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The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: calliaume on August 10, 2009, 02:24:18 PM

Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: calliaume on August 10, 2009, 02:24:18 PM
Just started thinking about this today:  who's run a game that later wrote a book?

(Note:  the list includes everybody who wrote a book; whether or not the book had anything to do with game shows is not a consideration.  And "author" in some cases is a reach -- I doubt Pat Sajak had a lot to do with the crossword books that bear his name.)

Feel free to add the names I've missed or forgotten.

Allen, Steve
Barker, Bob
Barris, Chuck
Bergeron, Tom
Carey, Drew
Carson, Johnny
Clooney, Nick
Collyer, Bud
Downs, Hugh
Enberg, Dick
Eubanks, Bob
Garagiola, Joe
Griffin, Merv
Hall, Monty
Ludden, Allen
Marshall, Peter
Martindale, Wink
Myerson, Bess
Pennington, Janice
Perry, Jim
Sajak, Pat
Trebek, Alex
White, Betty
White, Vanna
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: colonial on August 10, 2009, 02:41:51 PM
[quote name=\'calliaume\' post=\'222468\' date=\'Aug 10 2009, 02:24 PM\']Just started thinking about this today:  who's run a game that later wrote a book?

(Note:  the list includes everybody who wrote a book; whether or not the book had anything to do with game shows is not a consideration.  And "author" in some cases is a reach -- I doubt Pat Sajak had a lot to do with the crossword books that bear his name.)
Feel free to add the names I've missed or forgotten.[/quote]

Former "Face the Music" host Ron Ely penned two mystery novels in the 90s.

Ex-"Lingo" host Michael Reagan has about a dozen books to his credit.

JD
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: chris319 on August 10, 2009, 02:45:11 PM
Your definition of "author" seems to include those who actually wrote the words in their books and those who didn't (e.g. Bob Barker). I haven't read the books of most of these people, but I have to wonder which fall into the former category and which into the latter. I imagine Bud wrote the actual words in his books, but ISTR Merv's was "as told to Peter Barsocchini".

Gil Fates had a short-lived career as an emcee, and I read his and Monty's books during the summer of 1978. One year later I encountered both men face to face (it's fun to drop names!).
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: Chief-O on August 10, 2009, 02:53:30 PM
[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'222473\' date=\'Aug 10 2009, 01:45 PM\']Gil Fates had a short-lived career as an emcee[/quote]

If I had remembered that [raise your hand if you remember the "CBS Television Quiz"], I'd have mentioned his WML? book [good reading, BTW!].

If we're also going to mention non-hosts, I guess I could throw out a good word for "J!" writer Harry Eisenberg's very detailed memoir on his years with the show.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: bricon on August 10, 2009, 02:58:16 PM
[quote name=\'calliaume\' post=\'222468\' date=\'Aug 10 2009, 01:24 PM\']Just started thinking about this today:  who's run a game that later wrote a book?

Feel free to add the names I've missed or forgotten.[/quote]

Jack Bailey did a cookbook titled "What's Cookin'".

Jeff MacGregor wrote a book about a season of NASCAR racing (http://\"http://www.jeffmacgregor.com/sundaymoney.html\").
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: calliaume on August 10, 2009, 03:04:47 PM
Jamie Farr wrote an autobiography, but I'm reluctant to include him based on subhosting Wordplay.

I didn't included producers/production staff, otherwise Norm Blumenthal, Bob Noah, Les Roberts, and a few others would be added.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: Matt Ottinger on August 10, 2009, 03:05:24 PM
Damn you, I was wanting to get some actual work done today!

Jack Bailey
Wally Bruner
Walter Cronkite
Art Fleming
Jeff Foxworthy
Arlene Francis
John Reed King
Vicki Lawrence
Art Linkletter
Henry Morgan
Regis Philbin
Summer Sanders
Ben Stein

A lot of these really hit the margins of being an author.  Bailey's was a cookbook, Bruner's a woodworking tie-in to his TV show, and King & Fleming both put their names on quiz books that they probably didn't write.

I strictly limited myself to people who hosted their own show, but if we cast a wider net (as you did with Janice and Vanna), then there are also people like Kitty Carlisle, Bennett Cerf and Orson Bean, to name only a few.  For that matter, there are also Frank DeCaro and Billy Bean.  (I'm pretty sure Jermaine Taylor was illiterate.)
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: chris319 on August 10, 2009, 03:06:52 PM
Quote
Jack Bailey did a cookbook titled "What's Cookin'".
Did every recipe call for liberal amounts of cooking sherry? (Sorry, cheap humor.)

