Thaindian News

NEW YORK CITY (BNO NEWS) – Art Linkletter, a television host famous for his children’s shows, died on Wednesday at the age of 97.

No official cause of death has been given at this time. In 2008, Linkletter suffered a mild stroke; however this is no information that this played a role in his death, as no information has been released. Linkletter is survived by his wife, Lois Foerster. The two have been married since 1935 until Art’s death, making them the longest married couple in Hollywood.

Over the years, Linkletter’s career went through several upswings. In the 1950s he hosted the popular NBC shows House Party and People Are Funny. In 1955, on his birthday (July 17), Linkletter presided over the grand opening of Disneyland. In 2005, at Disneyland’s 50 year anniversary celebration, Linkletter was honored as a Disney Legend.

But Linkletter’s life wasn’t always easy. In 1969, he lost his daughter, Diane, when she jumped out of a sixth story window to her death. At the time Linkletter claimed that his daughter’s actions could be attributed to LSD, but none was found in her system after her death. In 1980, Linkletter lost his son, Robert, when he was killed in a car crash.

In recent years, Linkletter, a long time Republican, had helped lead the United Seniors Association, an alternative group to the AARP.