Tom Howard (comedian)

Thomas Black Jr. (June 16, 1885 – February 27, 1955), known professionally as Tom Howard, was an Irish-born American comedian in burlesque, vaudeville, radio, film, television and Broadway plays.

Howard owned, co-wrote, and starred in the radio comedy show It Pays to Be Ignorant, which aired from 1942 to 1951, first on the Mutual Broadcasting System, then CBS, and finally NBC.

And pay it did: a July 1949 Royal Bank of Canada Monthly Letter stated his salary was a staggering $219,000.

[4] Purporting to be a quiz show, the program had Howard posing ridiculous questions ("What color is a red stoplight?

"), to which his panel of "experts"—Harry McNaughton, Lulu McConnell, and George Shelton—supplied dull-witted responses ("Where is this stoplight located?").