Gil Fates wasn't a non-host strictly speaking. Ira Skutch is, but not Gil.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: pentellit on August 10, 2009, 03:43:16 PM
Did Ira Skutch write a book?
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: SRIV94 on August 10, 2009, 03:49:32 PM
Howie Mandel has one coming out, called Here's The Deal:  Don't Touch Me (slated to do a book signing in New York in early December).
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: Don Howard on August 10, 2009, 03:58:29 PM
[quote name=\'pentellit\' post=\'222484\' date=\'Aug 10 2009, 03:43 PM\']Did Ira Skutch write a book?[/quote]
Oh, goodness, yes. Quite a few, in fact.
My favorite of his was I Remember Television: A Memoir.
Published circa late 1980s/early 1990s.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: vtown7 on August 10, 2009, 04:20:45 PM
Marc Summers wrote Everything in its place, about his dealings with OCD.

Ryan
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: calliaume on August 10, 2009, 04:32:11 PM
[quote name=\'Don Howard\' post=\'222488\' date=\'Aug 10 2009, 02:58 PM\'][quote name=\'pentellit\' post=\'222484\' date=\'Aug 10 2009, 03:43 PM\']Did Ira Skutch write a book?[/quote]
Oh, goodness, yes. Quite a few, in fact.
My favorite of his was I Remember Television: A Memoir.
Published circa late 1980s/early 1990s.
[/quote]
1990, by The Scarecrow Press.  Available from Amazon (http://\"http://www.amazon.com/I-Remember-Television-Ira-Skutch/dp/0810822717/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1249936219&sr=1-1\").  This has more about his own experiences than any of the other books listed under his name likely would.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: chris319 on August 10, 2009, 05:07:27 PM
[quote name=\'pentellit\' post=\'222484\' date=\'Aug 10 2009, 12:43 PM\']Did Ira Skutch write a book?[/quote]
He wrote his memoir several years ago. I know and like Ira. He is THE most astute producer I've ever worked with -- I've worked with A LOT of people who call themselves producers -- and I learned a lot from him. Unfortunately, his memoir as written doesn't make for very riveting reading, I'm afraid. He talks about his days at Goodson-Todman but doesn't go into a whole lot of depth. He talks a lot about his days in the advertising industry and I had a hard time getting interested in it.

Gil Fates, the producer of What's My Line? from the beginning in 1950, wrote his memoir in 1978 but it was more about the show and the stars and is much more interesting reading. If you can find a copy, pick it up by all means. Interesting that Gil could craft such an interesting book out of such a simple show.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: Jimmy Owen on August 10, 2009, 05:12:11 PM
Though he is better known for other broadcasting ventures, Ed McMahon did host a couple of G-T shows.  One of his books even had representative stills of his game shows.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: calliaume on August 10, 2009, 05:13:10 PM
[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'222500\' date=\'Aug 10 2009, 04:07 PM\']Gil Fates, the producer of What's My Line? from the beginning in 1950, wrote his memoir in 1978 but it was more about the show and the stars and is much more interesting reading. If you can find a copy, pick it up by all means. Interesting that Gil could craft such an interesting book out of such a simple show.[/quote]
Of course, the cheapest copy of this I've seen on either Amazon or Alibris (out-of-print books) is about $55 before postage; most go for $100 or more.

Happily, I paid about five bucks for my copy back in 1980 or so.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: chris319 on August 10, 2009, 05:14:16 PM
This from a review of Gil's book on Amazon.com:

Quote
"Line" fans on Usenet have identified the "lady very large in television" on page 107 as Barbara Feldon, the "truly gorgeous and terribly bright singer-actress" on page 110 as Polly Bergen and the sleep-deprived "successful TV funnyman" on a page I forget as Joey Adams. Contacted several times on these matters before his 2000 death, Mr. Fates remained a gentleman, noting that all three people still worked "in the business."
Was Barbara Feldon the one who prematurely offered to take the place of D.K.?
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: chris319 on August 10, 2009, 05:16:28 PM
Quote
Of course, the cheapest copy of this I've seen on either Amazon or Alibris (out-of-print books) is about $55 before postage; most go for $100 or more.
The library is your friend :-)
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: calliaume on August 10, 2009, 05:20:36 PM
[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'222505\' date=\'Aug 10 2009, 04:14 PM\']This from a review of Gil's book on Amazon.com:

