Jim Lange
Jim Lange is an American
game show host and
disc jockey perhaps best known for hosting
The Dating Game.
Born on
August 15,
1933, in
St. Paul,
Minnesota, Lange began his radio broadcasting career in the
Twin Cities after winning an audition as a teenager. He graduated from
St. Thomas Academy high school before going to the University of Minnesota. After graduating from the
University of Minnesota and serving in the
Marines, Lange moved to
San Francisco. After making his
Bay Area broadcast debut as "The All-Night Mayor" on
KGO, he moved to afternoons on
KSFO in 1960.
His network television career began with
The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show in 1962. Three years later he would sign on to host
The Dating Game. His other game shows include
$100,000 Name That Tune,
Bullseye, and
The All-New Newlywed Game, as well as short-lived shows including
The $1,000,000 Chance of a Lifetime,
Spin-Off,
Triple Threat, and
Give-n-Take.
In the 1980s,
Gene Autry recruited Lange to
Los Angeles, where he broadcast at radio station
KMPC. In 1997, he returned to the Bay Area as morning host of
The Lange Gang on
KABL, an
adult standards station. Lange retired in
2005 after KABL went off the air; he lives in
San Francisco with his wife, Nancy.
*
Bay Area Radio Museum*
San Francisco Chronicle
