Art James

Who was Art James?

Art James was an American game show host, best known for shows such as The Who, What, or Where Game, It's Academic and Pay Cards!. He was also the announcer on the game show Concentration.

He was born Artur Simeonvich Elimchik in Dearborn, Michigan to Russian immigrants. He attended Wayne State University in nearby Detroit, where he studied engineering. He worked as an announcer for the Armed Forces Network while stationed in Germany after World War II.

An old Army friend, who was an executive with NBC, asked James to audition for a new game show, Concentration, hosted by Hugh Downs, which needed an announcer. Concentration ran from 1958 to 1973 and was NBC's longest-running game show. He went on to either announce or host over a dozen game shows, including Say When!!; Fractured Phrases; It's Academic; The Who, What, or Where Game; Pay Cards!; Temptation; The Joker's Wild; Blank Check; The Magnificent Marble Machine; Classic Concentration; Family Feud; Catchphrase; and Tic-Tac-Dough, plus he appeared in the Kevin Smith movie Mallrats. He started Art James Productions in the 1990s with his business partner and producer, Dan Cross.