Art Linkletter has died at age 97, and frankly I was somewhat surprised to realize that he was still alive. When Linkletter’s daughter Diane committed suicide — or, as some claim, was murdered — by falling from a sixth story window, I had recently turned fourteen. At the time it was reported that she was on an LSD trip. When my twin sister Jean and I heard the news, I said, “drugs do the darnedest things!” This elicited a tremendous laugh from Jean. Yeah, we were kids.*
I knew about Art Linkletter’s “Kids Say the Darndest Things” from his House Party show on TV, and I knew about LSD trips from watching Dragnet. “Kids Say the Darndest Things” had been around in one incarnation or another for many years, and by the late 60’s the format had grown tired and it was near the end of its run. But back in the 50’s, it was quite popular.
In 1957, Art Linkletter published a collection of his “Kids Say the Darndest Things” stories that was illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. Years ago, I found a copy in a used book store for 50-cents.
This is a TV commercial that Linkletter made with his daughter Diane not too long before her death.
A posthumous father-daughter collaboration was a record called “We Love You, Call Collect,” released after Diane was gone. I can only imagine how tortured Linkletter must have felt when he lost her.
I can’t say that Art Linkletter had a big influence on me, but I can admire how he didn’t shy away from discussing his daughter’s problems. I think back to watching Linkletter (b.1912), Lawrence Welk (b.1903), and Jack Webb (b.1920) in the 60s, and I see men who had trouble dealing with the youth culture that had taken over. After all, hadn’t the older generation regained control after the first wave of rebellion was beaten back in the late 50s? But when I think of Charles Schulz (b.1922), I see a man who was not only in tune with the times, he made them his own. The same thing can be said of Walter Cronkite (b.1916). Their strength was in their flexibility.
*Another example of my twisted adolescent humor was my Mr. Ed the talking horse joke. Imitating Mr. Ed, as voiced by Chill Wills, “Bend over, Wilbur!”
I feel closer to Art now than ever. Having a daughter who’s 14, and going through “that phase,” it’s frightening to think of the very worst thing ever happening to her. It happened to my husband, as you all know. But as of now, she seems to be doing great, and shows me nothing worse than an occasional eye-roll. Still, I worry, as do all parents. She starts high school in the fall! Four short years later, she will be away at college. How did it go by so fast?
I wonder if Art recorded that last bit on the record before or after her death. One thing he should know, and probably did come to realize in time that her death was not his fault. Like my husband, he was a good man, and a good father. Diane looked to be a beautiful, intelligent girl, but I’m sure being part of a celebrity family had its downside. Remember handsome son Jack Linkletter? He had a bit of career of his own, and I wonder if that chafed the other siblings?
Doug, I really like your comments on Charles Schulz and Walter Cronkite. They really were flexible thinkers. Another, younger person who comes to mind with a similar brain is Tom Brokaw, at least in my opinion.