For Canada, this was an entertaining prime-time headline show on the Canadian Television Network (CTV) that competed head to head with longtime CBC mainstay, "Front Page Challenge." The object of the game was for two contestants to try to guess a popular news headline of the day. Your venerable host Jim Perry was a more exciting, high energy host than FPC's laid-back Fred Davis. Combine this with Dave Devall's velvety voice and this became a "mustsee" show for me every week.
The frequent and brilliant CTV ads promoting "Headline Hunters" were what drew viewers like myself to the show. I can still remember verbatim one advert that ran non-stop for two, or three years. It had all the flash and flair that CTV was able to muster on these promos, then ended with Perry exclaiming to a contestant "You're taking a chance...YOU'RE RIGHT! It IS BOBBY ORR! YESSS!"
Jim Perry, one-time straight man for comedian Sid Caesar, was the busiest game show host in the business at this time. Not only was he was hosting CTV shows "Eye Bet", "Card Sharks" and "Sale Of The Century" for a U.S. network, he regularly hosted the Miss Canada and Miss TEEN Canada pageants north of the 49th. I can still remember the network cutting away for a peculiar moment of silence during one such pageant, followed by a shot of the shaken Perry, reeling and trying to replace his perfectly combed hair. This after apparently being whacked by the placard of an angry female protester who claimed (correctly, I should add) the pageant was "sexist."
The incident was blathered all over the Canadian media by the next day, but wasn't actually seen on air. Perry was such a consummate pro, most viewers probably didn't suspect anything out of the ordinary had happened.
