Another Story Of One Who Was Inspired To Survive

Before Candid Camera...before America's Funniest Home Video's...paving the way was Art Linkletter's House Party TV show. Every summer afternoon my sisters and I were home as little girls, we loved to watch him interview children on his show. During the 1950's he became a daytime television staple. Little children from around the Los Angeles area were chosen to appear in special segments every day called Kids Say The Darndest Things. I'm sure some were natural born talkers who would say anything, others were probably the one the teacher most needed a break from. What we got in exchange was hilarious, refreshingly honest television, as children said whatever came off the tops of their heads as he interviewed them. It's estimated he interviewed 23,000 children over the 27 years of the show. 

Looking back into the past of Art's early life, it's amazing he achieved what he did. Started off on a rocky path when he was abandoned by his parents in infancy, he was adopted by a minister and his wife. He came of age in the Great Depression of the 1930's. With no jobs available, he took to riding the rails and doing odd jobs around the USA. Eventually, he found a way to go to college. After college he had the opportunity to work in radio, which he said "paid better than the teaching" that he was educated for. Radio led to movies and eventually, a new industry called television. He had all the characteristics of a great talk show host: quick thinking, good in front of an audience, a sense of humor, and a great inteviewing skills - the roots of his skills could probably be traced back to the years he rode the rails as a young man.  The most beloved part of every show was when he interviewed the young children that would say ANYTHING on nationwide television. These television episodes led to multiple books with collections of the childrens' sayings. 

Art and his wife enjoyed one of the longest lasting celebrity marriages of all times - 74 years! After his daughter Diane died a tragic death, he used much of his remaining years to advocate against drug use. Art Linkletter exemplifies being a person inspired to survive sucessfully in spite of a rocky start in life and tragic family events.