I guess I should begin by saying that it is a sign of the collapse of civilization that game shows, once almost solely the slightly embarrassing denizens of morning and daytime TV, are now all over the networks in prime time. They are cheap to make, they appeal to morons, and it reduces the need for, you know, comedies and dramas, actual entertainment with lessons to teach and emotions to convey. Quiz shows were big in prime time during the mid-Fifties, then the rigged questions scandal killed them. They crawled back to daytime TV.
The source of my bias, however is that even in the daytime game shows, the role of game show host has been almost completely taken over by actors, or, in some cases, comics. The profession of game show host, as once practiced by worthies like Art James, Art Fleming, Alan Ludden, John Daly, Bud Collyer, Jack Barry, Monty Hall, Bob Barker and my personal favorite, the immortal Wink Martindale, has almost totally vanished, like the Tasmanian tiger.
This seems wildly unfair to me. The actors who have taken these jobs had other employment options; the typical professional game show host has none. What else can you do if your name is “Wink”?
There have been exceptions and diversions along the way, of course. Before the game show host archetype was created, networks had their early game shows hosted by news reporters. Walter Cronkite even ran a game show on CBS; Hugh Downs (“Concentration”) was the last news TV journalist to play game show host. Gradually the role evolved, with glib and cheery, and mostly unknown, face-men taking over. Some were clearly too good for the job, which is how Johnny Carson jumped from a wan afternoon game show to “The Tonight Show.”
One of the first movie star types to take over a game show was Groucho Marx on “You Bet Your Life,” though I would argue that that wasn’t a real game show but just a format to allow Groucho to make wisecracks. Jan Murray, a famed Borscht Belt comic, hosted “Treasure Hunt”,”” for years, but he was unusual for the Sixties, the Golden Age of game show hosts.
Then, in 1969, Jack Kelly, James Garner’s co-star in “Maverick,” hosted a new game show called “Sale of the Century” when his career declined. He was the first non-comedian TV or movie actor to stoop to this level (Kelly was fired after two years and replaced by Joe Garagiola). Now, however, screen actors are the norm: Pat Sajak is the last the classic game show host (of “Wheel of Fortune”) and his days are numbered.
I’m offended by seeing Jane Lynch hosting “The Weakest Link”: she’s still in demand as a comic and dramatic actress; why does she have to take bread out of the mouth of some modern day Wink or Winkette? What’s Elizabeth Banks (above) doing hosting a (terrible ) game show like “Press Your Luck”? She’s slumming. Other one-time TV stars seem to be hosting game shows as a form of retirement after demand for their broader talents have waned, like Ellen Degeneris, Leah Remini and Drew Carey. And some, like Wayne Brady (“Let’s Make a Deal”), appear to me as if they are just phoning it in. Brady looks bored stiff in a format that doesn’t highlight his special talents at all.
Well, it’s dumb for me to care, since I won’t watch any of these shows anyway, having watched far, far too many in my formative years.
Good night, Wink (actually Winston Conrad) Martindale, wherever you are. Actually, Wink has weathered the decline of his profession well, and is still working, in radio, today. He’ll be 91 in December.
Wink Martindale trivia: He was good friends with Elvis (he even dated Priscilla), and has been close friends with Clint Eastwood for decades.
Ethics Alarms 
Walter Cronkite and Ellen Degeneris? That is quite the counterpoint.
“Pat Sajak is the last the classic game show host (of “Wheel of Fortune”) and his days are numbered.”
Pat Sajak’s last show was June 7, 2024. Ryan Seacrest is his replacement. Pat is still seen on the show but they are summer reruns.
Vanna’s farewell to Pat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBm7EQ4aPpM
Pat’s final message: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ad4uzMbVoh0
“Pat Sajak is the last the classic game show host (of ‘Wheel of Fortune’) and his days are numbered.”
In negative numbers; Sajak spun his last “Wheel” in June of this year. (The software isn’t letting me post a YouTube link to his broadcast farewell but it’s easily found if you’re curious)
Ooops. Turns out it was stealth-posted without showing up as I wrote.
I commented on Sajak and posted the links but the comment seems to be missing now. It showed up initially. I also posted Vanna’s farewell to Pat.
