Editing Rod Roddy

{{Short description|American radio and television announcer (1937–2003)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name                      = Rod Roddy
| image                     = File:Rodpremiere1.jpg
| caption                   = Roddy on the 32nd season premiere of ''[[The Price Is Right]]'' in 2003
| birth_name                = Robert Ray Roddy
| birth_date                = {{birth date|1937|9|28}}
| birth_place               = [[Fort Worth, Texas]], U.S.
| death_date                = {{death date and age|2003|10|27|1937|9|28}}
| death_place               = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
| resting_place             = [[Greenwood Memorial Park (Fort Worth)]]
| resting_place_coordinates = {{Coord|32.76205|-97.36848|display=inline}}
| body_discovered           = 
| alma_mater                = [[Texas Christian University]]
| nationality               = American
| othername                 = Rod Ray Roddy
| occupation                = {{hlist|Announcer|television personality|actor|comedian}}
| years_active              = 1975–2003
}}
'''Robert Ray "Rod" Roddy'''<ref>{{cite news| title=Rod Roddy Obituary| date=October 29, 2003| newspaper=[[San Diego Union-Tribune]]| url=https://www.legacy.com/amp/obituaries/sandiegouniontribune/1553085| access-date=February 2, 2025| via=[[Legacy.com]]| language=en}}</ref> (September 28, 1937 – October 27, 2003) was an American radio and television announcer.<ref name=cbsbio>{{cite web| url=http://www.cbs.com/daytime/price/about/bios/cast_bios_rroddy.shtml| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021206135158/http://www.cbs.com/daytime/price/about/bios/cast_bios_rroddy.shtml| url-status=dead| archive-date=December 6, 2002| title=Rod Roddy| website=CBS| access-date=May 15, 2007}}</ref> He was primarily known for his role as an offstage announcer on game shows. Among the shows that Roddy announced are the CBS game shows ''[[Whew!]]'' and ''[[Press Your Luck]].'' Roddy is widely recognized by the signature line, "Come on down!" from ''[[The Price Is Right]]'', and it appears on his grave marker, although the phrase was originated and made popular by his predecessor [[Johnny Olson]].  Roddy succeeded original announcer Olson on ''The Price Is Right'' and held the role from 1986 until his death in 2003, and as of 2022, is the longest-serving announcer on the current incarnation of the show. On many episodes of ''Press Your Luck'' and ''The Price Is Right'', Roddy appeared on camera. He was also the voice of Mike the microphone on ''[[House of Mouse|Disney's House of Mouse]]'' from 2001 until his death in 2003.

==Early career==
After graduating from [[Texas Christian University|Texas Christian University (TCU)]], Roddy began his professional broadcasting career as a disc jockey and talk show host on [[KFXR (AM)|KLIF]] and [[KSPF|KNUS-FM]] (now KSPF) in [[Dallas]], Texas.<ref>{{cite news| title='Price Is Right's' Rod Roddy Dies|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/price-is-rights-rod-roddy-dies/| access-date=June 5, 2021| website=[[CBS News]]| date=October 27, 2003| language=en-US}}</ref> He also worked overnights and mid-days at the [[Buffalo, New York]], radio station WKBW-AM (now [[WWKB]]), a [[Clear-channel station|clear channel radio]] station covering the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, and at other high-profile stations.<ref>{{cite web| title=Rock Radio Scrapbook: WKBW lineups| url=http://rockradioscrapbook.ca/radwkbw.html| access-date=June 5, 2021| website=Rock Radio Scrapbook}}</ref> Returning to KLIF and KNUS during the 1970s, Roddy hosted a call-in program, ''Rod Roddy's Hotline'',<ref>{{cite web| title=The Steve Eberhart Collection - Rod Roddy, Paxton Mills, KLIF Dallas Talk Show Paul Is Dead 1969| url=http://www.reelradio.com/se/rrpmklif70.html| access-date=June 5, 2021| website=www.reelradio.com}}</ref> and became a frequent target of death threats. He conducted a long-running on-air feud with an elderly woman (dubbed "Granny Hate" by an earlier host), who claimed to represent the local [[Ku Klux Klan]].<ref>{{cite web| title=Rod Roddy| url=https://www.avclub.com/rod-roddy-1798207864| access-date=June 5, 2021| website=[[The A.V. Club]]| date=January 22, 1997| language=en-us}}</ref>

