--- description: He was 81 title: Jim Lange, Dating Game Host, Dies at 81 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltabe57f93152ad891/698683611eebf799fc36f95a/93398664.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [obituary](/tag/obituary/) ## obituary Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 'Dating Game' Host Jim Lange Dies by [Laura Stampler](/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 27, 2014 12:49 PM CUT  UNITED STATES - AUGUST 13: THE DATING GAME - 1965 - 1973 on ABC -, Jim Lange, host, (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images) UNITED STATES - AUGUST 13: THE DATING GAME - 1965 - 1973 on ABC -, Jim Lange, host, (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images)ABC/Getty Images by [Laura Stampler](/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 27, 2014 12:49 PM CUT Jim Lange, the first host of the classic television romance gameshow _The Dating Game,_ [died](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/jim-lange-dating-game-host-dies "undefined") this week. He was 81, and died Tuesday morning after suffering a heart attack in his California home, the Associated Press reports. While Lange began and ended his career in radio, which his [wife Nancy told the AP](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/jim-lange-dating-game-host-dies "undefined") was “his real love,” he was best known for helping contestants find love on TV. _The Dating Game_ debuted in 1965, and Lange served as a host to average Americans, a pre-fame Farrah Fawcett, and celebrity guests like Michael Jackson over the course of a decade. He later hosted other gameshows, including _Hollywood Connection_, _$100,000 Name That Tune_, and _The New Newlywed Game_. He also appeared on various sitcoms, including _Bewitched_ and _Laverne & Shirley_, as himself. Lange, whose last job in entertainment was as a radio DJ, is survived by his wife, five children, two stepchildren, and four grandchildren. See Lange host a teenage Michael Jackson below: ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/10543/jim-lange-dating-game-dies/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/10543/jim-lange-dating-game-dies/"},"headline":"'Dating Game' Host Jim Lange Dies","datePublished":"2014-02-27T12:49:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T06:30:59.584Z","description":"He was 81","url":"https://time.com/10543/jim-lange-dating-game-dies/","keywords":["obituary","Television"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltabe57f93152ad891/698683611eebf799fc36f95a/93398664.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Laura Stampler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltabe57f93152ad891/698683611eebf799fc36f95a/93398664.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"THE DATING GAME","caption":"THE DATING GAME","creditText":"ABC/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/obituary/","name":"obituary"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/10543/jim-lange-dating-game-dies/","name":"'Dating Game' Host Jim Lange Dies"}}]}] ```