Television comedy pioneer John Guedel dies

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — John Guedel, who produced some of early television’s most popular shows, including Groucho Marx’s "You Bet Your Life," and Art Linkletter’s "People Are Funny," has died. He was 88.

Guedel died Saturday of heart failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

"John really devised a program that allowed Groucho to do the thing he did best, which was improvise," said Robert Dwan, who worked with Guedel as a director on "You Bet Your Life" and as a writer on "People Are Funny."

Marx’s quiz show, which began with the host interviewing and joking with the contestants, owed one of its signature bits to Guedel — a Groucho-lookalike duck that dropped in with $100 for any contestant who uttered the "secret word."

Born in Portland, Ind., Guedel moved to Los Angeles with his family at age 8. His father made a series of successful real estate investments in Los Angeles, but the Great Depression wiped out the family fortune. Guedel had to drop out of college after a year.

He worked as a ditch digger and door-to-door salesman while trying to land work as a writer. After amassing more than 100 rejection slips, he finally was hired by Hal Roach Studios in 1933 to work on the "Our Gang" and "Laurel and Hardy" comedies.

He met Linkletter in 1941, and they formed Guedel and Linkletter Productions that same year.

Their first show was "People Are Funny," which began on radio in 1942 and moved to television in 1954. Linkletter and Guedel also teamed up to do "House Party," which ran for several years.

Other programs they produced included "Earn Your Vacation," a summer replacement show for Jack Benny whose star was future "Tonight Show" host Johnny Carson.

Gilbert Becaud, 74, a French crooner who wrote songs that inspired such international stars as Frank Sinatra and Edith Piaf, died Tuesday in Paris.

Along with Charles Aznavour and Guy Beart, Becaud, known as "Mr. 100,000 volts" and the "atomic champion," was among a group of famous French singers known for booming, dramatic songs during the 1950s.

Charley Marouani, Becaud’s agent, said the singer died of lung cancer on his houseboat on the Seine river in Paris, surrounded by family and friends. He had refused to go to a hospital despite being in pain for the last few days.

With a trademark polka-dot tie, Becaud was known for his electric performances. In one Paris music hall in 1955, he inspired fans to rip out the seats.

He attracted famous singers with his songwriting. Piaf sang his "Je t’ai dans la Peau," and Sinatra recorded "What Now, My Love?" a translation of Becaud’s "Et Maintenant." Bob Dylan, Nina Simone, James Brown and Cher have all recorded versions of his "Je t’appartiens," or "Let It Be Me."

Becaud was made a chevalier of the Legion of Honor, France’s highest distinction, in 1974.

Copyright ©2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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