Roddy announced the sitcom ''[[Soap (TV series)|Soap]]'' from 1977 to 1981, where he provided the opening and closing narration: "Confused? You won't be after this week's episode of ''Soap''!"<ref>{{cite book| last1=Searle| first1=Elizabeth| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5H10DgAAQBAJ&q=Confused%3F+You+won%27t+be+after+this+week%27s+episode+of+Soap!&pg=PT86| title=Soap Opera Confidential: Writers and Soap Insiders on Why We'll Tune in Tomorrow as the World Turns Restlessly by the Guiding Light of Our Lives| last2=Shea| first2=Suzanne Strempek| date=March 23, 2017|publisher=McFarland| isbn=978-1-4766-2759-5| language=en}}</ref> Roddy replaced [[Casey Kasem]], who quit the series after the pilot due to the show's content.<ref>{{cite web| date=April 22, 2019| title=Soap: A Series That Bubbled Over with Controversy| url=https://thewritelife61.com/2019/04/22/soap-a-series-that-bubbled-over-with-controversy/| access-date=June 5, 2021| website=thewritelife61| language=en}}</ref> Roddy's first work as a game show announcer was on ''[[Whew!]]'', which aired from 1979 to 1980. From there, he went on to announce several other game shows, including ''[[Battlestars (game show)|Battlestars]]'' (1981&ndash;1982), ''[[Love Connection]]'' (1983&ndash;1985, 1986), ''[[Hit Man (American game show)|Hit Man]]'' (1983) and ''[[Press Your Luck]]'' (1983&ndash;1986). He also worked as a substitute announcer on ''[[Family Feud]]'', ''[[Card Sharks]]'' and ''[[$25,000 Pyramid]]''. He was the guest announcer for two weeks on the [[Tom Bergeron]] version of ''[[Hollywood Squares]]'' that featured game show hosts and panelists as the celebrities.<ref>{{Cite web|date=November 23, 2003|title=Game Show Announcer Rod Roddy|url=https://americanprofile.com/articles/rod-roddy-announcer/|access-date=June 5, 2021|website=American Profile|language=en-US}}</ref> Roddy also voiced a number of national television commercials, including those for [[Pennzoil]] and [[Public Storage]].<ref>{{Cite book| last=Holbrook| first=Morris B.| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oAyp1k1SU_gC&q=rod+roddy+television+commercials&pg=PA78| title=Daytime Television Game Shows and the Celebration of Merchandise: The Price is Right|date=1993| publisher=Popular Press| isbn=978-0-87972-621-8| language=en}}</ref>

==''The Price Is Right''==
After Goodson-Todman announcer [[Johnny Olson]] died in October 1985,<ref>{{cite news| title=Johnny Olson, Longtime Announcer on Television Game Shows, Dead at 75| date=October 13, 1985| url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1985/10/13/johnny-olsen-longtime-announcer-on-television-game-shows-at/| newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]| access-date=February 2, 2025}}</ref> Roddy was chosen as one of several substitute announcers (along with [[Rich Jeffries]], [[Bob Hilton]], and [[Gene Wood]]) to announce ''[[The Price Is Right (American game show)|The Price Is Right]]''.<ref>{{cite news| date=March 6, 1986|title=New Announcer Chosen At Last for 'Price Is Right'| newspaper=[[The Wichita Eagle]]| page=14A| url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=WE&s_site=kansas&p_multi=WE&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EADB2C66924F566&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM| access-date=February 2, 2025| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181122052204/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=WE&s_site=kansas&p_multi=WE&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EADB2C66924F566&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM| archive-date=November 22, 2018| url-access=subscription}}</ref> According to former producer [[Roger Dobkowitz]], both he and CBS liked Roddy the best.<ref>{{cite web| date=April 26, 2012| title=Interview with Roger Dobkowitz, Part 3: "Everything You Wanted to Know About Price: The '80s"| url=https://sb2tlopg.wordpress.com/2012/04/26/interview-with-roger-dobkowitz-part-3/| access-date=June 5, 2021| website=Slow Boat to The Land of Parting Gifts| language=en}}</ref> Despite only announcing for six episodes (the least of the four), on February 17, 1986, Roddy was announced as the show's regular announcer.<ref>{{cite web| title=The Price is Right (2/17/86) {{!}} Rod Roddy's First Permanent Episode| website=[[YouTube]] | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDvk6kTMyKw| language=en| access-date=June 5, 2021}}</ref> He was also the announcer on [[Tom Kennedy (television host)|Tom Kennedy]]'s nighttime ''The Price Is Right'' after Olson's death.

