Jim Perry (television personality)

Jim Perry
Perry hosting the game show Sale of the Century in the 1980s.
Born	James Edward Dooley (1933-11-09)November 9, 1933 Camden, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	November 20, 2015(2015-11-20) (aged 82) Eagle Point, Oregon, U.S.
Cause of death	Cancer
Alma mater	University of Pennsylvania
Occupation	TV presenter, game show presenter, singer
Years active	1960–1995
Height	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Television	Definition, Card Sharks, $ale of the Century
Spouse(s)	June Perry (m. 1959–2015)
Children	2

Jim Perry (November 9, 1933 – November 20, 2015) was an American television game show host,singer, announcer, and performer in the 1970s and 1980s.

He enjoyed success on both Canadian and American television, and was best known for his roles as a host on the American game shows Card Sharks and $ale of the Century, as well as the Canadian game shows Definition and Headline Hunters. Perry was also known as the host of the Miss Canada pageant in the 1970s and 1980s.

Perry was born James Edward Dooley in Camden, New Jersey. His mother, Genevieve Perry, was a record holding swimmer, as well as a known marathon dancer. His father, Edward Dooley, was a musician. While briefly attending Amador Valley High School in Pleasanton, California, Perry was an outstanding basketball player thanks in part to his height (at 6'4"); he graduated in 1952. He was often nicknamed "Big Jim" because of his height.

Perry started out as a singer in Special Services after college (University of Pennsylvania), working on Armed Forces Radio during the Korean War. After the service, he worked for a short time at General Electric and then replaced Eddie Fisher as the staff vocalist at Grossingers in the Catskill Mountains and later did comedy working with Sid Caesar as his straight man for several years (which included a four-year stint with Caesar in Las Vegas). Perry appeared in three syndicated specials with Caesar titled "As Caesar Sees It" which aired during the 1962-1963 season. These were under his birth name of Jim Dooley. Due to a name conflict with AFTRA, he adopted his mother's maiden name of Perry shortly after beginning his television work.