Quote
"Line" fans on Usenet have identified the "lady very large in television" on page 107 as Barbara Feldon, the "truly gorgeous and terribly bright singer-actress" on page 110 as Polly Bergen and the sleep-deprived "successful TV funnyman" on a page I forget as Joey Adams. Contacted several times on these matters before his 2000 death, Mr. Fates remained a gentleman, noting that all three people still worked "in the business."
Was Barbara Feldon the one who prematurely offered to take the place of D.K.?
[/quote]
Doesn't make sense to me.  Get Smart! had been running less than two months when Kilgallen died, and was filming in Hollywood.  Feldon had never done a game show at that point (other than The $64,000 Question as a contestant).  I don't think G-T would have made that big a leap; the schedules likely wouldn't have meshed (Feldon would have been on planes most of the day Sunday and Monday, since WML? was still live), and I doubt NBC or CBS would have been very happy about the situation.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: Matt Ottinger on August 10, 2009, 05:27:02 PM
[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'222505\' date=\'Aug 10 2009, 05:14 PM\']Was Barbara Feldon the one who prematurely offered to take the place of D.K.?[/quote]
I'd never heard that, though I had heard the speculation about Bergen and Adams.  Plus, "Line fans on Usenet" would pretty much be US back in the day, wouldn't it?  I mean, there wasn't an alt.tv.whats-my-line.  We never spoke of it as I remember, and a search in the old group doesn't turn up her name.  

Feldon hadn't done the show (and wouldn't even be a mystery guest until 1973), so it sees even more out of place for her to have make an out-of-nowhere request like that.  Finally, and probably most importantly, Get Smart had only been on the air for two months when Dorothy died, so Feldon was hardly "very large in television" at the time.

EDIT:  Plus, you know, what Curt said.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: chris319 on August 10, 2009, 05:30:09 PM
Right, but is the reference to a "lady very large in television" on page 107 a reference to the person who offered to take the place of Kilgallen upon her passing? I agree, Feldon would not have qualified as such at the time.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: calliaume on August 10, 2009, 05:39:54 PM
[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'222511\' date=\'Aug 10 2009, 04:30 PM\']Right, but is the reference to a "lady very large in television" on page 107 a reference to the person who offered to take the place of Kilgallen upon her passing? I agree, Feldon would not have qualified as such at the time.[/quote]
It's on IMDB (http://\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042168/trivia\"), but that doesn't mean it's accurate.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: TimK2003 on August 10, 2009, 09:08:34 PM
Surprised nobody said Jim McKay yet.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: Don Howard on August 10, 2009, 09:22:44 PM
[quote name=\'TimK2003\' post=\'222536\' date=\'Aug 10 2009, 09:08 PM\']Surprised nobody said Jim McKay yet.[/quote]
This is because no one felt like it, no one thought of it or we were saving it for you.
I'M surprised Randy West didn't mention himself yet.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: Matt Ottinger on August 10, 2009, 10:43:16 PM
[quote name=\'TimK2003\' post=\'222536\' date=\'Aug 10 2009, 09:08 PM\']Surprised nobody said Jim McKay yet.[/quote]
I don't think it's so odd we might forget someone whose fame comes from some other venue, and whose game show hosting consists of only a handful of episodes.

Meanwhile...surprised nobody said William Shatner yet.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: clemon79 on August 10, 2009, 11:13:09 PM
[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'222548\' date=\'Aug 10 2009, 07:43 PM\']Meanwhile...surprised nobody said William Shatner yet.[/quote]
We're trying to forget.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: JCGames on August 10, 2009, 11:13:36 PM
Jack Paar.

He hosted two short-lived game shows in the early 50s: UP TO PAAR and BANK ON THE STARS. Before that, he briefly hosted TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT, the "$64 question" show on radio.

His books were:
I Kid You Not
My Saber is Bent
Three on a Toothbrush
P.S. Jack Paar: An Entertainment

In his first book, Jack recalled that during the time he was hosting the CBS MORNING SHOW around 1955, an advertising agency man had given him live commercial copy for a lipstick company that Jack rejected because he thought it was no good. He said that the sponsor dropped him from contention to be the host of a new quiz show they were starting that summer. The show turned out to be THE $64,000 QUESTION, and the sponsor, Revlon, became a household word.

