Herb Shriner

Herb Shriner (b. Toledo, Ohio, May 29, 1918 – d. April 23, 1970, Delray Beach, Florida) – Harmonic player, comedian, and television host. Although Ohio-born, Shriner and his mother moved to Fort Wayne, when he was just a toddler. As an elementary school student, he learned to play the harmonica and at Central High School formed his own harmonica quintet and octet. While performing as a solo act, he found his niche when he had to fill up the time to let his lip rest. The result was his trademark homespun stories delivered with deadpan humor. Eventually, Shriner focused his stories on a fictional Hoosier town (never named) and found success on radio during the 1940s, especially on Camel Caravan (a comedy variety program). Following military service during WW II – including stints as a USO entertainer—Shriner’s monologues figured prominently in the year-long running of a Broadway review entitled Inside U.S.A. In the 1950s, he turned to television and had his greatest success hosting Two for the Money (1952-1956), a NBC game-show based on Groucho Marx’s You Bet Your Life. In 1955, he put together the Herb Shriner Harmonica Orchestra, which performed “Back Home Again in Indiana” and another selection for Columbia’s Herb Shriner on Stage album. After settling in Florida, Shriner still stayed close to Indiana, as he and his family spent the summers in Angola. Even the naming of his children paid homage to his Hoosier roots, as his daughter “Indy” was named after Indianapolis and his son “Kin” was named after Elbert “Kin” Hubbard, a southern Indiana folk humorist. Incidentally, his third child “Will” was named after Will Rogers, to whom he was sometimes compared.