October 15th 2008
Jack Narz, host of numerous game shows including Dotto and Concentration, passed away on October 15th 2008 due to complications following a stroke. He was 85 years old.
Narz was born on November 13th 1922. He started his television career as an announcer for various shows, and in 1958 he became the host of the CBS daytime game show Dotto. The show took off, and that summer a prime time edition was added on NBC, with Narz at the helm of both programs. Dotto was based on Connect the Dots, and contestants had to answer general interest questions to connect dots in the puzzle to reveal a famous figure.
Dotto aired for nine months before it became the first casualty of the quiz show scandal that rocked the game show world in the late 50s. While the game was proven to be fixed, Narz himself was unaware of the cheating and was never charged.
After Dotto, Narz guest-hosted The Price is Right for a month. He then took on a string of game shows including Video Village, Seven Keys, I'll Bet, Beat the Clock, and Now You See It. In 1973, Narz became the host of the remade Concentration, a position he held until 1978.
His brother, Tom Kennedy, also became a successful game show host, and the two of them occasionally appeared together on each other's shows. Kennedy's shows included It's Your Bet, You Don't Say, and Password Plus. They were also both celebrity panelists on To Tell the Truth.
Narz eventually went back to announcing, working on the revival of Beat the Clock as well as Card Sharks. An avid golfer, he spent some of his retirement playing the celebrity golf circuit to raise money for various charities.
Narz is survived by his wife Dolores Vaiksnor, his four children, six grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, his brother Tom Kennedy, and his sister Mary Lovett Scully.
