Died 2002 | ||
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Randy Merriman (1918–2002) was an American television producer, game show host and radio broadcaster. He was the first host of The Big Payoff game show on NBC (working with assistant and former Miss America Bess Myerson) which he began in 1951 and exited in 1957 to be replaced by Bob Paige. Merriman was also involved in the show's production. Prior to that, Merriman hosted a radio game show at KSTP (AM) broadcasting to Minneapolis-St. Paul. In the 1960s and 1970s he worked in radio broadcasting, doing pre-game radio shows for the Minnesota Twins.
Merriman was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1918, the eldest of two children. He attended the University of Minnesota, where he took political science. He began acting by appearing in numerous television commercials beginning in the early 1940s.