I kid you not.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: tvrandywest on August 11, 2009, 12:22:32 AM
[quote name=\'Don Howard\' post=\'222540\' date=\'Aug 10 2009, 06:22 PM\'][quote name=\'TimK2003\' post=\'222536\' date=\'Aug 10 2009, 09:08 PM\']Surprised nobody said Jim McKay yet.[/quote]
This is because no one felt like it, no one thought of it or we were saving it for you.
I'M surprised Randy West didn't mention himself yet.
[/quote]
I'm not a host. And my legs have stood in the way of a career as hostess   ;-)

Randy
tvrandywest.com
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: chris319 on August 11, 2009, 01:33:00 AM
Quote
And my legs have stood in the way of a career as hostess ;-)
Especially that third leg.

How about Art Linkletter? How about Fred Allen?
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: Marc412 on August 11, 2009, 02:50:33 AM
Weakest Link hostess Anne Robinson's autobiography was titled Memoirs of an Unfit Mother.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: Don Howard on August 11, 2009, 07:19:48 AM
[quote name=\'tvrandywest\' post=\'222561\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 12:22 AM\']I'm not a host.[/quote]
You hosted Match Game 2007.
Plus, I believe the listings have opened up to include announcers, producers and such as.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: tomobrien on August 11, 2009, 08:37:07 AM
[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'222505\' date=\'Aug 10 2009, 04:14 PM\']"Line" fans on Usenet have identified the "lady very large in television"...[/quote]
Perhaps it was Totie Fields.

/Veal.  Waitress.  Make the Connection.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: Don Howard on August 11, 2009, 09:49:47 AM
[quote name=\'tomobrien\' post=\'222582\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 08:37 AM\'][quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'222505\' date=\'Aug 10 2009, 04:14 PM\']"Line" fans on Usenet have identified the "lady very large in television"...[/quote]
Perhaps it was Totie Fields.
/Veal.  Waitress.  Make the Connection.
[/quote]
As long as you're not here all week.
I believe now as I believed when I first read The Holy Fates Scriptures that the letter came from Vivian Vance.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: davemackey on August 11, 2009, 09:03:48 PM
[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'222568\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 01:33 AM\']
Quote
And my legs have stood in the way of a career as hostess ;-)
Especially that third leg.

How about Art Linkletter? How about Fred Allen?
[/quote]
Art Linkletter's been mentioned. He had several books, including "Kids say the Darndest Things", a collection of bon mots from "House Party" that featured charming illustrations from no less than Charles M. Schulz.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: Matt Ottinger on August 11, 2009, 09:35:26 PM
Sam Levenson
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: Don Howard on August 11, 2009, 09:53:30 PM
[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'222692\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 09:35 PM\']Sam Levenson[/quote]
I can't stand him. I blame him for the downfall of Two For The Money. Blah, blah, freakin' blah. Yeah, you're back. Big woo. Hit the road, boy.
Joan Rivers has written at least ten books.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: tomobrien on August 11, 2009, 11:42:28 PM
All right, all right, I'm old enough to remember him, so I'll throw in Bergen Evans.

Has no one mentioned yet our old buddy "Kip" Fadiman?  An egregious oversight if so.

And even though the book is a compilation of their sketches, they wrote them (which is probably more than some of the people on this list), so add Bob & Ray.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: Don Howard on August 11, 2009, 11:45:25 PM
[quote name=\'tomobrien\' post=\'222717\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 11:42 PM\']And has no one mentioned yet our old buddy "Kip" Fadiman?  An egregious oversight if so.[/quote]
Egregious, indeed. Good ole Cliffy. Doesn't he have a birthday coming up?
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: Jimmy Owen on August 11, 2009, 11:53:37 PM
Keefe Braselle sub-hosted "County Fair," "Dough Re-Mi" and Murray "Treasure Hunt."  He was once a good friend of Jim "The Smiling Cobra" Aubrey and his book was a pulp novel about the television industry titled "The CanniBalS."
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: GameShowGuru on August 12, 2009, 02:18:01 AM
I'm VERY surprised that no mentioned (Dr.) Susan Stafford and her book "Stop the Wheel, I Want to Get Off".  It's about why and how she went from game show hostess to humanitarian.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: calliaume on August 12, 2009, 10:21:16 AM
[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' post=\'222719\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 10:53 PM\']Keefe Braselle sub-hosted "County Fair," "Dough Re-Mi" and Murray "Treasure Hunt."  He was once a good friend of Jim "The Smiling Cobra" Aubrey and his book was a pulp novel about the television industry titled "The CanniBalS."[/quote]

"Good friend" is an interesting way of putting it.

