John Davidson

John Davidson entered the world in Pittsburgh as the child of a clergyman, with singing and dancing as his initial pursuits long before he took the helm of two programs beloved across America, Hollywood Squares and That's Incredible!. His first Broadway appearance came in the 1964 staging of Foxy alongside Bert Lahr, the actor famed for embodying the Cowardly Lion in MGM’s 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz. Producer Bob Banner, the same figure who had earlier spotted talents such as Carol Burnett and Bob Newhart, caught Davidson’s stage work and shaped him into a television presence, emphasizing that a successful on-air figure must both adjust to varied roles and recognize the moments to reveal his authentic self. Through this guidance Davidson cultivated abilities as a singer, performer, and broadcast personality alike.

He joined the short-lived 1964 variety program The Entertainers, after which additional prime-time variety efforts arrived, among them Kraft Summer Music Hall plus two iterations of The John Davidson Show. National recognition arrived in 1980 when he began hosting That’s Incredible!, a series that continued for four years with Cathy Lee Crosby as co-host. His television ascent continued through regular appearances on Hollywood Squares, where he eventually assumed hosting duties in 1986; that edition featured such notables as Joan Rivers, Shadow Stevens, Louie Anderson, and further guests. In 1991 he succeeded Dick Clark as host of the syndicated contest The $100,000 Pyramid.

Amid these hosting commitments Davidson returned to his earliest passions by acting and singing. He shared the screen with Sally Field in the 1973 series The Girl with Something Extra, issued twelve albums, appeared in assorted stage musicals, and portrayed Angie Duke in Disney’s The Happiest Millionaire. Additional screen work encompasses Airport ’79, The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band, and Edward Scissorhands. For years he has returned intermittently to the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical State Fair. Perhaps his foremost achievement lies in forging a distinctive place within entertainment simply by remaining true to himself.