Arthur Gordon Linkletter was born on 17 July 1912, in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada, of American descent. Art was a radio and television personality, best known for hosting “House Party” which ran on CBS for 25 years. He also hosted “People Are Funny” which ran on NBC for 19 years, but all of his efforts helped put his net worth to where it was prior to his passing in 2010.
How rich was Art Linkletter? As of mid-2017, sources inform us of a net worth that was at $90 million, mostly earned through success on television and radio. He was famous for interviewing children on “House Party” and “Kids Say the Darndest Things”, all of these achievements ensuring the position of his wealth.
Art Linkletter Net Worth $90 million
Art was adopted and never had contact with his natural family. His adoptive family moved from Canada to San Diego, California when he was five years old, where he attended San Diego High School, and lived during the early years of the Great Depression. He then attended San Diego State Teachers College (San Diego State University) and earned a bachelor’s degree in teaching. He also played for the school’s basketball and swimming team.
After completing his studies, Linkletter started to work as a radio announcer because it paid better than teaching. He was involved in various radio programs in the 1930s, and then moved to San Francisco to continue his radio career. In 1940, he started working with John Guedel on the radio show “People are Funny” which would become a prototype for radio game shows, and eventually found its way to television, running from 1954 to 1961. His net worth started to increase significantly thanks to this project. Linkletter then worked on other television shows, including “Life with Linkletter”, and on the film “Champagne for Caesar”. He also became the broadcaster to organize ABC’s coverage of the Disneyland opening, despite his doubts about the success of the theme park. He later became convinced that Disneyland would become highly successful. He was involved with Disneyland for many years, which helped his net worth rise quickly.
Art also made various investments, becoming an investor for the hula hoop as well as “The Game of Life”. In 1963, a gag cartoon panel was published by King Features Syndicate called “Art Linkletter’s Kids”. He then opened a dance school in Claremont, California called the Art Linketter School of Jazz. In 1988, he made an appearance in the sitcom “Small Wonder”, and thanks to all his achievements, he received a lifetime achievement Daytime Emmy award in 2003. He was also inducted into the National Speakers Association Speaker Hall of Fame, as well as being given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
For his personal life, it is known that Linkletter married Lois Foerster in 1935, and they had five children during a marriage of 75 years, one of the longest of any celebrity, even outliving three of their children. In 2008, Linkletter suffered a mild stroke, and two years later he would pass away at his home in Los Angeles in May 2010.
