Vents MagaZine Music and Entertainment Magazine
Related Articles
There has been an increase in game shows these days. It makes sense. They are cheap to produce and can be batch shot. That is to say, for those of you not fluent in showbiz lingo, they can shoot a week’s worth of episodes in a day. You can churn out game shows, but they are also often quite popular. There is a real potential for that sought-after bang for your buck when you hit with a game show. Maybe that’s why most of the new game shows are reboots. There is a difference now, though. Game shows are now all hosted by big, established celebrities, and that’s a shame. We don’t have true game show hosts in the same way anymore. So let us pay tribute to the hosts of the bygone era of game shows that would have never gotten a chance these days.
Even a legend like Alex Trebek, maybe the best game show host ever, might not have gotten a chance to host Jeopardy! if it was started up today. Don’t be surprised if the next host of that show is a celebrity. Pat Sajak has also been grandfathered in, but he’s also not really one of the best hopes. Instead, let’s shout out a legend like Gene Rayburn. He hosted Match Game like a guy throwing a party, and in some ways he was. That should could be so loose, and the panel of celebrities could get rowdy. Rayburn had to keep the game moving, set up the celebs for bits, and also be funny himself. He nailed it most of the time.
One of the original standout panelists on Match Game was Richard Dawson, and he was so successful on that show he was given his own game show, Family Feud. Steve Harvey gets a lot of love for his hosting, but he’s too hammy and scenery chewing. Family Feud has gone down the tubes. Yes, some quibble with Dawson’s penchant for kissing every female contestant. That is a relic of a bygone era. He maintained a sense of decorum, though, and would drop his dry wit here and there. Dawson knew how to do game shows right.
There are so many names we could mention. Jim Perry, a Canadian like Trebek, showed his chops on Card Sharks and $ale of the Century. Bert Convy made Tattletales work and wiped the floor with Allen Ludden – an overrated game show host – when he took over Super Password. It’s strange to think today Dick Clark may not have gotten a shot on Pyramid, or that Bob Barker, the Bob Barker, wouldn’t have been chosen to host The Price is Right. After all, who replaced him? The already-famous Drew Carey. You used to be able to get famous and have a successful career as a game show host. Now, to become a game show host you have to already be famous and have a successful career. We’re moving in the wrong direction on that front. We’re missing out on the next Rayburn, Barker, or even Trebek.
