Arthur Godfrey: Encyclopedia II - Arthur Godfrey - Later in life

Arthur Godfrey - Later in life

But in 1959, he began suffering chest pains. Closer examination by physicians revealed a mass in his chest that could possibly be lung cancer. In 1959, Godfrey left Arthur Godfrey Time and Arthur Godfrey And His Friends after revealing his illness.

Surgeons discovered cancer in one lung that spread to his aorta. One lung was removed. Yet despite the disease's high mortality, it became clear after radiation treatments that Godfrey had beaten the substantial odds against him. He returned to the air on a prime-time special, and resumed the daily Arthur Godfrey Time morning show, but only on radio, not TV. He would continue the show, reverting to guest stars such as Max Morath and Carmel Quinn, with a live combo of first-rate Manhattan musicians, until 1972 when the show ended.

Godfrey by then was a Colonel in the US Air Force Reserve and still an active pilot.

He made three movies: Four For Texas (1963), The Glass Bottom Boat (1966), and Where Angels Go...Trouble Follows (1968). He briefly co-hosted Candid Camera with creator Allen Funt and made various guest appearances.

In retirement, Godfrey wanted to find ways back onto a regular TV schedule. He appeared on the rock band Moby Grape's second album, and despite his political conservatism became a powerful environmentalist who identified with the youth culture, irreverently opposing the "establishment", as he felt he had done during his peak years. He was a master at dressage and made charity appearances at horse shows. He made commercials for the detergent Axion, only to clash with the manufacturers when he found that the product contained phosphates, implicated in water pollution. Godfrey's presence ebbed considerably, despite an HBO special and an appearance on a Public TV salute to the 1950s.

Emphysema became a problem in the early 1980s and he died of the disease in New York City. He is buried in Leesburg, Virginia, not far from his farm.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Later in life", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki