The Many Games and Claims of Dennis James

Over 9,000 posts on Travalanche and I have not yet had any occasion to mention broadcasting announcer, emcee, commercial pitch man, and game show host Dennis James (Demetrio “Demie” Sposa, 1917-1997). James got into television extremely early in its development (1943), and as a consequence he boasted numerous “firsts” that initially sound implausible, but could well be true given the time frame: first to appear in a TV commercial, first to appear on videotape, first to host a TV variety show, first to host a TV game show, first to host a telethon, and so forth. Most of these were prior to World War Two, before many people even had a TV set, and were on the long-defunct Dumont network. Also, until 1976 (around the time he was winding down his career) James was credited with having appeared more times on television than anyone else, and for more years.

James started out on local radio in Jersey City in the late ’30s, moving across the river in 1940 to work in the big leagues in NYC. The forward looking James started at experimental TV station W2XVW just three years later; it was eventually absorbed into the Dumont network. He hosted television’s first variety show Television Roof, starting in 1943. He did the same honors for the first tv game shows, Dumont Beepstakes and Cash and Carry, in 1946. He began hosting the United Cerebral Palsy Telethon in 1950. (Technically this was not the first telethon ever; Milton Berle had hosted one for cancer research the previous year, but UCB was the first annual telethon. Jerry Lewis wouldn’t begin hosting his legendary MDA one until 1966).

James announced or hosted numerous game and variety shows over the years including Okay, Mother (1948-51, the title was his catch phrase), Stop the Music (1949-56), Chance of a Lifetime (1950-56), Two for the Money (1952-57), Chance of a Lifetime (1952-56), Judge for Yourself (1953-54), The Name’s the Same (1954-55), Your First Impression (1961-64), People Will Talk (1963), You Don’t Say (1963-68), P.D.Q. (1965-69), and a reboot of Name That Tune (1974-75). He was also known for announcing boxing, wrestling, and body building events, and subbing on other shows like Ted Mack’s Amateur Hour and The Price is Right, or appearing as a panelist on Hollywood Squares, Tattletales, and other shows.

He also made guest appearances in dramatic film and television, including shows like Batman and Fantasy Island, and movies like The One and Only (1978) and Rocky III(1982). His last couple of credits were for proper acting roles, in an episode of Oh Madeline (1984) and an independent film called The Method (1996).

For more on show biz history consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, and stay tuned for my upcomingElectric Vaudeville: A Century of Radio and TV Variety.