Arthur Godfrey

Diagnoses

Vocation

Notable

Traits

American entertainer, a radio announcer, singer, aviator, farmer, business executive, guitarist and ukulele player, a true renaissance man who cloaked his versatility under the guise of a home-spun good 'ole boy. He was nominated for TV Emmys as the Most Outstanding Kinescoped Personality of 1949 and as the Most Outstanding Personality in 1962 and 1963. Godfrey was an entertainment mainstay in the eyes of the American public until his propensity for callousness became a matter of public expose. On the evening show of 10/19/1953, he waited until his very popular singer, Julius LaRosa had finished his performance and announced, "Thank you, Julie. That was lovely. And that, folks, was Julie's swan song." LaRosa's public and humiliating firing caused a stir of controversy. Some said this was Godfrey's calculating way of keeping his name in the news but if so, was certainly a matter of poor judgment. Many of his former fans left his programs along with LaRosa when his Mr. Nice Guy image was forever damaged. Godfrey had one of the first plastic hip transplants in 1953 and made a dramatic recovery from lung cancer in 1959 which he made public on his TV show. He died of pneumonia and emphysema on 3/16/1983. Link to Wikipedia biography