Jim Narz was born In Louisville, KY on February 26, 1927. The younger brother of future game show host Jack Narz, Jim was a tall, slender, good-looking fellow during high school, and with brains on top of all that. He coasted through his studies rather easily, but without much of a sense of what he wanted to do after he graduated. He was fond of a drafting class, which led him to decide he would pursue a career as an electrical engineer.

Those plans changed after big brother Jack got a job as a radio announcer. In addition to a healthy paycheck, Jack was beginning to receive national exposure in the field, compelling Jim to rethink his future plans.

It was with this thought of a new life and career that Jim packed up and headed for Hollywood to attend the same broadcasters' school that Jack had attended. He headed back to Lousville to flesh out his resume and headed back to Hollywood, this time permanently, a few years later. He got a lucky break early on by landing a job at KPOL-AM, the radio station that eventually became KMPC.

The humble beginnings of an all-time great

Jim became a quick success, and eventually the Narz brothers found themselves moving into the field of TV game shows. Both Jack and Jim possessed the right look, sharp wit, and wonderful voices for the medium and the genre. Soon, though, a small problem arose: They became unwitting competitors, working on conflicting networks and for competing sponsors. That, and the problem was coming up of the two brothers being confused and mistaken for each other. Jim, likely out of respect for his older brother, decided he should be the one to change his name, and rechristened himself Tom Kennedy.

Goodbye, Jim Narz, hello, Tom Kennedy

As a broadcaster, Tom was in demand for all fields of entertainment, and in that era, it was only natural that game shows would start calling. In 1958, Tom began work on his first network game show, the gimmicky “Big Game.” The series lasted only three months, but it gave Tom the national exposure he needed to keep finding employment.

A short time later, the former Jim Narz found himself with a second pseudonym; in addition to being Tom Kennedy, he was also “Doctor I.Q.” for the ABC Network. Again, the series only had a brief run, but Tom persisted. He remained in demand as an announcer for pilots and the national series "About Faces." In the Los Angeles area, he hosted a game called "Temptation" on KTLA.

In 1963, he finally got the hit show he had been waiting for. Jack Barry, still considered a smudge mark on game shows for his role in the scandals of the late 1950s, was passed over when his local Los Angeles game "You Don’t Say!" was picked up by NBC, and Tom received the nod to replace him.

"You Don't Say!" turned Tom into a full-fledged star on the daytime airwaves. The show was a smash hit for six and a half years, even earning a primetime slot for a time, and ranking as one of television’s top three game shows during four years of its’ run. The success of the series afforded Tom opportunities to rub shoulders with stars of stage, screen, and even politics. The series was canceled in 1969, not for low ratings, but out of a desire by NBC executives to overhaul the daytime schedule.

The success of, and subsequent end of "You Don't Say!" gave Tom a number of opportunities to broaden his horizons, and Tom began popping up as an actor in sitcoms such as "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" and NBC's sketch comedy hit "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In." In 1970, he hosted a daytime talk show, “The Real Tom Kennedy Show.” He also appeared as an actor in various comedy and drama series during the decade. Although the talk show and Tom’s acting career ended up being somewhat limited, the 1970s could easily be considered the most successful decade of Tom’s career.

The first hit came in 1972, with the ABC quiz show “Split Second,” a breathtaking and fast-paced game that seemed like a highly-accelerated “Jeopardy!” 1974 found Tom emceeing a revival of the classic game “Name That Tune” in primetime syndication. A short-lived big money version of “You Don’t Say!,” the hard quiz “50 Grand Slam,” the “Hollywood Squares” knockoff “Break the Bank,” and “Whew!” also saw Tom at the helm. It almost seemed like he was competing with brother-in-law Bill Cullen to see who could emcee the most game shows before retirement.

It's a testament to the man's talent as an emcee that during the 1970s, he accomplished what very few emcees do: he was signed to an exclusive contract by two networks. ABC and subsequently NBC were so impressed by his work that Tom was signed to contracts stating that he would host network game shows only for them.

Tom enjoys retirement (3.x MB)

Aside from these ventures, Tom has happily retired and currently resides in Ventura County, California. He’s hosted a guided tour of the history of TV game shows at a local library but shows no interest in moving back into emceeing, explaining that, despite his health and abilities still allowing him to emcee, there’s enough young talent in the field that he simply doesn’t feel like he’s needed. He’s content to be retired after a full rich career giving away an untold amount of money. 

Tom also spends a little extra time signing autographs for a worthy cause...He, along with a number of other celebrities, offers personally autographed glossy photos on the Autographed to You) website.  Click Here to Visit It.  A third of the money for each autographed purchase goes into the Tom Kennedy Scholarship Fund at Union University.