GLOUCESTER, Mass (Reuters) -- Gene Rayburn, host of the 1970s game show "The Match Game" died Monday of congestive heart failure at his daughter's home in Gloucester, Mass., according to published reports. He was 81.
Rayburn was one of the best known daytime television personalities of the 1970s and was nominated for five daytime Emmy awards. He was awarded a lifetime achievement Emmy in October.He was a veteran of a half-dozen television game shows and several television and radio talk shows.
A native of Illinois, Rayburn wanted to be a singer but could not find a job on the stage. He was hired as a page at NBC and worked his way up through radio and television jobs.