A descendant of Davy Crockett, 19th century frontiersman and later congressman from Tennessee.
Biography/bibliography in: "Contemporary Authors". New Revision Series, vol. 135, pages 117-120. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2005.
Got his start in network TV in 1949 when he won the job as announcer on the children's show "Kukla, Fran and Ollie" (1947).
He has a post-Masters degree in gerontology from Hunter College.
He is Chairman of the Board of Governors of the National Space Society, Chairman of the Board of US Committee for UNICEF, Trustee of the Menninger Foundation, and served as a member of the NASA Advisory Council.
He is color blind.
Is the 1982 recipient of the prestigious Connor Award given by the brothers of the Phi Alpha Tau fraternity based out of Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts. He is also an honorary brother of the fraternity.
The auditorium at his high school alma mater, Shawnee High School in Lima, Ohio, is named in his honor.
The Guinness Book of World Records holder for greatest number of hours on network commercial television (1985).