Mark Goodson, Creator Of TV Game Shows, Dies

NEW YORK - Mark Goodson, the TV game-show producer who created the programs "What's My Line?," "The Price is Right" and "Family Feud," died today of cancer. He was 77.

Mr. Goodson, who began his 46-year broadcasting career as a San Francisco disc jockey, died at his home in Manhattan, according to a publicist.

At the time of his death, he was president and chairman of the board of Mark Goodson Productions. In addition to his television work, Mr. Goodson was also the owner of a large group of weekly and daily newspapers.

Mr. Goodson was born in Sacramento, Calif., on Jan. 24, 1915, the son of Russian immigrants.

In San Francisco in 1939, he created his first radio game show, "Pop The Question," a program where contestants threw darts at multicolored balloons.

He moved to New York in 1941, working as a free-lance radio announcer until 1946, when he first teamed up with longtime partner Bill Todman.

They quickly sold a game show to CBS radio; after four years, they moved into television production.

Mr. Goodson developed their first TV show, "What's My Line?" which made its debut on Feb. 1, 1950, and ran for 17 years. His other creations included "I've Got a Secret," "To Tell The Truth," "Password," "The Price is Right" and "Family Feud."

Mr. Goodson is to be inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1993. He won an Emmy Award for Lifetime Achievement for Daytime Television.

He is survived by his son, Jonathan Goodson, and two daughters, Marjorie Goodson Cutt and Jill Goodson Bishop.

The family has asked for donations to the Mark Goodson Memorial Fund at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles in lieu of flowers. The television producer donated $5 million to the hospital in 1990, and an 11-story building there is named for him.