Background
He was born Artur Simon Efimchik in Dearborn, Michigan to Russian immigrants (fluent in Russian, he taught English to Russian immigrants).
He was born Artur Simon Efimchik in Dearborn, Michigan to Russian immigrants (fluent in Russian, he taught English to Russian immigrants).
He attended Wayne State University in nearby Detroit, where he studied engineering.
He was also the announcer on the game show Concentration. He worked as an announcer for the Armed Forces Network while stationed in Germany after World World War World War II Concentration ran from 1958 to 1973 and was National Broadcasting Company"s longest-running game show. He went on to either announce or host over a dozen game shows, including Say When!!.
Fractured Phrases.
lieutenant"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. Their joint company staged game shows that were specially created to communicate marketing and corporate strategies to key stake holders of Fortune 500 companies.
One episode of Say When! included a classic blooper by James while doing an live in-show commercial for Peter Pan peanut butter: during the sales pitch he dropped a knife into the near-empty glass jar breaking out the bottom and causing the knife to fall through.
Though he struggled to keep from laughing, and because a retake was impossible, James still finished the commercial. The gaffe has been shown on many blooper specials.
James was a frequent contributor to television Guide, writing about the world of game shows.