Bert Convy was a familiar face on American television in the 1980s, known to millions as a game show host, but his path to Hollywood stardom began on the baseball diamond. Born Bernard Whan Convy on July 23, 1933, in St. Louis, Missouri, he grew up in Los Angeles after his family relocated during the Great Depression. A standout athlete in his youth, Convy played first baseman at North Hollywood High School.
His skills on the field were promising enough that just one day after graduating in 1951, he signed with the Philadelphia Phillies and entered their minor league system, playing for the Class B teams in Clamoth Falls and Miami. His baseball career lasted only two seasons before he walked away, recognizing the physical and financial toll the sport demanded. He pivoted to entertainment in the mid-1950s, joining the pop group The Cheers. The group recorded tracks like “Black Denim Trousers and Motorcycle Boots,” giving Convy his first taste of the industry.
In 1956, he performed in the Billy Barnes Review in Los Angeles, which led to a move to New York and a successful Broadway career in productions such as Fiddler on the Roof and Cabaret. During the 1960s and 70s, Convy became a familiar face on American television with guest roles in shows like Perry Mason, Bewitched, The Partridge Family, and Hawaii Five-O. He also appeared in films, including Semi-Tough and The Cannonball Run. But his most enduring fame came from hosting game shows.
He helmed Tattletales for two periods, from 1974 to 1978 and again between 1982 and 1984, and earned a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Host in 1977. He later hosted Super Password and co-created Win, Lose, or Draw with actor Burt Reynolds. In his private life, Convy married Anne Anderson in 1959, and the couple had three children: Jennifer, Joshua, and Jonah. They stayed together for nearly three decades and publicly appeared content during his Tattletales hosting days.
However, by 1987, they separated and their divorce proceedings became complicated. Around that time, Convy began a relationship with Katherine Hills, a woman 25 years his junior. In April 1990, while visiting his hospitalized mother, Convy collapsed and was diagnosed with a brain tumor. His health declined rapidly, and after suffering severe strokes, he requested a divorce from Anne so he could marry Catherine and spend his remaining months with her.
Anne agreed, and Convy wed Catherine in February 1991. He died less than five months later, on July 15, 1991, at his home in Brentwood, California, with Catherine at his side. He was 57 years old, just one week shy of his 58th birthday.
His funeral at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills was attended by friends including Burt Reynolds, Lonnie Anderson, and Sally Struthers, marking the end of a life that spanned professional sports, Broadway, and daytime television.
