Burton Merrele Richardson (born September 29, 1949 in Portland, Oregon) is an American television announcer.
Early career[]
Beginning in 1989 and ending in 1994, he was the announcer on the late night talk show The Arsenio Hall Show; it was here that he would become known for his long-drawn-out introduction of Arsenio Hall, the show's host, who is also an actor and a stand-up comedian: "It's ARSENIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...HALLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!"
Announcing career[]
Aside from his tenure announcing The Arsenio Hall Show, Richardson has also announced for various such game shows as Rodeo Drive. GSN's Russian Roulette. and GSN's WinTuition. He was also the announcer on two different editions of To Tell The Truth (1990-1991, hosted by Lynn Swann and 2000-2001, hosted by John O'Hurley) and served a long-running announcer tenure on Family Feud during the hosting tenures of Louie Anderson (1999-2002), Richard Karn (2002-2006), and John O' Hurley (2006-2010). In 1994, shortly after the cancellation of The Arsenio Hall Show, Richardson landed another announcing job, as the announcer on the newly short-lived syndicated version of The Price is Right, hosted by Doug Davidson, from September 12, 1994 to January 27, 1995. This version was cancelled due to low ratings.
The Price Is Right[]
In September of 2001, after Rod Roddy was diagnosed with colon cancer, Richardson made his debut on the Bob Barker version of Price. He was brought in as a temporary replacement for Roddy, who took a leave of absence due to illness and surgeries. Richardson would return to fill in for Roddy on The Price is Right off and on during the 2002-2003 season, and Randy West would take over for Richardson beginning in June. After Roddy's death in October 2003, Richardson and West rotated as interim announcers, with several such others as Jim Thornton and Daniel Rosen also stepping in, until Rich Fields was chosen as Roddy's permanent replacement. Richardson made one last return to the announcer's booth on Price in December of 2006 after Fields fell ill.
Announcing retirement and comeback[]
Richardson ended his long running tenure as the announcer of Family Feud in 2010 and began announcing on the Hub Network's Family Game Night, hosted by Todd Newton, and continued for two years, departing in 2012. After his retirement, Richardson's whereabouts had ceased to be known, and it came to be believed that he had retired. However, he returned to announcing with Celebrity Family Feud since 2015.