Born: Jan. 24, 1915
Died: Dec. 18, 1992
Known for: A Sacramento native, Goodson was the producer of dozens of television shows and creator of numerous game shows, including "The Price Is Right," "Family Feud" and "To Tell the Truth."
Background: Goodson was born to Russian immigrants Abraham E. and Fanny Gross Goodson. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1937. Two years later, he created his first game, "Pop the Question," for San Francisco radio station KFRC. In 1946, he and radio writer-director Bill Todman formed Goodson-Todman Productions. They developed methods that would serve them throughout their careers: Goodson refined the game-show format and Todman tested flaws in the rules and worked out the financial angles. Some of their shows included "What's My Line" (1950-67), "To Tell the Truth" (1956-67), "Concentration" (1958-73), "Match Game" (1973-1979) and the second version of "The Price is Right," which debuted in 1972.
A highlight: Goodson earned a Lifetime Achievement for Daytime Television Emmy Award, and in 1993 he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame.
In History's Spotlight profiles of Sacramento newsmakers were published originally in 2007 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of The Sacramento Bee. They were written by Anthony Sorci. Look for them every Sunday in Sac History Happenings.
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