There's an extended quote from Jeff Kisseloff's The Box about Brasselle and Greg Garrison, the director of a short-lived variety show Brasselle hosted, that I'll have to dig up.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: Matt Ottinger on August 12, 2009, 10:24:55 AM
[quote name=\'GameShowGuru\' post=\'222727\' date=\'Aug 12 2009, 02:18 AM\']I'm VERY surprised that no mentioned (Dr.) Susan Stafford and her book "Stop the Wheel, I Want to Get Off".  It's about why and how she went from game show hostess to humanitarian.[/quote]
Keep your surprise to yourself.  Best I can tell, that book doesn't exist.  Even if it does somehow, it would have to be just about the most obscure thing on this entire thread.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: Don Howard on August 12, 2009, 10:33:23 AM
[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'222747\' date=\'Aug 12 2009, 10:24 AM\'][quote name=\'GameShowGuru\' post=\'222727\' date=\'Aug 12 2009, 02:18 AM\']I'm VERY surprised that no mentioned (Dr.) Susan Stafford and her book "Stop the Wheel, I Want to Get Off".  It's about why and how she went from game show hostess to humanitarian.[/quote]
Keep your surprise to yourself.
[/quote]
Bless you, dear man.
I now add the name of Bill Cosby to our list.
[quote name=\'GameShowGuru\' post=\'222727\' date=\'Aug 12 2009, 02:18 AM\']I'm.....surprised that no (one) mentioned......[/quote]
SENTENCES THAT DRIVE DON HOWARD TO THE ARTILLERY CABINET? Right! ding ding ding ding
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: DoorNumberFour on August 12, 2009, 11:30:49 AM
[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'222747\' date=\'Aug 12 2009, 10:24 AM\'][quote name=\'GameShowGuru\' post=\'222727\' date=\'Aug 12 2009, 02:18 AM\']I'm VERY surprised that no mentioned (Dr.) Susan Stafford and her book "Stop the Wheel, I Want to Get Off".  It's about why and how she went from game show hostess to humanitarian.[/quote]
Keep your surprise to yourself.  Best I can tell, that book doesn't exist.  Even if it does somehow, it would have to be just about the most obscure thing on this entire thread.
[/quote]
According to her website (http://\"http://www.susanstafford.org/\"), the book will be released this year, but you can buy an advance copy from the site for $19.50.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: Matt Ottinger on August 12, 2009, 11:57:02 AM
[quote name=\'DoorNumberFour\' post=\'222759\' date=\'Aug 12 2009, 11:30 AM\']According to her website (http://\"http://www.susanstafford.org/\"), the book will be released this year, but you can buy an advance copy from the site for $19.50.[/quote]
OK, cool, thanks for finding that.  Hopefully, it'll actually come out.  I could still do without the "VERY surprised" comment from GSGuru about an obscure, unreleased book by a non-host.

/And I've met Stafford.
//She seemed nice.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: calliaume on August 12, 2009, 12:19:32 PM
[quote name=\'DoorNumberFour\' post=\'222759\' date=\'Aug 12 2009, 10:30 AM\']According to her website (http://\"http://www.susanstafford.org/\"), the book will be released this year, but you can buy an advance copy from the site for $19.50.[/quote]
Actually, it was supposed to have released last year:

Quote
Book will be released Oct./Nov. 2008

That's a long wait -- I wonder if she didn't get a publisher.  Self-publishing sounds appealing in theory, but you don't want to store a few thousand books in the garage.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: clemon79 on August 12, 2009, 01:01:31 PM
[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'222766\' date=\'Aug 12 2009, 08:57 AM\']I could still do without the "VERY surprised" comment from GSGuru about an obscure, unreleased book by a non-host[/quote]
Fixed that for you.