Overweight for much of his adult life, Roddy later adopted a rigorous diet and exercise program which resulted in a loss of close to 200 pounds.<ref>{{cite web| title=Rod's Battle With Weight Loss| url=http://www.golden-road.net/index.php?topic=12950.0| access-date=June 5, 2021| website=Golden Road}}</ref> With his weight-loss regimen becoming a much-lauded success (frequently being mentioned by [[Bob Barker]]), Roddy was frequently shown on-camera, at least once per show while he announced "the next contestant on ''The Price Is Right''", and was occasionally featured in Showcase skits aiding the "Barker's Beauties", similar to Olson's frequent on-camera appearances.

Roddy was also noted for wearing brightly colored and sequined sport jackets, a practice he first adopted as a trademark when making personal appearances emceeing teen dances and concerts for [[WWKB|WKBW]] in [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]] in the 1960s. On ''The Price Is Right'', Roddy first wore vivid pastel jackets made in Hong Kong, to contrast with Barker's "dapper" fashion sense.<ref name=avclub>{{cite web|url=http://www.avclub.com/article/rod-roddy-13457|title=Rod Roddy - Interview| date=January 22, 1997 | website=The A.V. Club| access-date=September 16, 2014}}</ref> With the encouragement of Barker, he turned them into a staple of the show and traveled to Thailand several times a year to have the suits custom-made in colorful Thai silk. Roddy would also frequently travel to Thailand as the official ambassador to [[Chiang Mai]].<ref>{{cite news| date=December 19, 2001| title='PRICE IS RIGHT' HOST WAS OUT SICK |url=https://www.dailypress.com/2001/12/19/price-is-right-host-was-out-sick/ |access-date=September 26, 2023 |newspaper=[[Daily Press (Virginia)|Daily Press]]| location=Norfolk, Va.| language=en-US}}</ref>

==Illness and death==
On [[September 11, 2001]], Roddy was diagnosed with [[Colorectal cancer|colon cancer]], and took a leave of absence to undergo and recover from surgery and [[chemotherapy]], and he returned a month later (though the shows that were taped during his absence did not air until after Roddy returned to work).<ref>{{cite news| title='Price Is Right' Announcer Rod Roddy Dies| url=https://apnews.com/article/0ed39287cb229196e60b3216a39d8969| access-date=June 5, 2021| website=AP NEWS}}{{dead link|date=February 2025}}</ref> A year later, the cancer returned, and Roddy temporarily took another leave of absence to undergo and recover from surgery on September 20, 2002. Again, he recovered within a month.<ref>{{cite news| first1=Ryan| last1=Pearson| agency=Associated Press| first2=Anahad| last2=O'Connor| via=The New York Times| title='Price is Right' announcer Rod Roddy dies| url=https://www.ocala.com/story/news/2003/10/28/price-is-right-announcer-rod-roddy-dies/31283163007/| access-date=June 5, 2021| newspaper=[[Ocala StarBanner]]| language=en}}</ref> In April 2003, Roddy was diagnosed with [[male breast cancer]].<ref>{{cite web| date=October 10, 2011| title=Men Can Get Breast Cancer, Too| url=https://929thebull.com/men-can-get-breast-cancer-too/| access-date=June 5, 2021| website=92.9 The Bull(KDBL-FM)| language=en}}</ref> He underwent surgery and afterwards, experienced major complications. As a result, Roddy was unable to announce for ''The Price Is Right'' for the rest of Season 31. The diagnoses led to Roddy becoming a spokesperson for early detection of cancer in his last years.<ref>{{cite news| title=Price is Right' announcer Roddy dies| url=https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2003/10/28/price-is-right-announcer-roddy-dies/| access-date=June 5, 2021| newspaper=Tampa Bay Times| language=en}}</ref> In an interview with [[CBS]], Roddy commented to the general public:

