Randy Amasia Dies

The world of game shows lost a friend and supporter yesterday. Alan Randy Amasia, 44, died at approximately 2 pm on Wednesday. If you go to USENET and read the memorial messages posted in alt.tv.game-shows, you will get pretty much a cross section of what this man meant to a lot of people. A little background: Randy Amasia was a successful contestant on an otherwise-forgotten show called "WHEW!" and parlayed that into a research position with Goodson-Todman Productions. Along the way he also appeared on "Jeopardy!", was rejected for "The Gong Show" and eventually was a regular fixture at game show tapings around Hollywood. When the Internet beckoned, Amasia had another outlet for his mania. He had been having some health problems over the last year which culminated in his final hospitalization with advanced throat cancer. Mercifully, this period of suffering was brief, and now Randy is with angels. And all of us who ever filled in the blanks or solved the puzzle or bid on the showcase from our easy chairs are richer just for having known him.