/nothing says "Look what tiny bit of obscure trivia *I* know!" like "I'm VERY surprised..."
//except for the utterly obsequious "Of course..."
///hi, Zach
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: clemon79 on August 12, 2009, 01:02:37 PM
[quote name=\'calliaume\' post=\'222769\' date=\'Aug 12 2009, 09:19 AM\']That's a long wait -- I wonder if she didn't get a publisher.  Self-publishing sounds appealing in theory, but you don't want to store a few thousand books in the garage.[/quote]
That's what print-on-demand is for, yes?
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: calliaume on August 12, 2009, 01:10:24 PM
[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'222777\' date=\'Aug 12 2009, 12:02 PM\'][quote name=\'calliaume\' post=\'222769\' date=\'Aug 12 2009, 09:19 AM\']That's a long wait -- I wonder if she didn't get a publisher.  Self-publishing sounds appealing in theory, but you don't want to store a few thousand books in the garage.[/quote]
That's what print-on-demand is for, yes?
[/quote]
POD's good for something printing 2,500 copies or less.  Generally speaking, a book will go POD after it's gone through a regular printing or two and the publisher doesn't want to print 3,000 copies of a later printing and sell 300.  If Susie only prints 2,500 copies of her book overall, it's probably not worth the work involved.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: clemon79 on August 12, 2009, 01:28:12 PM
[quote name=\'calliaume\' post=\'222780\' date=\'Aug 12 2009, 10:10 AM\']POD's good for something printing 2,500 copies or less.  Generally speaking, a book will go POD after it's gone through a regular printing or two and the publisher doesn't want to print 3,000 copies of a later printing and sell 300.  If Susie only prints 2,500 copies of her book overall, it's probably not worth the work involved.[/quote]
Well, I was thinking more along the lines of those online publishing houses that *only* do POD, like the one Donegan published his book through. Which I realize are horrible values for the author.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: Jimmy Owen on August 12, 2009, 01:33:12 PM
Will there come a day when there will be no bookstores or publishers?  If you want a book, you can print the PDF file for a small fee on your own paper.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: clemon79 on August 12, 2009, 01:51:43 PM
[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' post=\'222784\' date=\'Aug 12 2009, 10:33 AM\']Will there come a day when there will be no bookstores or publishers?  If you want a book, you can print the PDF file for a small fee on your own paper.[/quote]
We're well on the way. (http://\"http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Amazons-Wireless-Reading-Generation/dp/B00154JDAI\")

I suspect that actual physical books will become an artisan product in the next ten to fifteen years.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: calliaume on August 12, 2009, 03:11:22 PM
[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'222790\' date=\'Aug 12 2009, 12:51 PM\'][quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' post=\'222784\' date=\'Aug 12 2009, 10:33 AM\']Will there come a day when there will be no bookstores or publishers?  If you want a book, you can print the PDF file for a small fee on your own paper.[/quote]
I suspect that actual physical books will become an artisan product in the next ten to fifteen years.
[/quote]
Wow, this is going far afield.

Being in the profession, I can safely say mass production of books aren't going away any time soon.  Kindle may be used to supplement it -- and it's certainly a better option than e-books were a decade ago, with many more choices, including newspapers and magazines -- but it will not completely change it.

The change you are seeing, and will continue to see, will be in school books, especially K-12.  They're very expensive to print -- and for every social studies, science, or math book you see, remember it's already been printed once (in a smaller quantity) to send to the states for adoption -- and not easy for the students to use (and carry -- seen those backpacks lately?).  What I can see over the next 20 years or so, as students get to the point where each desk has a computer, is all textbooks become electronic, either on line or purchased by the school system.  This will save a lot in print, and it'll make state-specific editions easier to do (so 20 years down the road, you'll have 75 percent of the states learning about evolution, while Texas and Kansas have intelligent design).  Students could access them both in the classroom and at home, perhaps through the school's web site.

While Kindle is far better than the previous e-books, and will be cheaper as time goes along, it won't replace books.  Unlike movies/TV (which have gone from big screen only to TV to VCR to DVD to laptop) or music (vinyl to cassette to CDs to MP3s on IPods), books are still easy to use, portable, and easier to reproduce in book form than anything else.  (Do you really want to carry around 300 pages of 8-1/2" x 11" sheets instead of a regular book?)  Also, there's pride in ownership -- like it or not, a bookcase or two full of books (or, in the case of Karen and me, ten bookcases) makes a very favorable impression on people.  (Until they see the actual titles, in some cases -- my opinion of the previous owners of my house started badly when I saw several Phyllis Schlafly-authored titles on the shelves.)

Print on demand, as noted before, is useful in very small quantities.  However, it's not cost effective at much over 2,500 copies (which is a very low run on a regular press), and most POD plants don't print color very well (with a few exceptions, POD is a souped-up Xerox machine).  It's best for softcover books (binding three copies hardcover makes them prohibitively expensive, if I remember correctly).  And it's not going to look as good as the original book.

