Gene Rayburn, famed as the host of TV’s popular “Match Game,” has died at 81.

He died Monday in Gloucester, Mass., of congestive heart failure.

After beginning his career as a DJ on WNEW-AM, Rayburn acted on live TV dramas and as Steve Allen’s sidekick on the “Tonight” show.

His biggest fame came during “Match Game’s” heyday in the 1970s.