Game Show Host Mount Rushmore

Inspired by Mission's & Wiz's posts in the Miss Universe thread:

Quote: Mission146

Quote: Wizard

I'm a game show enthusiast and I think [Steve Harvey] is one of the best hosts of any show of all time.

Do you have a high opinion of Peter Tomarken? He's my favorite, but even being objective, he'd still make my Top Five.

I have decided that this needs its own thread.

Which 4 all-time great hosts' likenesses would you carve into a "Game Show Host Mount Rushmore?" I'll start:

Chuck Woolery
Wink Martindale
Richard Dawson
Monty Hall

And feel free to include anyone who just missed being on the mountain.
Honorable mention: Peter Tomarken, Bob Barker, Jim Perry

I hate making lists like this, as I always forget somebody - for example, I was 15 minutes into this before I remembered Alex Trebek.

Anyway, my four are Bill Cullen, Alex Trebek, Wink Martindale, and Geoff Edwards. Trebek isn't a "one-trick pony" by any means; before Jeopardy, he hosted The Wizard of Odds, High Rollers (two versions), one season of The $128,000 Question, and Pitfall, plus at least one in Canada.
The "mini-Mount Rushmore" for the next four are the Narz brothers (Jack and Jim), Dennis James, and I'm torn between Bob Eubanks, Jim Lange, and Chuck Woolery for the last spot - I'll give it to Lange, as I think he has the most "range" of the three, although Eubanks did host The Diamond Head Game, All-Star Secrets, and the 1980s version of Dream House.
("Who's Jim Narz?" You probably know him better by his "TV name" - Tom Kennedy.)

Quote: beachbumbabs

My favorite host of all time was Bill Cullen (I don't know why, really) followed closely by Allen Ludden (long time Password host and husband to Betty White). Bill hosted a bunch of shows (23 in all), but started as a joke writer on the radio for people like Jack Benny, Danny Kaye, and Arthur Godfrey. He was Goodson/Todman's (production company for dozens of shows over the last 50+ years) first game show host, on the radio with Winner Take All.

He hosted many still-familiar shows, including Name That Tune, and The Price Is Right for 10 years. My personal favorite was Eye Guess, a rebus-guessing show for prizes; I even had the home game (with him on the box).

Eye Guess wasn't a rebus game; you may be confusing it with Concentration. The way Eye Guess worked was, the contestants were show eight answers, which were then hidden, and rather than answering questions, they had to remember behind what numbered panel the answer was located.

Also, I don't think Winner Take All was the first game show on radio. It was the first on TV, IIRC, and Cullen was the first host.

Quote: ThatDonGuy

I hate making lists like this, as I always forget somebody - for example, I was 15 minutes into this before I remembered Alex Trebek.

Anyway, my four are Bill Cullen, Alex Trebek, Wink Martindale, and Geoff Edwards. Trebek isn't a "one-trick pony" by any means; before Jeopardy, he hosted The Wizard of Odds, High Rollers (two versions), one season of The $128,000 Question, and Pitfall, plus at least one in Canada.
The "mini-Mount Rushmore" for the next four are the Narz brothers (Jack and Jim), Dennis James, and I'm torn between Bob Eubanks, Jim Lange, and Chuck Woolery for the last spot - I'll give it to Lange, as I think he has the most "range" of the three, although Eubanks did host The Diamond Head Game, All-Star Secrets, and the 1980s version of Dream House.
("Who's Jim Narz?" You probably know him better by his "TV name" - Tom Kennedy.)

Eye Guess wasn't a rebus game; you may be confusing it with Concentration. The way Eye Guess worked was, the contestants were show eight answers, which were then hidden, and rather than answering questions, they had to remember behind what numbered panel the answer was located.

Also, I don't think Winner Take All was the first game show on radio. It was the first on TV, IIRC, and Cullen was the first host.

Yeah, re: Eye Guess; I misremembered what was underneath the windows on the TV, the home game had answers (on a scroll) you rolled behind the windows. I was about 6 when I got it.

Winner Take All was the first Goodson/Todman game on the radio, according to wiki, not the first gameshow on the radio. Cullen hosted it both on the radio and on tv.

So. My Mt. Rushmore is probably

Bill Cullen
Allen Ludden
Dick Clark (for Pyramid)
(pick one) Peter Tomarkin, Monty Hall, Alex Trebek (for Concentration as well as Jeopardy), Drew Carrey

Honorable mention: Jim Lange, Geoff Edwards, Bert Convy, Gene Raybourne, Steve Harvey, Art Fleming

More cringe-worthy for me: Bob Eubanks, Pat Sajak, Bob Barker, Wayne Brady, Wink Martindale, Howie Mandel

Chuck Barris the Gong Show
No game show host ad libbed like Chucky baby
Greatest game show host ever
He took nobodies and made them famous. Gene Gene the Dancing Machine, The Unknown comic ect

There are a lot of game show hosts that I like, and a lot that I don't like, but these ones I think rise above the rest:

Richard Dawson, Gene Rayburn.

I'm not sure I can pick two more who are much better than the rest, but I like Alex Trebek, Burt Convey, and Steve Harvey.

I've got to add that I think Steve Harvey is the best host of Family Feud since Richard Dawson

Is it OK to say that you really don't care for game shows, or watch game shows, so you don't know the names of the hosts? Or which hosts are good, better, and best?

Wheel of fortune comes on right after the nightly NBC news, I DVR the "news", NBC has to be in quotes.
So most every night as we watch NBC news, and I throw my shoes at the screen, after it ends with some usually ridiculous 'feel good' story about orphans, or whatever, WoF comes on, just a minute or two, and I hear that too all familiar jingle, "Wheel of ......".

