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Author Topic: Hosts Who Wore Glasses  (Read 3285 times)

calliaume

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Hosts Who Wore Glasses
« on: April 05, 2021, 12:39:42 PM »
Since I've worn glasses from the time I was 16, I've been curious as to what hosts wore glasses, and why. I'm going to note a few from what I remember, and please feel free to add/correct my information.

- Bill Cullen wore glasses virtually from the time we first saw him (although I think there are a few publicity stills from when he was very young without them).
- Groucho Marx wore his throughout the run of You Bet Your Life; it looks like he started wearing them years before.
- Allen Ludden also appears to have worn glasses his adult life, as he's shown wearing them in a still photo for Mind Your Manners.
- Peter Marshall started wearing glasses partway through the run of Hollywood Squares, maybe around 1970 or 1971 (although he has them on for a Kellogg's commercial before that series started). My guess is Marshall is farsighted, as you almost never see him wearing glasses during show intros; only during the gameplay.
- Tom Kennedy looks to have added glasses during the run of Split Second.
- Larry Blyden wore glasses for all his hosting duties; he seems to have not worn them or gone to contact lenses for some of his acting roles as needed.
- Jim Lange added glasses during the run of The Dating Game.
- Alex Trebek started wearing glasses around 1990 or so.
- Drew Carey got LASIK at some point but kept the glasses as a prop, but he now needs bifocals. (I hear ya, Drew.)

Any others?

SuperSweeper

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Re: Hosts Who Wore Glasses
« Reply #1 on: April 05, 2021, 12:44:07 PM »
Two quick ones:

Cedric the Entertainer wore glasses on Millionaire (not sure about It's Worth What).

Al Roker wore glasses during Celebrity Family Feud.

WhammyPower

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Re: Hosts Who Wore Glasses
« Reply #2 on: April 05, 2021, 12:53:30 PM »
Robert Q. Lewis and Steve Allen immediately spring to mind.

Eric Paddon

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Re: Hosts Who Wore Glasses
« Reply #3 on: April 05, 2021, 01:00:18 PM »
Jack Barry on "Break The Bank" only wore tinted glasses.

BillCullen1

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Re: Hosts Who Wore Glasses
« Reply #4 on: April 05, 2021, 01:33:50 PM »
Anne Robinson on The Weakest Link.  Kennedy on Friend or Foe.  Gordon Elliott on TTTT.
Joe Garagiola on all the shows he hosted.

Blanquepage

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Re: Hosts Who Wore Glasses
« Reply #5 on: April 05, 2021, 02:44:36 PM »
Clifton Fadiman on The Name's The Same & Robert Earle on College Bowl.

JMFabiano

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Re: Hosts Who Wore Glasses
« Reply #6 on: April 05, 2021, 03:11:53 PM »
Jack Barry on "Break The Bank" only wore tinted glasses.

Richard Dawson too, briefly, but this was because of surgery. 

Can we count Anna Roisman at HQ Words?
« Last Edit: April 06, 2021, 07:41:18 AM by JMFabiano »
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BillCullen1

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Re: Hosts Who Wore Glasses
« Reply #7 on: April 05, 2021, 03:42:29 PM »
Jack Barry on "Break The Bank" only wore tinted glasses.

And with the hair dye job, he looked like a creepy 50-year-old teenager.

PYLdude

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Re: Hosts Who Wore Glasses
« Reply #8 on: April 05, 2021, 06:37:30 PM »
Pat Finn on The Joker’s Wild.

Few others: J. Keith Van Straaten and Blaine Capatch on Beat the Geeks, Mike Richards on Divided, and assuming Ben Stein qualifies as host?
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BrandonFG

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Re: Hosts Who Wore Glasses
« Reply #9 on: April 05, 2021, 06:54:27 PM »
Howie Mandel on the most recent Deal or No Deal.

I swear I saw Wayne Brady wear glasses on one of his shows.

ETA: Jerry Springer, Baggage, Gr££d.

I also believe the late Stuart Scott wore glasses on some of his ESPN game shows. I'm pretty sure those gigs came after his eye injury at a training camp.
« Last Edit: April 05, 2021, 10:18:22 PM by BrandonFG »
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PYLdude

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Re: Hosts Who Wore Glasses
« Reply #10 on: April 05, 2021, 10:21:13 PM »
Stu definitely rocked the specs on Stump the Schwab at the very least. (Probably also Teammates or whatever the follow up was called)
I suppose you can still learn stuff on TLC, though it would be more in the Goofus & Gallant sense, that is (don't do what these parents did)"- Travis Eberle, 2012

“We’re game show fans. ‘Weird’ comes with the territory.” - Matt Ottinger, 2022

PYLdude

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Re: Hosts Who Wore Glasses
« Reply #11 on: April 05, 2021, 10:22:56 PM »
Jack Barry on "Break The Bank" only wore tinted glasses.

Richard Dawson too, briefly, but this was because of surgery. 

See, I thought he was just wearing them because he couldn’t stand to be seen on MG anymore. Wasn’t aware there was a real reason because I never remembered seeing him wearing them on Feud.
I suppose you can still learn stuff on TLC, though it would be more in the Goofus & Gallant sense, that is (don't do what these parents did)"- Travis Eberle, 2012

“We’re game show fans. ‘Weird’ comes with the territory.” - Matt Ottinger, 2022

BrandonFG

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Re: Hosts Who Wore Glasses
« Reply #12 on: April 05, 2021, 10:31:12 PM »
Teammates was the one I was thinking of. I forgot all about Stump the Schwab.

Jack Barry on "Break The Bank" only wore tinted glasses.

Richard Dawson too, briefly, but this was because of surgery. 

See, I thought he was just wearing them because he couldn’t stand to be seen on MG anymore. Wasn’t aware there was a real reason because I never remembered seeing him wearing them on Feud.
The story I remember reading was his eyes were indeed sensitive to the studio lighting. Didn't realize he had surgery.
"I just wanna give a shoutout to my homies in their late-30s who are watching this on Paramount+ right now, cause they couldn't stay up late enough to watch it live!"

Now celebrating his 21st season on GSF!

BillCullen1

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Re: Hosts Who Wore Glasses
« Reply #13 on: April 08, 2021, 01:23:29 PM »
An obscure one that fits the category. Hunter March wore glasses on "Emogenius" seen on GSN.

Jeremy Nelson

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Re: Hosts Who Wore Glasses
« Reply #14 on: April 08, 2021, 03:30:33 PM »
I swear I saw Wayne Brady wear glasses on one of his shows.

He's for sure worn them on LMaD.
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