Tom Kennedy was born James Edward Narz in Louisville, Kentucky. He was the younger brother of host Jack Narz (1922-2008). The brothers wanted to avoid the perceived conflict of having two announcers with the same last name promoting competing products. Kennedy was a television host best known for his work in game shows.Â
From 1957 to 1958, Kennedy was the Announcer for the Betty White TV series âDate with the Angelsâ which was loosely based on the Elmer Rice play Dream Girl, a play that Lucille Ball appeared in 1947. Â
Kennedyâs first successful game show was owned by Desilu: âYou Donât Say!â (1963-75). Although Ball never appeared on the show, Lucyâs co-stars Vivian Vance and Gale Gordon did. She game show earned him an Emmy nomination in 1967 (the winner was Mike Douglas), the same year Lucille Ball won for âThe Lucy Show.â Â
In 1970, Kennedy broke out of his game show mold to host a 90-minute syndicated talk show âThe Real Tom Kennedy Show.â It lasted just one season. The chat-fest shared guests with âHereâs Lucyâ such as Ruta Lee, Foster Brooks, Charles Nelson Reilly, and Bob Crane.Â
In 1980 he assumed hosting of âPassword Plus,â which following the illness (and later death) of original host Allen Ludden.Â
Lucille Ball started appearing on âPasswordâ in 1963. It was her favorite game show. Her first appearance with Kennedy as host was the during the first week in March 1981. Ball played with Betty White (Luddenâs widow), her âLucy Showâ TV boyfriend Dick Martin, and her real-life and âHereâs Lucyâ TV son Desi Arnaz Jr.Â
Ball returned for All-Celebrity Week in December 1981, although no information is available about these programs. Although Ball returned to "Passwordâ in 1986 when when it was re-invented as âSuper Password,â Tom Kennedy did not. Hosting tasks were assumed by Bert Convy when Kennedy moved on to host âBody Language.â In a surprise twist, he returned as a celebrity contestant in January 1987. Â
Kennedy also hosted âBody Language,â a game show produced by Mark Goodson Productions which aired on CBS from June 4, 1984 until January 3, 1986. Pantomime and charades were a favorite pastime of Lucille Ball.Â
Ten years earlier, Lucille Ball had promoted a Milton Bradley board game of the same name, so when a television version finally premiered, Ball did two 1984 week-long guest stints; one in September and another in December.Â
âI don't like how some game shows today humiliate people and reward contestants for dishonesty. An example of this is âThe Weakest Linkâ (2000 & 2020). The host puts down contestants for incorrect responses while the object of the game is to vote off other contestants, mainly those that help the team succeed. I think it's a reflection of how selfish and cynical society today is at large, and I'm not a fan of it at all.â ~ Tom Kennedy
Kennedy retired in 1989. In 2005, Kennedy and his brother, Jack Narz, both received the Game Show Congressâ Bill Cullen award for lifetime achievement.
Kennedy was married to Betty Jane Gevedon. He died at age 93, survived by his three children. His nephew reports that he passed away peacefully.Â