Peter Marshall ("The Hollywood Squares") Dies at 98
Posted: 15 Aug 2024 13:46 pm
Courtesy of today's New York Times:
He was born Ralph Pierre LaCock on March 30, 1926, in Clarksburg, W.Va., and lived in Wheeling until he was 10, when his father, a pharmacist also named Ralph, died.
Mr. Marshall stayed with his extended family in Huntington, W.Va., while his sister, Letitia, moved to New York City with their mother, Jeanne LaCock, a costume designer. His mother got a job at Macy’s, and his sister became a model under the name Joanne Marshall.
He also worked as a page at NBC radio, where he learned how to be a disc jockey and got his first job in show business, as a singer with Bob Chester’s band, when he was still a teenager. The bandleader suggested that Mr. Marshall change his name from LaCock, so he adopted his sister’s modeling surname. (His sister later took the name Joanne Dru and became a successful actress before marrying the singer Dick Haymes.)
He is also the father of longtime Chicago Cubs/K. C. Royals first baseman Pete LaCock.
He was born Ralph Pierre LaCock on March 30, 1926, in Clarksburg, W.Va., and lived in Wheeling until he was 10, when his father, a pharmacist also named Ralph, died.
Mr. Marshall stayed with his extended family in Huntington, W.Va., while his sister, Letitia, moved to New York City with their mother, Jeanne LaCock, a costume designer. His mother got a job at Macy’s, and his sister became a model under the name Joanne Marshall.
He also worked as a page at NBC radio, where he learned how to be a disc jockey and got his first job in show business, as a singer with Bob Chester’s band, when he was still a teenager. The bandleader suggested that Mr. Marshall change his name from LaCock, so he adopted his sister’s modeling surname. (His sister later took the name Joanne Dru and became a successful actress before marrying the singer Dick Haymes.)
He is also the father of longtime Chicago Cubs/K. C. Royals first baseman Pete LaCock.