Rod Roddy, the "voice" of the CBS game show The Price is Right
, who has commanded contestants to "Come on down!" since 1986, died Oct. 27 after fighting prostate, colon and breast cancer. He was 66.
Roddy had a long radio career and worked at stations in Dallas; Miami; Orlando, Fla.; Little Rock, Ark.; Pittsburgh; Chicago; Cleveland; Atlanta; Buffalo, N.Y.; New York; and Los Angeles.
He was well known to TV audiences as not only the voice of The Price is Right
, but as the narrator of the sitcom Soap
from 1977-81.
Beginning in 1979, he also served as the announcer for several game shows, including CBS’s Whew!
, CBS’s Battlestars
in 1981, NBC’s Hit Man
in 1983 and CBS’s Press YourLuck
from 1983-86.
He was also the announcer on syndication’s Love Connection
from 1983-85, before joining Bob Barker on The Price is Right
.
Later in his career, Roddy translated his fame into roles playing himself on CBS’s Martial Law
and Fox’s That 70’sShow
. Since being diagnosed with cancer, he became an outspoken advocate for early detection in the battle against colon cancer.
A private funeral service will be held in Fort Worth, Texas. A memorial service is scheduled in several weeks in Los Angeles.
