Price is Right's Rod Roddy dies

[DerangedHermit 0]

Price Is Right's' Rod Roddy Dies

 

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 27, 2003

 

(CBS/AP) Rod Roddy, the flashy-dressed announcer on "The Price is Right" whose booming, jovial voice invited lucky audience members to "Come on down!" for nearly 20 years, died Monday. He was believed to be 66.

 

Roddy, who suffered from colon and breast cancer, died at Century City Hospital, according to his longtime agent, Don Pitts. He had been hospitalized for two months.

 

"He had such a strong spirit. He just wouldn't give up," Pitts said Monday.

 

Roddy had been ill for more than two years but continued to work as much as possible and for as long as he could, said Bob Barker, host of "The Price is Right." Roddy had been with the game show for 17 years.

 

"We all admired his courage," Barker said last week. "He was always upbeat and hopeful."

 

"Rod was a fine announcer, but beyond that he was a man who had a wonderful sense of humor," Barker told CBS Radio News Producer Tom Ryan.

 

"We all admired his courage. He was always upbeat and hopeful," he said.

 

Barker recounted a recent visit to his friend: "I went to the hospital and sat on the edge of his bed and we laughed the whole time we were talking. He was still having fun."

 

Roddy's announcing stints included "Love Connection" (1981-85) and "Press Your Luck" (1983-86), but "The Price is Right" earned him his greatest fame. "The Price is Right" remains one of the most television's most popular game shows, and Roddy, with his flamboyant sport coats and booming voice, was a big part of the success.

 

"He started wearing those jackets when he joined the show," Barker said. "He was quite a character. He was important to the success of the show. He had the spirit of `The Price Is Right.' It's a fun show. We did it with the hope people will forget their problems for awhile."

 

Roddy, whose real name was Robert Ray Roddy, was born Sept. 18, 1937, in Fort Worth, Texas, Pitts said. According to CBS, his birth year was 1936, which would make him 67.

 

He was a graduate of Texas Christian University and a popular disc jockey in Texas when he decided to expand his career in Hollywood, his agent recalled.

 

Roddy's versatility made him a popular voice-over artist for commercials in Los Angeles, Pitts said. He got his big break in television with the 1977-81 satire "Soap."

 

Disc jockey Casey Kasem, who was the first announcer on the risque series, decided he did not want to stay with it and asked Pitts if he knew someone who could take over.

 

"I said, 'I've got a guy who's terrific,"' Pitts said. "Rod started with 'Soap' and then his career took off."

 

Roddy, who taped his last show about two months ago, had colon cancer surgery on Sept. 11, 2001, and his left breast removed last March.

 

The diseases appeared under control following chemotherapy but flared up again, Pitts said. The two cancers, which Roddy had said were unconnected, prompted him to become a spokesman for early detection.

 

"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," he said in a recent interview on a CBS Web site.

 

Breast cancer, although typically associated with women, is diagnosed in about 1,500 American men a year, Roddy said in the CBS interview: "To everybody out there, 'Get a mammogram!' It can happen to men, too."

 

Roddy was single. The only family member he talked about his mother, who died several years ago, Pitts said.

 

Funeral plans were not immediately announced.

[Hank Kingsley 0]

I heard this earlier...

 

 

It's not the same hearing the other announcer say "Come on down!" RIP, Rod.

[Mole 0]

I used to love this show when I was a kid. He had one of the best voices of all time.

 

I swear, this year has sucked. WAY too many people have died.

[The Czech Republic 0]

Aw crap. I liked him on Press Your Luck too. Great great show that was.

[{''({o..o})''} 0]

This year just plain sucked.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

ROOOOOOOOOOOD RODDY!

 

Come on down to the Pearly Gates.

 

It was fun...

[starvenger 0]

Well, this sucks. RIP Rod. You will be missed...

[Karnage 0]

Damn. When I think of Price is Right, I usually thought of him saying "Come on down!". RIP.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

that just stinks

[PsychoDriver 0]

No way!! that guy was a great game show announcer. he had the perfect voice for it.

 

RIP Rod.

 

Price is right will never be the same again.

[Guest Boo_Bradley]

Montel Williams also had breast cancer

[Lord of The Curry 0]

RIP Roddy.

[Guest FrigidSoul]

You know I'm sure they can use audio clips to make it seem as though he's still there, and quite frankly that would be the right thing to do. Like the Show's opening and after the name "Come on Down"

[Dr. Tyler; Captain America 0]

[Nevermortal 0]

He was great as the Soap announcer.

 

Fucking tremendous show.

[bob_barron 0]

I met Rod Roddy.

 

He was a very cool guy

 

RIP Rod

[Murmuring Beast 0]

Bruce Forsyth must be near the end...

[Guest Plushy Al Logan]

Wow, the Grim Reaper must be pissed at celebrities?!

 

RIP ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD RODDY!

[Steviekick 0]

RIP Rod.

[WrestlingDeacon 0]

What you guys are missing is that Johnny Olsen was the announcer for the Price is Right for years and years before Roddy took the reigns upon his passing. Roddy took a lot of shit from people, because he wasn't Olsen and that's who the fans wanted. Different generation now. It's nice to see an outpouring of love for Rod here.

[EdwardKnoxII 0]

RIP Rod. The Price Is Right won't be the same without you.

[Guest Mulatto Heat]

As a TPiR fan since 1986, I'm deeply saddened. I knew he was sick for a while now, and on the show they wouldn't show him on camera for the longest time. RIP

 

Bob Barker's now outlasted two of his announcers. (The first one, Johnny Olsen, died in 1985. Deacon, since he died before I started to watch the show, Rod's #1 in my book.)

[Guest Dmann2000]

Bob Barker is a vampire sucking the lifeforce from his announcers. (He's what, 80 and still has a full head of hair and banging women 1/2 his age?)

 

RIP Rod, St. Peter is ready for you to come on doooooooooown.