Hal March

March entered show business as a straight man in the vaudeville act the Hollywood Rioteers, before serving in the U.S. Army beginning in 1941. He began his career in broadcasting as an announcer at Station KYA in San Francisco.{{cite news| last=| first =| date =January 26, 1970| title =Deaths| newspaper=Broadcasting| page=94| url=| access-date=}} From 1944 through 1948 he teamed with comedy partner Bob Sweeney in The Bob Sweeney-Hal March Show on CBS Radio.{{cite news |last1=Anderson |first1=Nancy |title=Funnyman Sweeney now producer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/49316209/bob-sweeney/ |accessdate=April 22, 2020 |newspaper=The Cincinnati Enquirer |agency=Copley News Service |date=August 28, 1977 |page=11 |via=Newspapers.com}} He also appeared in The Adventures of Sam Spade, which ran on CBS 1946–1949.

March co-starred as Harry Morton on The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show on the NBC and CBS radio networks from the mid-1940s until 1950. When the show switched to television that year, he continued in the role until the middle of the season, in 1951. During the next few seasons, he appeared occasionally in various guest roles on the show.

March and Mary Jane Croft co-starred in Too Many Cooks, a summer replacement program on CBS radio in 1950. The comedy centered on Douglas and Carrie Cook and their 10 children.{{cite news |last1=Crosby |first1=John |title=Radio in Review |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2060440/mj_croft_too_many_cooks/ |newspaper=The Evening Review |location=East Liverpool, Ohio |date=August 14, 1950 |page=10 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=March 24, 2015}}

He went on to appear on such shows as The Imogene Coca Show, I Love Lucy, and Willy. In the summer of 1955, March joined John Dehner and Tom D'Andrea in the 11-episode NBC summer series, The Soldiers, a military comedy produced and directed by Bud Yorkin.{{Citation needed |date=October 2020}} D'Andrea temporarily left the William Bendix sitcom The Life of Riley for this chance at his own series.{{Citation needed |date=October 2020}}

He was the Mystery Guest on the October 9, 1955 episode of What's My Line? He was guessed by Bennett Cerf.{{cite web |title=What's My Line (Oct 9, 1955) |website=YouTube |year=1955 |access-date=2019-07-22 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MyGrtnFHK4 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/5MyGrtnFHK4 |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}

March was arguably best known as the host of The $64,000 Question, which he helmed from 1955 to 1958. In addition to his hosting duties, March also sang a version of the show's theme music in 1956, titled "Love Is the Sixty-Four Thousand Dollar Question."{{cite web|url=http://everything2.com/title/Sixty-four%2520dollar%2520question |title=Sixty-four dollar question |website=Everything2.com |date=2004-05-10 |access-date=2017-06-23}}

As a result of the quiz show scandals, the show was canceled, and with the exception of a few film roles such as Hear Me Good and Send Me No Flowers, March was largely out of work for nearly a decade.

To keep busy, March continued to appear in guest-starring roles, even starring in a 1961 unsold television pilot for a comedy titled I Married a Dog, in which his life was constantly upset by his wife's pooch. He appeared in several sitcoms in 1966 that are still widely rerun today. Among these are a role as the father of Gidget's boyfriend Jeff in the Gidget episode "In and Out with the In-Laws" and the head of corrupt dance studio in The Monkees episode "Dance Monkee, Dance." He also made appearances in the sitcoms Hey, Landlord and The Lucy Show as well as in the film A Guide for the Married Man.{{Citation needed |date=October 2020}}

In 1961, he played the lead in Neil Simon's first Broadway play Come Blow Your Horn, which ran for 677 performances.

March's career took a turn for the better in July 1969 when he began hosting the game show It's Your Bet. After completing approximately 13 weeks of taping, however, he complained of exhaustion. Tests revealed that he had lung cancer, the result of years of chain smoking. He had one lung removed. When he subsequently contracted pneumonia, he was too weak to fight it. March died in January 1970 in Los Angeles at age 49, and is buried in Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery.{{cite news| date=January 19, 1970| title=Hal March, Actor, TV Quizmaster, 49| newspaper=The New York Times| page=40 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/01/20/archives/hal-march-actor-tv-quizmaster-49-star-of-64000-question-and-of.html |access-date=October 29, 2022 |url-access=subscription}}

March was awarded two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for his radio work at 1560 Vine Street, and another for his work in television at 6536 Hollywood Boulevard.

In 1956, March married Candy Toxton, the former wife of singer Mel Tormé. March was stepfather to Toxton's two children from her previous marriage, Steve March-Tormé and Melissa Tormé. He and Toxton had three children together: Peter, Jeffrey, and Victoria.{{Citation needed |date=March 2023}}

His grandson Hunter March hosted the game show Emogenius.{{cite web |url=http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/Hunter-March-to-Host-GSNs-New-Emoji-Solving-Game-Show-EMOGENIUS-67-20170504 |title=Hunter March to Host GSN's New Emoji-Solving Game Show EMOGENIUS, 6/7 |website=Broadway World |first=Caryn |last=Robbins |date=May 4, 2017 |access-date=17 June 2017}} He also hosts the Netflix series Sugar Rush and E! TV's Nightly Pop.

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• {{IMDb name|0545301}}
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• {{Find a Grave|3834}}

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Category:1920 births

Category:1970 deaths

Category:American game show hosts

Category:American male television actors

Category:American male comedians

Category:American male radio actors

Category:Jewish American comedians

Category:Deaths from lung cancer in California

Category:20th-century American male actors

Category:Jewish American male actors

Category:Burials at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery

Category:20th-century American comedians

Category:Jewish male comedians

Category:20th-century American Jews