Okay, my time on the soapbox is done.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: entguy1 on August 12, 2009, 03:37:40 PM
"Groucho and Me," anyone???
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: GameShowGuru on August 14, 2009, 12:05:03 AM
[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'222766\' date=\'Aug 12 2009, 11:57 AM\'][quote name=\'DoorNumberFour\' post=\'222759\' date=\'Aug 12 2009, 11:30 AM\']According to her website (http://\"http://www.susanstafford.org/\"), the book will be released this year, but you can buy an advance copy from the site for $19.50.[/quote]
OK, cool, thanks for finding that.  Hopefully, it'll actually come out.  I could still do without the "VERY surprised" comment from GSGuru about an obscure, unreleased book by a non-host.

/And I've met Stafford.
//She seemed nice.
[/quote]

Well excuse me, Matt.  If Susan does not qualify as a game show hostess, my mistake (i.e., what qualifies Vanna White to be a game show hostess when she essentially does the same thing that Susan did).   I certainly didn't mean to upset the apple cart here.  I thought folks here would have known.

I express genuine disbelief about an omission, and all of a sudden I raked over the coals.  Daggone!

Speaking of Vanna, as a bonafide and clearly announced game show HOSTESS, she wrote the book Vanna Speaks in 1987.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: GameShowGuru on August 14, 2009, 12:08:19 AM
Another game show host turned author:

Ross Shafer, author of:

"Nobody Moved Your Cheese"
"The Customer Shouts Back"
"Customer Empathy"
"Are You Relevant"
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: Matt Ottinger on August 14, 2009, 09:38:47 AM
[quote name=\'GameShowGuru\' post=\'222972\' date=\'Aug 14 2009, 12:05 AM\']Well excuse me, Matt.  If Susan does not qualify as a game show hostess, my mistake (i.e., what qualifies Vanna White to be a game show hostess when she essentially does the same thing that Susan did).   I certainly didn't mean to upset the apple cart here.  I thought folks here would have known.

I express genuine disbelief about an omission, and all of a sudden I raked over the coals.  Daggone![/quote]
Oh, grow up.  It's not a question of whether she "qualifies".  It's a matter of your "disbelief" (genuine or not) that nobody would mention a book which does not exist from an obscure personality .  There was a better way of bringing it up (pretty much how you did with Ross Shafer above).  I wasn't the only person who thought so.
   
[quote name=\'GameShowGuru\' post=\'222972\' date=\'Aug 14 2009, 12:05 AM\']Speaking of Vanna, as a bonafide and clearly announced game show HOSTESS, she wrote the book Vanna Speaks in 1987.[/quote]
Covered by the original poster in the original post.  Though -- as someone else mentioned -- there might be some question as to whether she literally wrote it herself.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: Jimmy Owen on August 14, 2009, 02:38:46 PM
Maybe it's semantics, but when I hear "host" or "hostess" I think of the emcee.  Vanna or Susan are no more the hostess of WOF than Carol Merill was the hostess of LMAD.  They are models, not hostesses.  Emcees run the show, not the models.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: Don Howard on August 14, 2009, 03:08:16 PM
[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' post=\'223031\' date=\'Aug 14 2009, 02:38 PM\']Maybe it's semantics, but when I hear "host" or "hostess" I think of the emcee.  Vanna or Susan are no more the hostess of WOF than Carol Merill was the hostess of LMAD.  They are models, not hostesses.  Emcees run the show, not the models.[/quote]
When I think of "hostess", I think of Ho Hos and Twinkies.
To be fair, Chuck and Pat (and possibly Alex, Rolf and Bob) introduced Susan and Vanna as "hostess".
I tend to think of Jan Speck as more of a stewardess.
Remember how Jay Stewart would tell us that a trader's jet vacation would feature "stewardesses in hot pants"?
[quote name=\'entguy1\' post=\'222801\' date=\'Aug 12 2009, 03:37 PM\']"Groucho and Me," anyone???[/quote]
I'll get to your tell-all after I've finished this book about Merv and seemingly all of Hollywood.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: tvrandywest on August 14, 2009, 04:37:17 PM
Hostesses, Ho Hos and Twinkies?

What website are YOU looking at?!   ;-)

Randy
tvrandywest.com
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: chris319 on August 14, 2009, 08:01:55 PM
Quote
Ho Hos
What do you call streetwalkers dressed as Santa Claus?