{{blockquote|I could have prevented all this with a [[colonoscopy]], and of course, that's the campaign I've been on since I had the first surgery. To everybody out there, get a [[mammogram]]! It can happen to men, too.<ref name=cbsint>{{cite web| url=http://www.cbs.com/daytime/price/about/justin/rroddy_medicalupdate.shtml| title=Rod Roddy Medical Update| website=CBS| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001000744/http://www.cbs.com/daytime/price/about/justin/rroddy_medicalupdate.shtml| archive-date=1 October 2007| access-date=15 May 2007}}</ref>}}

Roddy continued to announce for ''The Price Is Right'' until his last hospitalization two months before his death on October 27, 2003, at the age of 66. After his departure from the show, [[Burton Richardson]] and Randy West filled-in. Roddy was replaced by [[Rich Fields]] in April 2004. Roddy's final episode aired on October 20, 2003, one week before his death. Roddy is interred at Fort Worth's Greenwood Memorial Park. He had "Come on Down" inscribed on his tombstone, a phrase popularized by Johnny Olson.<ref>{{cite web| title=Rod Roddy (1937-2003)| url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8037093/rod-roddy| access-date=June 5, 2021| website=Find A Grave Memorial| language=en}}</ref>

Roddy was given a short tribute recorded shortly afterwards as a segment that lasted eighteen seconds, narrated by Barker, which aired before the start of a later episode:

{{Blockquote
|text=As many of you know, we have lost our dear friend, Rod Roddy. Rod's many television friends and all of us associated with ''The Price Is Right'' will miss his splendid talent and his great sense of humor. May God bless Rod.
|author=Bob Barker<ref>{{cite book| last=Nedeff| first=Adam| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RJmeDwAAQBAJ&q=As+many+of+you+know,+we+have+lost+our+dear+friend,+Rod+Roddy.+Rod%27s+many+television+friends+and+all+of+us+associated+with+The+Price+Is+Right,+will+miss+his+splendid+talent+and+his+great+sense+of+humor.+May+God+bless+Rod.&pg=PT63| title=This Day in Game Show History- 365 Commemorations and Celebrations, Vol. 4: October Through December| publisher=BearManor Media| date=April 2014| isbn=978-1-5939-3572-6| language=en}}</ref>
}}

Following Barker's tribute is a message saying In Loving Memory of ROD RODDY 1937-2003. [[Craig Kilborn]], then in his final season as host of ''[[The Late Late Show (American talk show)|The Late Late Show]]'', paid tribute to Roddy (a frequent guest and friend of Kilborn's) in a lengthy clip montage to end the October 28, 2003, show.

In a similar manner to the 18-second tribute, Roddy is mentioned a single time in Barker's autobiography, ''Priceless Memories'', when Barker lists the series' announcers since 1972.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Barker |first1=Bob |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3gwv8Jfdgz0C&q=rod+roddy&pg=PT29 |title=Priceless Memories |last2=Diehl |first2=Digby |date=April 6, 2009 |publisher=Center Street |isbn=978-1-59995-235-2 |language=en}}</ref> However, Barker did speak of Roddy at length for an interview with [[CBS Radio]] the day after his death, including a mention of visiting him in the hospital several days before his death.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20031202153108/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/10/27/entertainment/main580335.shtml ''The Price Is Right''’s Rod Roddy Dies (CBS News)]
* {{IMDb name|id=0734509|name=Rod Roddy}}
* {{Find a Grave|8037093}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-media}}
{{s-bef | before =New television show}}
{{s-ttl | title  = Announcer of ''[[Love Connection]]'' | years = 1983–1985}}
{{s-aft | after  = [[Gene Wood]]}}
{{s-bef | before = [[Johnny Olson]]}}
{{s-ttl | title = Announcer of ''[[The Price Is Right]]'' | years = 1986–2003}}
{{s-aft | after = [[Rich Fields]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{Commons category|Rod Roddy}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roddy, Rod}}
[[Category:1937 births]]
[[Category:2003 deaths]]
[[Category:Deaths from male breast cancer]]
[[Category:Deaths from breast cancer in California]]
[[Category:Deaths from colorectal cancer in California]]
[[Category:The Price Is Right]]
[[Category:Game show announcers]]
[[Category:Mass media people from Fort Worth, Texas]]
[[Category:Texas Christian University alumni]]