William Lawrence Cullen[1] (February 18, 1920 – July 7, 1990) was an American radio and television personality whose career spanned five decades.

[4] He survived a childhood bout with polio that left him with significant physical limitations for the rest of his life.

In 1943, Cullen left WWSW for a brief job at rival station KDKA before leaving Pittsburgh a year later to try his luck in New York.

[citation needed] To supplement his then-meager income, he became a freelance joke writer for some of the top radio stars of the day, including Arthur Godfrey, Danny Kaye, and Jack Benny;[7] he also worked as a staff writer for the Easy Aces radio show.

[11] Cullen was a pilot for the United States Army Air Forces in World War II.

[citation needed] Cullen's first television game show was the TV version of Winner Take All,[13]: 1183  which premiered on NBC in 1952.

After relocating to Southern California, Cullen guest-hosted Password Plus for four weeks in April 1980 while original host Allen Ludden was being treated for stomach cancer.

Cullen was initially in the running to host the 1972 revival of The Price Is Right, but the physical demands of the new format were deemed too strenuous for him.

Other game shows Cullen hosted included Eye Guess in the 1960s;[13]: 318  Three on a Match,[13]: 1078  Blankety Blanks,[13]: 113  The Love Experts, How Do You Like Your Eggs?

(QUBE cable interactive program) [15] and the syndicated version of The $25,000 Pyramid[13]: 1116  in the 1970s; and later in his career Chain Reaction,[13]: 174  Blockbusters,[13]: 115  Child's Play, Hot Potato[13]: 477  and The Joker's Wild[13]: 543  (his final hosting job from 1984 to 1986, following the death of Jack Barry).

Now, the sets are constructed, the game is worked out, the staff is hired, it's two weeks before the show is to go on, they are ready to shoot the pilot.

"[16]Cullen appeared as a celebrity guest on many other game shows, including I've Got a Secret, What's My Line?, To Tell the Truth, Personality, The Cross-Wits, Password, Password Plus,[13]: 816  Match Game, Tattletales (with his wife Ann), Break the Bank, Shoot for the Stars, and all of the versions of Pyramid (excluding the $50,000 and $100,000 versions).

Cullen hosted a number of pilots for his close friend, quiz producer Bob Stewart, who created The Price Is Right, Truth, and Password for Goodson-Todman and Pyramid for his own company.

Cullen did color commentary on college football games early in his career, and also broadcast track and field on NBC.

The long-term effects of that illness, combined with injuries sustained in a serious motor vehicle accident in 1937 requiring a nine-month hospitalization, made it difficult for him to walk or stand for an extended period of time.

[5] Directors on his game shows took great care to limit the extent that Cullen was shown walking on camera.

[21] As a consequence of these arrangements, many of Cullen's peers were likewise unaware of his disability, which occasionally led to awkward situations.

I start doing, I dunno, this multiple-sclerosis walk, flapping my arms and doing the Milton Berle cross legs—my own Jerry Lewis impression... And Julia is whispering, "No!

Finally we meet in the middle, we hug, and he says to me, "You know, you're the only comic who's ever had the nerve to make fun of my crippled walk.

When he returned to television, particularly his position on the panel for To Tell The Truth, his physical appearance had drastically changed; along with letting his hair grow out, his pancreatitis had caused him to lose over 30 pounds (14 kg), leaving his face gaunt and wrinkled.