A farewell to Jim Perry

Jim Perry was one of my favorite people from the 1980s. Born in 1933, he'd probably find that amusing. Humor and kindness were the hallmarks of his hosting turns in two of NBC's classic game shows, Card Sharks (1978-1981) and $ale of the Century (NBC 1983-1989; concurrently in syndication 1985-1986). $ale is an underappreciated format that had countless incarnations around the world (sometimes known as Temptation), most notably in Australia, where it became the kind of game show juggernaut that Wheel of Fortune is in the U.S. GSN recently ran $ale for a couple of years — something of a surprise treat as the cable net sadly continues to move away from the golden age of the genre. Although his resume is much shorter, Perry, who died Nov. 20 after a long battle with cancer, deserves recognition alongside game show greats like Bill Cullen. R.I.P. Jim … and I'll buy any instant bargains you have to offer.