and was reprised by Bill Cosby as a 1998 TV show . The phrase began as a segment on `` House Party . '' Linkletter would ask several children their thoughts on various topics ; their responses were often hilariously absurd . `` I was Oprah before there was Oprah , '' he once told The Wall Street Journal . Flowers were placed on Linkletter 's star on Hollywood 's Walk of Fame Wednesday afternoon . His nighttime show , `` People Are Funny , '' started on radio in 1942 and ran on NBC television from 1954 to 1961 . According to Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh 's `` The Complete Directory to Primetime Network and Cable Shows , 1946-Present , '' the show featured everyday guests who would be interviewed by Linkletter and then asked to do a stunt . The result for those who failed at the stunt was often a pie in the face or being splashed by water . Linkletter also hosted a short-lived quiz show , `` The Art Linkletter Show , '' in 1963 . At its height , Linkletter 's fame was notable enough to make him part of Milton Bradley 's
Los Angeles , California -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Art Linkletter , the easygoing , smooth-voiced emcee famed for his long-running hosting gigs of the radio and television shows `` House Party '' and `` People Are Funny , '' and author of `` Kids Say the Darndest Things , '' has died , according to his spokeswoman . Linkletter `` died peacefully at home with his family on Wednesday , '' a statement from the family said . He was 97 . `` Just one month earlier , while being honored at an event , he was asked what he considered his greatest life accomplishment , '' the statement said . `` He responded ' Family . ' '' Linkletter rose to fame as a radio announcer in San Diego , later becoming a program director . In 1944 , he launched `` Art Linkletter 's House Party , '' a daytime CBS radio show that moved to television in 1952 and ran until 1969 . `` Kids say the darndest things , '' was Linkletter 's often-repeated phrase because of his humorous interviews with children . It became the title of his best-selling book , a country music hit