Arthur Godfrey
CountryUnited States 
GenderMale
BirthdayAug 31, 1903
Death1983-03-16
BiographyArthur Morton Godfrey (August 31, 1903 – March 16, 1983) was an American radio and television broadcaster and entertainer. At the peak of his success, in the early to mid-1950s, Godfrey was heard on radio and seen on television up to six days a week, at times for as many as nine separate broadcasts for CBS. His programs included Arthur Godfrey Time (Monday-Friday mornings on radio and television), Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts (Monday evenings on radio and television), Arthur Godfrey and His Friends (Wednesday evenings on television), The Arthur Godfrey Digest (Friday evenings on radio) and King Arthur Godfrey and His Round Table (Sunday afternoons on radio).
In 1953, Godfrey's infamous on-air firing of cast member Julius La Rosa permanently damaged his kindly, down-to-earth, family-man image which resulted in an immediate decline of his popularity that he was never able to overcome. Over the next two years, Godfrey fired over twenty additional cast and crew members, under similar circumstances, for which he was heavily attacked by the press and public alike. A self-made man, Godfrey was fiercely competitive; some of his employees were fired for merely speaking with those he considered to be competitors, like Ed Sullivan, or for signing with a talent agent. By the late 1950s, CBS reduced his on-air presence to hosting his daily radio show, which ended in 1972, and the occasional television special.
Sometimes introduced by his nickname “The Old Redhead”, Godfrey was strongly identified with many of his commercial sponsors, especially Chesterfield cigarettes and Lipton Tea. He advertised Chesterfield for many years, during which time he devised the slogan "Buy 'em by the carton"; he terminated his relationship with the company after he quit smoking, five years before he was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1959. Godfrey later became a prominent spokesman for the anti-tobacco movement.
Biography from the Wikipedia article Arthur Godfrey. Licensed under CC-BY-SA. Full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
In 1953, Godfrey's infamous on-air firing of cast member Julius La Rosa permanently damaged his kindly, down-to-earth, family-man image which resulted in an immediate decline of his popularity that he was never able to overcome. Over the next two years, Godfrey fired over twenty additional cast and crew members, under similar circumstances, for which he was heavily attacked by the press and public alike. A self-made man, Godfrey was fiercely competitive; some of his employees were fired for merely speaking with those he considered to be competitors, like Ed Sullivan, or for signing with a talent agent. By the late 1950s, CBS reduced his on-air presence to hosting his daily radio show, which ended in 1972, and the occasional television special.
Sometimes introduced by his nickname “The Old Redhead”, Godfrey was strongly identified with many of his commercial sponsors, especially Chesterfield cigarettes and Lipton Tea. He advertised Chesterfield for many years, during which time he devised the slogan "Buy 'em by the carton"; he terminated his relationship with the company after he quit smoking, five years before he was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1959. Godfrey later became a prominent spokesman for the anti-tobacco movement.
Biography from the Wikipedia article Arthur Godfrey. Licensed under CC-BY-SA. Full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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