My lovely angelic wife actually taped a show last week of the WoF, just because we usually almost see the first 'puzzle' revealed and the tape ends. We watched that taped show, reminded me why I don't tape game shows, and I still out guessed the contestants most of the time. One of the contestants, the big winner for the night, could make noises like dolphins, amazing....

Vanna White is holding together amazingly well, I have to add.
Do we need another thread to rate the 'rather attractive' female assistants to all those aging TV game show hosts? I hope not.

Still here, still alive, I have to go feed and water the lab rats now. It's an experiment, an experiment where I have begun to suspect that I am the lab rat... Somehow I find that demeaning...tempted to say insulting, but we're talking about very different groups of rules..
Cheers!
One more time..

Quote: beachbumbabs

So. My Mt. Rushmore is probably

Bill Cullen
Allen Ludden
Dick Clark (for Pyramid)
(pick one) Peter Tomarkin, Monty Hall, Alex Trebek (for Concentration as well as Jeopardy), Drew Carrey

I knew I forgot one of Trebek's - in fact, I forgot a bunch of them; in addition to Double Dare (not the one with the physical challenges; this was an earlier game on CBS) and Battlestars, he briefly hosted NBC's version of To Tell The Truth. However, we "old schoolers" will know him for the NBC version of High Rollers more than anything else besides Jeopardy.

The problem with Clark is, he's better known for American Bandstand and New Year's Rockin' Eve.

Quote: terapined

Chuck Barris the Gong Show
No game show host ad libbed like Chucky baby
Greatest game show host ever
He took nobodies and made them famous. Gene Gene the Dancing Machine, The Unknown comic ect

In terms of hosting, he's a one-note wonder. However, if there's a game show producer's Mount Rushmore, he's up there (he also created The Dating Game and The Newlywed Game), along with Mark Goodson, Bob Stewart (probably best known for all of the versions of Pyramid), and Merrill Heatter (probably best known for Hollywood Squares), with #5 being Jack Barry (Twenty-One, Tic Tac Dough, The Joker's Wild).

Rayburn
Trebeck
Eubanks
Hall

Quote: Joeman

Inspired by Mission's & Wiz's posts in the Miss Universe thread:

Quote: Mission146

Quote: Wizard

I'm a game show enthusiast and I think [Steve Harvey] is one of the best hosts of any show of all time.

Do you have a high opinion of Peter Tomarken? He's my favorite, but even being objective, he'd still make my Top Five.

I have decided that this needs its own thread.

Which 4 all-time great hosts' likenesses would you carve into a "Game Show Host Mount Rushmore?" I'll start:

Chuck Woolery
Wink Martindale
Richard Dawson
Monty Hall

And feel free to include anyone who just missed being on the mountain.
Honorable mention: Peter Tomarken, Bob Barker, Jim Perry

Everyone should look up how Tomarken died.

Peter Tomarken
Monty Hall
Bob Barker
Alex Trebek

Honorable Mentions: Chuck Woolery, Pat Sajak, Anne Robinson.

Quote: ThatDonGuy

I hate making lists like this, as I always forget somebody

Yeah, I made my list rather hastily. Completely forgot about one of my faves - Dick Clark - he should definitely be one of my honorable mentions. But I'll stand by my original picks:

Woolery -- From Wheel of Fortune to Love Connection to Scrabble, his personality makes the shows go. Even the low-budget GSN original Lingo was compelling with Chuck hosting.

Martindale, in my mind, was the prototype for game show hosts from the late 70's on. The (plastic?)smile, the (plastic?)hair, the name, the voice. when someone says "Game Show Host," I envision Wink.

Dawson -- Loved his work as an occasional panelist on Match Game, but he made Family Feud what it is. Plus, he earns extra credit for playing the arrogant, self-absorbed, sadistic Damon Killian, host of The Running Man. [Trivia time: The Running Man was one of two films released in 1987 to feature not one, but two future US State governors. +5 points if you can name the governors. +10 points if you can name the other film.]

Hall -- C'mon, "TV's Big Dealer" -- gotta have him up there.

Quote: beachbumbabs

trivia time!

Governors = Arnold Schwartznegger and Hulk Hogan

Other movie = Hellifiknow. Not a Hulk fan.

1 out of 2 for the Gov's, Babs, but very close on the one you didn't get. Same profession, and they do sound very much alike.

Quote: Joeman

1 out of 2 for the Gov's, Babs, but very close on the one you didn't get. Same profession, and they do sound very much alike.

I knew the first one's movie, but guessed wrong on the second; I thought he was in They Live with Roddy Piper (which, it turns out, was released in 1988).

Quote: ThatDonGuy

Quote: Joeman

1 out of 2 for the Gov's, Babs, but very close on the one you didn't get. Same profession, and they do sound very much alike.

The Governors are

Arnold Schwarzenegger (California) and Jesse Ventura (Minnesota)

I knew the first one's movie, but guessed wrong on the second; I thought he was in They Live with Roddy Piper (which, it turns out, was released in 1988).

D'oh!!! Need to clean out my mental file drawer. I was thinking JV the whole way and said HH. Born and raised in MN, so followed that whole thing closely at the time.

Quote: ThatDonGuy

The Governors are

Arnold Schwarzenegger (California) and Jesse Ventura (Minnesota)

Correct on the Governors, TDG!

In the minority but I liked Ray Combs on Family Fued. He followed Dawson and always had a cool sweater on. Kind of like Cosby without roofies.

Quote: Boz

In the minority but I liked Ray Combs on Family Feud. He followed Dawson and always had a cool sweater on. Kind of like Cosby without roofies.

I hadn't heard that name in a long, long time. I think I forget all about him. Just for fun, I Googled him. I don't think I ever knew he died so tragically.