Bernard Whalen "Bert" Convy (July 23, 1933 – July 15, 1991)[1] was an American actor, singer, game-show panelist, and host known for Tattletales, Super Password, and Win, Lose or Draw.
Convy and Burt Reynolds formed their own production company, Burt and Bert Productions, during the 1980s. Their first production was a game show titled Win, Lose or Draw, which made its debut in 1987 as part of the NBC daytime lineup and in nightly syndication. Convy hosted the syndicated edition of Win, Lose or Draw for its first two seasons, then left the show to host another of his company's productions, the syndicated 3rd Degree.
When 3rd Degree went to pilot, Peter Marshall was brought in to be the host. When the series was picked up for syndication, however, Convy decided to leave his position as the host of the syndicated edition of Win, Lose or Draw and take Marshall's place on 3rd Degree. Marshall filed a lawsuit against Convy for the action, but later dropped it after Convy's cancer diagnosis was made public.[7]
Around the time that 3rd Degree was cancelled, Convy was called upon by Mark Goodson Productions again to host a week's worth of pilot episodes for a revival of Match Game that Goodson was attempting to sell to ABC.
Acting
Convy turned to acting full-time in 1956 and was in the musical The Billy Barnes Revue in Los Angeles before moving to New York City. He appeared in 10 Broadway shows, including Nowhere to Go but Up, Cabaret (in which he originated the role of Cliff, a fictionalized Christopher Isherwood), and The Impossible Years. He played reporter Hildy Johnson in a 1969 Broadway revival of The Front Page, which starred Robert Ryan.[6] In the original Broadway cast of Fiddler on the Roof with Zero Mostel, Convy played Perchik the Student and sang "Now I Have Everything".[8] He filled in for Raul Julia in the lead role of Guido Contini in the Broadway musical Nine when Julia went on vacation.
Convy guest-starred in an April 1960 episode of Perry Mason titled "The Case of the Nimble Nephew". In the 1960–1961 season, Convy guest-starred on Pat O'Brien's short-lived sitcom Harrigan and Son and the series 77 Sunset Strip in the role of David. In 1961, he appeared in the Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode "Museum Piece". He portrayed Roxy in the pilot episode of The New Phil Silvers Show in 1963, although the role went to Pat Renella for the remainder of the series' run. He was also cast on an episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show as Mary's friend Jack Foster, alongside future Alice star Beth Howland. In 1973, Convy was a guest star in two episodes of Hawaii Five-O.
In 1974, Convy portrayed Lieutenant Steve Ostrowski, the police officer nephew of elderly amateur sleuths on the short-lived series The Snoop Sisters.
Convy attempted a short-lived variety series called The Late Summer Early Fall Bert Convy Show in 1976. In 1979, he appeared with the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders in their eponymous television movie. Throughout his career, Convy was a frequent guest star on series such as Bewitched, Hawaii Five-O, The Partridge Family, Mission: Impossible, The Silent Force, The New Phil Silvers Show, Fantasy Island, Charlie's Angels, and Murder, She Wrote (including the pilot episode). On The Love Boat, Season 2 Episode 11: "Legal Eagles" (1978), he played Danny Holt, a divorced man who falls for his ex-wife's lawyer. In 1983, Convy was cast as Neil Townsend on the sitcom It's Not Easy, playing opposite Ken Howard. Convy had joined the project when it was recast after its intended premiere in the 1982–83 season was delayed; he earned the role originally given to Larry Breeding, who was killed in a car accident in September 1982 after the first pilot had been shot.
Convy was married twice. He married Anne Anderson in 1959; together they had three children: Jennifer, Joshua, and Jonah. Convy and Anderson divorced in 1991. Convy married his second wife, Catherine Hills,[1] five months before his death.[3]