Gene Wood

Gene Wood was a prolific game show announcer during the 1970s and 1980s. Most often heard over Goodson-Todman (later Mark Goodson Productions) game shows, he was the voice that introduced game shows including "Card Sharks", "Tattletales," "Classic Concentration," "Password Plus"/"Super Password" and "Family Feud." Few fans will ever forget his beckoning contestants to get "ready for action!"; and "On your marks, let's start ... the 'FAMILY FEUUUDDD!'" or the sotto whisper of "The password is ..." Wood's first regular run as an announcer (after several substitute jobs in the 1960s) was on the 1969 version of "Beat the Clock," which Wood later hosted. In the mid-1990s, he retired from the world of game show announcing, apparently bitter over younger announcers taking his place.