Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Adam Nedeff. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Adam, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
I began writing books about game shows because it was a subject that I cared about that was overlooked a lot. I wanted to hear stories about who made these shows, where the ideas came from, the backgrounds of the hosts…I did it because I cared about that stuff.
It never occurred to me what this stuff would mean to the people I write about. That might sound naive, but I honestly never considered it in those terms. So when the wife of a legendary host, Bill Cullen, invited me to her home and orders lunch for me, just a simple gesture like that was honestly the first time that I really processed, “Oh, wow, they’re grateful for this. They didn’t think anyone would do this.” Another game show icon, Dennis James…I remember sitting with his entire family and chatting with them about the book I was working on, and I remember seeing his wife’s reaction of surprise at the things I already knew. I don’t mean that to brag about the research I had done, but just seeing her realize “Somebody cares….Somebody wants to know…” That’s a very special feeling.
Shortly after Betty White’s death, her assistant posted the last photo anyone took of Betty, and my book about Betty’s husband, Allen Ludden, was visible in front of her. And that’s the greatest reward I could imagine for the effort.
Adam, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I write books about the history of game shows.
I became obsessed with them when I was just a toddler, and the fascination never really went away. I got 15 minutes of fame from a segment of “Conan” (I was his tour guide when he visited Madame Tussaud’s Hollywood) and parlayed that into a side hustle as an author. I started with a general history of them called “This Day in Game Show History” before moving into biographies of hosts–I’ve written about Bill Cullen (the original “Price is Right” among many many other credits), Gene Rayburn (“Match Game”), Allen Ludden (“Password”) and Dennis James (the first network TV game show host). I wrote another general history called “Game Shows FAQ” and just released “Gong This Book,” a history of “The Gong Show.”
I research these books partly by scouring old newspaper and magazine archives, but the greatest pleasure is conducting interviews for new research. I’ve had a chance to talk to the hosts, producers, directors, writers, and creators of some of my favorite classic game shows, and getting to pick their brains and ask all these questions that they’ve never been asked about how shows came to fruition, and what happened behind the scenes, is incredibly fun and gratifying work.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
There’s that famous old line from Red Buttons, “I never got a dinner.” My goal, I guess, is to give people a dinner. Game shows have been and still are an underappreciated genre. There have been network executives who were openly contemptuous of them, and there was a span of about a decade where the Emmys didn’t even have categories for them. And the people who brought these shows to life, who turned them into institutions, who helped make warm fuzzy memories for the people who talk about watching these shows with Grandma–they deserve some recognition. And I’m honored to make that happen.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
I have a dedicated Facebook page that I started just for sharing game show stuff that I found interesting–photos and videos and occasionally news stories. And I still do that, but whenever I have a new release, I’m more diligent about making sure it’s updated regularly, Generally speaking, the things I find interesting are the same things my audience finds interesting, and if they click “share” that’s a chance for like-minded friends of theirs to find me. It’s a very easy and very organic way of growing and maintaining an audience without doing anything that feels like a chore–it’s all about sharing what matters to ME.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Adam-Nedeff/author/B00J5U21Z8?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authoradamnedeff
Image Credits
Photos by Daniel Kawka