Hy Gardner (December 2, 1908 – June 17, 1989) was an American entertainment reporter and syndicated columnist for the New York Herald Tribune, host of Hy Gardner Calling, The Hy Gardner Show, and Celebrity Party, and an original celebrity panelist on the first incarnation of To Tell the Truth, along with Ralph Bellamy, Polly Bergen, Kitty Carlisle and host Bud Collyer. In 1957, Gardner also appeared on the show made up as a clown along with guest-challenger (famous clown) Paul Jung. Gardner also played himself in the 1963 movie The Girl Hunters with writer/friend Mickey Spillane, who included Gardner in several of his Mike Hammer novels.
Career
In the early 1950s, Gardner began interviewing celebrities on the radio on his own show, Hy Gardner Calling. He had wanted to be a columnist for entertainment news as a young boy, and in 1951 he was hired by the New York Herald Tribune where he continued until 1966 when the paper closed. The New York Times described his writing style as an "art form".