In 1955, he hosted his first game show called 'The Sky's the Limit' (1954).

Rayburn and Allen were associated on the Tonight Show for three years and Rayburn became a household name for many years after that. His breakthrough came in the mid-50s as the announcer on _'Tonight Show, The' (1954)_ with Steve Allen. This was alleged to have proved that record promoters could be paid to play records on stations for bribes, making the said songs very popular, albeit for a price. During the 50s Rayburn was instrumental in highlighting corruption on radio, by playing an older song so many times that it became a hit. After the war Gene worked on the Rayburn and Fitch show and later the Gene Rayburn Show in the early fifties. Soon afterwards he was called to Military Service and joined the US Air Corps. He married Helen Tricknor in 1940 with whom he had one child, Lynn in 1942. Before World War Two he went to announcers school and worked with various radio personalities around New York City. He moved to New York City in the 1930s where he was a page for NBC, later working as an usher for the NBC symphony orchestra. As Gene Rubessa, he acted in high school plays and hoped to follow an acting career. After his father died at a very young age, his mother moved to Chicago and married Milan Rubessa, and Gene adopted his stepfather's name. Gene Rayburn was born on December 22, 1917, in Christopher, Illinois. High School: Lindbloom High School, Chicago, IL Military service: US Army Air Corps (WWII)

Gene rayburn brett somers affair