Art Linkletter, who encouraged both kids and grownups to say the “darndest things” during his decades as a genial but gently mischievious US television personality, has died at age 97. The host of “People Are Funny” and “House Party” of the 1950s and ‘60s died Wednesday at his home in the Bel-Air section of Los Angeles. Linkletter was known on TV for his funny interviews with children and ordinary folks. He also collected their comments in a number of best-selling books. “Because of Art Linkletter, adults found themselves enjoying children,” said Bill Cosby, whose style interviewing kids on his own show in the late ‘90s was often compared to Linkletter's. “An amazing fellow, a terrific broadcast talent, a brilliant businessman. An all-around good guy,” CNN's Larry King added about his longtime friend and frequent guest. “Art Linkletter's House Party,” one of television's longest-running variety shows, debuted on radio in 1944 and was seen on CBS-TV from 1952 to 1969. Linkletter's programs - like many of today's reality TV shows - often relied on ordinary people sharing too much information on national television. But his shows were far gentler than today's often mean-spirited productions. Though “House Party” had many features, the best known was the daily interviews with schoolchildren. Linkletter collected quotes from children into “Kids Say The Darndest Things,” and it sold in the millions. He is survived by his wife, Lois, whom he married in 1935, and daughters Dawn Griffin and Sharon Linkletter, as well as seven grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.
