Biography for
Bill Cullen (I) More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

18 February 1920, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Date of Death

7 July 1990, Bel Air, California, USA (lung cancer)

Birth Name

William Lawrence Cullen

Spouse

Ann Macomber	(24 December 1955 - 7 July 1990) (his death)
Carol Ames	(30 July 1949 - 1955) (divorced)

Trade Mark

Thick, horn-rimmed glasses

Trivia

First game show was "Winner Take All" (1948).

Last game show was "The Joker's Wild" (1972).

Brother in law of Jack Narz

He was partially crippled by childhood polio.

Son-in-law of film composer Heinz Roemheld.

Third and last host of ABC (originally on Mutual) Radio's "Quick as a Flash" (1949-1951).

Has the record for hosting more game shows than any host in history at 24.

Known for staying busy in the broadcasting field, he worked as a game show host, a radio personality, and doing the play by play for sporting events. He sometimes also would be hosting more than one game show at a time.

He was an only child.

In an episode of "I've Got a Secret" (1952) hosted by Steve Allen, broadcast 4/15/2008 on Game Show Network, Bill Cullen said that his father-in-law wrote the song "Ruby". The original air date isn't indicated in GSN listings, but as Steve Allen only hosted during the 1960s, this would appear to have been Ann Macomber's father, Heinz Roemheld.

Was considered the host of the revamp version of the long-running game show, "The Price Is Right" (1972). Since the physical demands of the new set were too difficult for him, Bob Barker, was the producers second choice.

Like fellow game show host, Peter Tomarken, he also had a pilot's license, when he was a teenager.

Had served in the Civil Air Defense as an instructor and patrol pilot in his native Pennsylvania, despite the rejection of the Armed Services due to his childhood bout of polio.

He had many hobbies: photography, interior decorating, model plane building, painting (water color and oils), magic, music (he tried to learn saxophone and guitar), raising fish, writing plays and poetry. Of all his hobbies, though, his passion was flying.

Was involved in a serious car accident at age 17, which put him in the hospital for 9 months.

Was employed at Bob Stewart Productions from 1966 to 1980.

Met future wife Ann Macomber on a blind date arranged by her sister Mary Lou, who was the wife of Jack Narz at that time.

Met Carol Ames when she made a guest appearance on a radio show he announced. They were married in 1949, but were divorced in 1955.

Was enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh as a pre-med student, he dropped out of college because of the shortage of funds. He then took on a job as a mechanic at his father's garage an a tow truck driver, before coming back and graduated with a bachelor's degree in Fine Arts.

Before he was a game show host, he worked as an unpaid (later staff) announcer.

At one point, he had dropped out of South High School, during his senior year, and raced professionally, but decided to comeback and graduate from high school in 1938.

Was employed by Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions (later Mark Goodson Productions) from 1952 to 1983.

In high school, he hosted student assemblies, clowned at school spelling bees, organized fund-raising shows and published his own school paper when he disagreed with the policy of the official one.

Attended South High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Personal Quotes

I often ask myself, 'How am I working?' I'm certainly not the guy who appeals to women between the ages of 18 and 35.

[when he wasn't allowed to wear a brace in school sports]: I did fine on the back lot. Maybe I ran a lot slower, but I hit the ball a lot harder.

[he wrote in 1957 about his limp]: Like thousands of other youngsters, I was stricken with polio as a child. Even with the wonderful care I received from my parents and doctors, I still carry the scars of this experience. Somehow, it never got me down. That's why I would rather not have people who see me limp along show any pity, distress or compassion - since I don't feel this way about my physical condition.

[in 1988 about game shows]: I don't enjoy television as much as I used to. It's not as much fun. There's a lot of greed today, it seems. A lot of business administration aspirants coming along. They used to play it for fun, to get on the air and have their friends see them. You'd give them a thousand dollars and you made their year. Now, unless it's twenty or thirty thousand dollars, they look at you like you suckered them into a deal that really didn't turn out as well as they perhaps had hoped.