Do they still make Hostess Snowballs? A pink one and a white one covered with coconut? Mmmmm. Can't have those any more due to my diabeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetus.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: DoorNumberFour on August 14, 2009, 09:06:11 PM
[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'223075\' date=\'Aug 14 2009, 08:01 PM\']Do they still make Hostess Snowballs?[/quote]
They sure do. Pink coconut and all. Lord knows I know.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: GameShowGuru on August 14, 2009, 10:37:59 PM
[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'222994\' date=\'Aug 14 2009, 09:38 AM\']Oh, grow up.  It's not a question of whether she "qualifies".  It's a matter of your "disbelief" (genuine or not) that nobody would mention a book which does not exist from an obscure personality.  There was a better way of bringing it up (pretty much how you did with Ross Shafer above).  I wasn't the only person who thought so.[/quote]

See, that's all you had to say instead of admonishing me to "grow up".  I never knew that her book was never formally published.  I brought up the whole disbelief regarding Susan Stafford intended to be in a jovial and lighthearted manner.  Charge it to my head and not to my heart, cause it's really really not that serious at all; I was simply making conversation.

As for her being an obscure personality, that's another matter altogether, considering to the world at large, anyone who was a classic game show personality beyond the syndicated versions of Wheel and Jeopardy, and the CBS version of TPIR pre-1990 is an obscure personality.   Where else can you go to find out that the lovely Concentration model (not hostess) Paola Diva passed away in 2007 other than GSF?  This is (IMO) one of the few places you can discuss obscure GS personalities freely.

As for the whole hostess vs. model debate, I promise to only use the word hostess when referring to Ho-Hos, cupcakes, Ding Dongs (wasn't it once King Dons?), Suzy Qs, Sno-Balls, and the ever popular Twinkies. ;-)
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: calliaume on August 17, 2009, 12:43:36 PM
[quote name=\'DoorNumberFour\' post=\'223086\' date=\'Aug 14 2009, 08:06 PM\'][quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'223075\' date=\'Aug 14 2009, 08:01 PM\']Do they still make Hostess Snowballs?[/quote]
They sure do. Pink coconut and all. Lord knows I know.
[/quote]
Different colors for holidays - orange around Halloween, green for St. Patrick's Day.  I've also seen purple (Easter?).

One of my favorites; grosses out my wife and son when I eat them.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: chris319 on August 17, 2009, 02:45:18 PM
You must teach your son to deal with purple Sno Balls (spelling is sans "w").

He might freak out to learn that there are glow (or glo) in the dark Sno Balls produced around Halloween. I'm curious what they use to make them glo in the dark.
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: calliaume on August 17, 2009, 03:00:11 PM
[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'223208\' date=\'Aug 17 2009, 01:45 PM\']You must teach your son to deal with purple Sno Balls (spelling is sans "w").

He might freak out to learn that there are glow (or glo) in the dark Sno Balls produced around Halloween. I'm curious what they use to make them glo in the dark.[/quote]
He probably won't be dealing with Sno Balls any time soon; he doesn't like chocolate.  (I don't think he likes coconut much either.)
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: chris319 on August 17, 2009, 04:55:58 PM
Quote
He probably won't be dealing with Sno Balls any time soon; he doesn't like chocolate. (I don't think he likes coconut much either.)
No Mounds or Almond Joy for this kid. At least he knows how to play Concentration.

Have you considered a child psychologist? :-)
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: DoorNumberFour on August 17, 2009, 05:09:16 PM
[quote name=\'calliaume\' post=\'223207\' date=\'Aug 17 2009, 12:43 PM\'][quote name=\'DoorNumberFour\' post=\'223086\' date=\'Aug 14 2009, 08:06 PM\'][quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'223075\' date=\'Aug 14 2009, 08:01 PM\']Do they still make Hostess Snowballs?[/quote]
They sure do. Pink coconut and all. Lord knows I know.
[/quote]
Different colors for holidays - orange around Halloween, green for St. Patrick's Day.  I've also seen purple (Easter?).

One of my favorites; grosses out my wife and son when I eat them.
[/quote]
Oh, and original white for Christmas. I didn't know the Halloween ones were glow-in-the-dark...
Title: Game Show Hosts/Hostesses Turned Authors
Post by: chris319 on August 18, 2009, 10:58:15 PM
Quote
I didn't know the Halloween ones were glow-in-the-dark...
There's nothing like a delicious barium-flavored snack.