It’s up.
I guess that proves I don’t keep up sufficiently with game shows.
Ryan Seacrest is pretty close to a full-time professional game show host.
You could argue that Seacrest is his generation’s Dick Clark. Along with Clark and Sajak, he’s also taken over for other Baby Boomer broadcasting icons like Casey Kasem, who he replaced at the microphone of the weekly American Top 40 radio countdown.
Game shows, too. According to his Wikipedia biography Seacrest hosted a very-short-lived NBC game show titled The Million-Second Quiz. And host of American Idol, which is a competition, although no Jeopardy.
Whenever I hear the name ‘Pat Sajak’ I think of SNL’s Ed Grimly, Pat Sayjak fanatic. They’re irrevocably linked in my mind
Same here. My therapists (and they are legion!!) don’t quite understand my angst over it.
jvb
Chuck Barris and the Gong Show. Unapologetic. I loved it. Gene Gene The Dancing Machine, thr Unknown Comic, and Jaye P. Morgan.
Sui generis. I have no idea what to call “The Gong Show.” Talent show? Satire? Or Chuck Barris.
I always remember the way Allen Ludden used his eyes to transition the viewers from one side of the set to the other. He’d look right into the camera while slowly turning his head and then at the last second, he’d flash his eyes to the other contestant. Very distinctive. And very distinctive, almost trademark eyes. And that James Cotten hair.
I was expecting a reference to Richard Dawson as an early example of this.
Arguably, his role on the Family Feud may have ultimately eclipsed his acting career.
-Jut
Oh, it definitely did—he was a relatively minor member of the “Hogan’s Hero” ensemble. Yeah, I should have mentioned him as one of the trailblazers. He was a hybrid: in Britain, he hosted variety shows and novelty shows on TV, then came to the US and did bits on various TV shows before landing the “Hogan’s Heroes” gig.
Dawson had a role in one of my favorite movies, “King Rat”. It’s hard tp see him as other than “Family Feud ” guy, though.
Richard Dawson was fantastic. And of course, he had possibly the funniest moment in game-show history on Family Feud. I’ve watched it numerous times and it’s hysterical every time.
Not so good in his comeback, when he was old, fat, and looked bored with the whole thing…and his kissing seemed creepy by then.
Regarding Wink Martindale trivia, I am pop music lover of oldies since I was a youngie. Useless trivia that drives my wife crazy. “You never ask me what’s on the flip side” (Great, Diner quote.)
Wink Martindale had a Top 10 Billboard pop chart hit in 1959 with “Deck of Cards”. An ethical story, if memory serves!
Was that Wink? Absolute an ethics record, and one of the best!
Marindale’s “Deck of Cards” version was a cover of a post-WW2 country hit by T. Texas Tyler. According to the Country Music Hall of Fame, “The song was based on a similar folk story in which the earliest known reference dates back to 1762.”
I suppose another influence on this might have been The Hollywood Squares, where actors and entertainers were incorporated into the very concept of the show (even though there was a separate host).
-Jut
And Peter Marshall had been an actor/comic, though a less than stellar one, before turning game show host. Carl Reiner also hosted a short-lived but terrific predecessor of the Squares as a summer replacement series called “The Celebrity Game.”
While the game shows of the past were inane in concept they provided a modicum of entertainment and insight into thee human condition manifesting as greed. They showed what depths the human person would devolve to in order to win a “dream vacation” or a “blender.”
What saddens me, however, more than the demise of the game show is the proliferation of “reality TV.” Naked people running in jungles, over cosmetized women and men striving to achieve “true love.”
Where has dignity gone?
It’s always been in short supply. Just spend some time looking at Peter Breugel’s paintings. The inherent lack of dignity is there on display.
I must have missed that category when I was in college. My career advisor (I hate him! He said, “you should be a lawyer! You’d be really good at it.” Jerk. 30 years later and I still have no idea what the law is!!!) provided me with a list of professions. I didn’t see “Game Show Host” on the list. Dumb luck that.
jvb
Did I miss the mention of Alex Trebec?
Replaced, initially, by “Blossom.” Jeopardy has only had two hosts, Art Fleming and Alex. He started before the Invasion of the Middling Actors.