Art James (October 15, 1929 - March 27, 2004) was an American game show host, best known for shows such as The Who, What, Or Where Game and Pay Cards!. He was also the announcer on the game show Concentration.
He was born Artur Simeonvich Elimchik in Dearborn, Michigan to Russian immigrants (fluent in Russian, he taught English to Russian immigrants). He attended Wayne State University in nearby Detroit, where he studied engineering. He worked as an announcer for the Armed Forces Network while stationed in Germany after World War II.
An old Army friend, who was an executive with NBC, asked James to audition for a new game show, Concentration, hosted by Hugh Downs, which needed an announcer. Concentration ran from 1958 to 1973 and was NBC's longest-running game show. He went on to either announce or host over a dozen game shows, including Say When!!, Fractured Phrases, The Who, What, Or Where Game, Pay Cards!, Temptation, The Joker's Wild, The Magnificent Marble Machine, Classic Concentration, Family Feud, Catchphrase and appeared in the Kevin Smith movie Mallrats. He started Art James Productions in the 1990s, which taught public speaking and staged game shows specially designed to teach job skills.
One episode of Say When! included a classic blooper by James which has made the rounds on blooper specials. While James was doing an in-show plug for Peter Pan peanut butter, the bottom of the jar fell off after he put a knife in it. James continued with the plug, although he was struggling to keep from laughing. As the show was recorded live, there was no room for retakes.
He was living in Chaska, Minnesota at the end of his life, and died during a visit to his brother in Palm Springs, California.
He was best known for hosting "Concentration" (1958) for 5 years and before that he was in the U.S. Army for 2 years and trying out for the New York Yankees in 1946. He was a small Broadway Star for a time in the 1950s until his big break in Radio & TV. Then, he hosted his own office-based game show using his own production company.
He was a resident of Chaska, Minnesota, but died during a visit to Palm Springs.
