Rod Roddey...

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He died very recently apparently of all sorts cancer(s).

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AN AP STORY
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BC-Obit-Roddy, 1st Ld-Writethru,0610
'Price is Right' announcer Rod Roddy dies
Eds: LEADS with 7 grafs to recast and trim
Photo: 1/8 AP Photos
By RYAN PEARSON=
Associated Press Writer=

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Rod Roddy, the flamboyantly dressed announcer
on "The Price is Right" whose booming, jovial voice invited lucky
audience members to "Come on down!" for nearly 20 years, died
Monday. He was believed to be 66.

Roddy, who suffered from colon and breast cancer, died at
Century City Hospital, according to his longtime agent, Don Pitts.
He had been hospitalized for two months.

"He had such a strong spirit. He just wouldn't give up," Pitts
said Monday.

Roddy had been ill for more than two years but tried to work as
long as he could, said Bob Barker, host of "The Price is Right."
Roddy had been with the game show for 17 years.

"We all admired his courage," Barker said last week. "He was
always upbeat and hopeful."

Barker recounted a recent visit to his friend: "I went to the
hospital and sat on the edge of his bed and we laughed the whole
time we were talking. He was still having fun."

Roddy's announcing stints included "Love Connection" (1981-85)
and "Press Your Luck" (1983-86), but "The Price is Right"
earned him his greatest fame. "The Price is Right" remains one of
the most television's most popular game shows, and Roddy, with his
flashy sport coats and booming voice, was a big part of the
success.

"He started wearing those jackets when he joined the show,"
Barker said. "He was quite a character. He was important to the
success of the show. He had the spirit of `The Price Is Right.'
It's a fun show. We did it with the hope people will forget their
problems for awhile."

Roddy, whose real name was Robert Ray Roddy, was born Sept. 18,
1937, in Fort Worth, Texas, Pitts said. According to CBS, his birth
year was 1936, which would make him 67.

He was a graduate of Texas Christian University and a popular
disc jockey in Texas when he decided to expand his career in
Hollywood, his agent recalled.

Roddy's versatility made him a popular voice-over artist for
commercials in Los Angeles, Pitts said. He got his big break in
television with the 1977-81 satire "Soap."

Disc jockey Casey Kasem, who was the first announcer on the
risque series, decided he did not want to stay with it and asked
Pitts if he knew someone who could take over.

"I said, 'I've got a guy who's terrific,"' Pitts said. "Rod
started with 'Soap' and then his career took off."

Roddy, who taped his last show about two months ago, had colon
cancer surgery on Sept. 11, 2001, and his left breast removed last
March.

The diseases appeared under control following chemotherapy but
flared up again, Pitts said. The two cancers, which Roddy had said
were unconnected, prompted him to become a spokesman for early
detection.

"I could have prevented all this with a colonoscopy and, of
course, that's the campaign I've been on since I had the first
surgery," he said in a recent interview on a CBS Web site.

Breast cancer, although typically associated with women, is
diagnosed in about 1,500 American men a year, Roddy said in the CBS
interview: "To everybody out there, 'Get a mammogram!' It can
happen to men, too."

Roddy was single. The only family member he talked about his
mother, who died several years ago, Pitts said.

Funeral plans were not immediately announced.

___=

Associated Press writers Jeff Wilson and Lynn Elber in Los
Angeles contributed to this report.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

APTV-10-27-03 2153EST

[jceman 1]

Dang.

Here's a link to the sad details.

Faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, more money.

Why do they call it "Tourist Season" if we can't shoot them?

[Jackajeffries 0]

that sucks he will be missed, " Come on down"

[Muenkel 0]

I happened to be watching the Price is Right the other day and I noticed he was not on. I wondered what happened. This bums me out.

Blue skies Rod Roddy.

_________________________________________
Chris