Early career Wood wrote one episode for
The Arlene Francis Show in 1958. His early career included
stand-up comedy,
television commercials, and writing for
Bob Keeshan of
Captain Kangaroo fame. Wood also supplied voices and sang the theme song. Wood also had a comedy career, often pairing with partner
Bill Dana, performing their comedy act at nightclubs. Wood with Jay Burton wrote one episode for
When Things Were Rotten, "The French Dis-connection", in 1975.
Announcing Wood's first role as a game show announcer came as a substitute on the
ABC version of
Supermarket Sweep and
The Soupy Sales Hour in 1966. In 1969, he began working for the first time for
Mark Goodson-
Bill Todman Productions as the announcer on
Beat the Clock. Wood also simultaneously hosted the 1971–72 season of the Don Reid-produced
Anything You Can Do, which featured teams of men competing against teams of women in stunts similar to
Beat the Clock. In 1972, Wood left that show and ascended to host of
Beat the Clock after the departure of
Jack Narz, with Nick Holenreich serving as Wood's announcer. The show ended production in 1974. Wood then became a regular announcer for Goodson–Todman in Los Angeles, working as voice-over for many of the company's game shows. and
Tattletales (CBS, 1974–78); he also appeared as a celebrity panelist on one week of
Match Game that year. Perhaps Wood's most famous role was as announcer on the original version of
Family Feud. When
Family Feud was revived in 1988 with
Ray Combs as host, he announced on that version as well through the 1994–1995 season, during which Dawson returned as host. while two concurrent revivals (one on
CBS and another in syndication, hosted by
Bob Eubanks and
Bill Rafferty, respectively) ran from 1986 to 1989. Wood also served as the main announcer for
Password Plus and Super Password from 1979-82 and 1984-89, respectively; and for
The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour from 1983-84 and for a revival of
Match Game in 1990-91. He announced for ''
Child's Play from 1982 to 1983. Wood announced the first few weeks of Bruce Forsyth's Hot Streak'' on ABC, before being replaced by
Marc Summers. After the 1985 death of the original announcer
Johnny Olson on the
Bob Barker version of
The Price Is Right, Wood was one of four interim announcers on that show, until
Rod Roddy was chosen as Olson's successor. At that same time, he also announced on the nightly syndicated version hosted by
Tom Kennedy that ran for the season. According to former producer
Roger Dobkowitz, between Barker, Goodson, and Dobkowitz himself, they felt that his voice was a little on the harsh side and was unsuitable for the show, despite his experience. Wood returned to
Price briefly in 1998 to read the summer rerun fee plugs. He also filled in for Olson, during the final weeks of the Tom Kennedy-hosted version of
Body Language. Other shows on which Wood served as a regular announcer were
Double Dare (CBS, 1976–77),
Showoffs (ABC, 1976–78),
The Better Sex (ABC, 1977–78),
Trivia Trap (ABC, 1984–85),
Love Connection (Syndication, 1985–1988),
Classic Concentration (NBC, 1987–91),
Win, Lose or Draw (Syndicated, 1987–90),
Baby Races (Family Channel, 1993–94), and
Family Challenge (1995–96). Prior to his retirement in the late 1990s, Wood also did voiceovers for the
Game Show Network. ==Personal life and death==