Bill Rafferty
William Rafferty (June 17, 1944 – August 11, 2012) was an American comedian and impressionist who hosted the game shows Every Second Counts (1984–1985, syndicated), Card Sharks (1986–87, syndication), and Blockbusters (1987, NBC).
Bill Rafferty | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | William Rafferty June 17, 1944 Queens, New York, U.S. |
| Died | August 11, 2012 (aged 68) San Rafael, California, U.S. |
| Other names | Bill Raftery |
| Occupation | Comedian, game show host |
| Years active | 1979–2012 |
| Spouse(s) | Regina Miletic (m. 1968–2012) |
| Children | 3 |
Rafferty was born in Queens, New York. He was the 4th and youngest child of Henry Rafferty Sr. and Martha (Degnan) Rafferty. He married Regina Miletic on May 25, 1968 in Queens, New York. Before his television days, he was a Military Policeman in the United States Army. He was also a butcher in Bolinas, California.
His first national TV exposure came as a roving reporter on the NBC reality series Real People, which ran from 1979–1984. Towards the end of the run, he also began appearing in the studio for some Real People segments.
Rafferty also did some guest spots on episodes of Laugh-In in the late 1970s version of the show. Rafferty was the host of a television show on Retirement Living TV, called Retired and Wired, which debuted in October 2007.[1]
Death
Rafferty died from congestive heart failure on the morning of August 11, 2012.[2]
References
- "Home". www.rl.tv. Archived from the original on 2009-03-01. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
- Buzzerblog on Twitter. Accessed 11 August 2012.