Bud Collyer

 Bud Collyer, born Clayton Johnson Heermance Jr., June 18, 1908 – September 8, 1969)

Collyer was a radio actor/announcer who became one of the nation's first major television game show stars. He is best remembered for his work as the first host of the TV game shows Beat the Clock and To Tell the Truth, but he was also famous in the roles of Clark Kent/Superman on radio and in animated cartoons, initially in theatrical short subjects and later on television. Collyer supplied the voices of both Superman and his alter ego Clark Kent, opposite radio actress Joan Alexander as Lois Lane. In 1950 Bud Collyer got the job which genuinely made him a household name: Beat the Clock, a game show that pitted couples against the clock in a race to perform silly tasks, which were called "problems" but could with more accuracy be called "stunts." Collyer did an excellent job keeping the show fast-paced; he spoke quickly and brightly, and was often moving around the stage as much as the contestants. In 1956, Collyer became equally, if not more, familiar as the host of a new Goodson-Todman production, To Tell the Truth, on CBS. This panel show featured four celebrities questioning three challengers all claiming to be the same person. Collyer's other game show hosting included the DuMont game shows Talent Jackpot (1949) and On Your Way (1953–1954), the short-lived (two years) game show Feather Your Nest, and the ABC game Number Please in 1961, which replaced Beat the Clock on the Monday after the final ABC episode. Religion and charitable work were very important to Bud Collyer, and he was always particularly pleased to hear contestants say that they considered donating portions of their winnings to the church, or that they planned to donate to charities. Collyer taught a Sunday school class at his Presbyterian church in Connecticut for more than thirty-five years and spent some of his off time as a caretaker at his church.

Collyer died at age 61 from a circulatory ailment in Greenwich, Connecticut, at age 61. He is buried at Putnam Cemetery in Greenwich.