Biography

Jack Barry was born on March 20, 1918 in Lindenhurst, New York, the son of Cecelia (Hepner) and Max Solomon Barasch. In his adult years, he did saloon work until Dan Enright said they should go into television game shows. He hosted Winky Dink and You, the first example of interactive TV. He later went on to host Juvenile Jury and Life Begins at 80. In 1956, he hosted Twenty-One, Tic Tac Dough and the first four episodes of Concentration. Barry was involved in the quiz show scandals which brought down Barry & Enright productions. During the 1960s, he hosted the unsuccessful Reel Game, and in 1972, he hosted The Joker's Wild. In 1976, he produced a revival of Break the Bank, with former You Don't Say! host Tom Kennedy as emcee. Even though the show was successful, it was canceled after only 15 weeks, after which Barry hosted a syndicated version which also was proven to be unsuccessful. In 1975, he created the short-lived game show Blank Check. In 1980, he created Play the Percentages, and in 1984, he made his final creation, Hot Potato, with game show king Bill Cullen as emcee. Barry died that same year in May from a cardiac arrest while morning jogging in Central Park and was laid to rest at Forest Lawn Memorial Park. After his death, Bill Cullen took over and Kline and Friends was formed by Richard Kline.