity, and served as a leader of Goodwill Industries, the Arthritis Foundation and the Los Angeles Orphanage.

He was a good and terribly funny man, who made us laugh at ourselves. Rest in Peace, Art.

Dave