The most-improved hosts/announcers

[SamJ93]

Who are some game show hosts & announcers who started out badly, but ended up being at least passable?
I thought of this because I seem to remember Mark L. Walberg getting a lot of flak when he first started out... although this may have just been because his early shows (Shop 'til You Drop, The Big Date) were themselves rather lacking in quality. On the announcer side, Jim Thornton was mediocre at best as a fill-in on TPiR, but definitely found his groove on Wheel.

[MikeK]

My initial reaction was Mark L. too, for the same reason.  I think Mark L. started gaining legitimacy was with Russian Roulette.

Graham Elwood too.  Strip Poker?  Meh.  Cram?  Much better.

[BillCullen1]

I thought George Gray improved quite a bit going from Extreme Gong to the syndie Weakest Link.

[Long live Jeopardy]

Mike O'Malley was so incredibly hyper hosting Get the Picture but improved tremendously hosting GUTS/Global GUTS.

[chris319]

The TPIR staff was impressed by Mark L.'s emcee audition. They thought he was "the guy".

[SamJ93]

I've always maintained that if some other guy with a very similar name didn't become famous at about the same time, Mark L. would be much better known than he is, and it's a shame that it never happened by no fault of his own.

[chris319]

There is a TPIR demo with Bob Hilton announcing. I thought he was very good, better even than Rod Roddy.

[TLEberle]

My initial reaction was Mark L. too, for the same reason.  I think Mark L. started gaining legitimacy was with Russian Roulette.

Graham Elwood too.  Strip Poker?  Meh.  Cram?  Much better.

Same thought with George Gray but each of our cases had much better material to work with.

I would give high marks to Brooke Burns who went from being chained to the prompter on Dog Eat Dog to become king a reliable presence for GSN.

[Winkfan]

I may have mentioned this before, but Pat Finn was "just getting his foot in the door" on the 1990 Joker's Wild; but Shop Til You Drop was a much better fit for him.

Cordially,
Tammy

[whewfan]

I thought George Gray improved quite a bit going from Extreme Gong to the syndie Weakest Link.

I think it was that George was able to adapt to the persona they wanted. He was obnoxious on Extreme Gong because it was what they wanted. When Weakest Link came along, I do think that gave him a better opportunity to put his spin on the show. Being an Anne Robinson clone isn't going to work. The format allowed him to adapt to a host that was playfully snarky when he needed to be. If you told me though while he was hosting Extreme Gong that he would later be the TPIR announcer, I would've NEVER believed you.

[whewfan]

I may have mentioned this before, but Pat Finn was "just getting his foot in the door" on the 1990 Joker's Wild; but Shop Til You Drop was a much better fit for him.

Cordially,
Tammy

Pat mentioned in a segment for the TJW 90 pilot that in the first pilot, he was more playful and funny with the contestants, but Kline didn't want that. Kline also wanted Pat to wear glasses, which he didn't need, to make him look more intellectual. I wonder what the show could've been if Kline left Pat alone, but I guess STYD would give you some idea how much looser Pat is when you just let him be. 

[whewfan]

There is a TPIR demo with Bob Hilton announcing. I thought he was very good, better even than Rod Roddy.

Bob Hilton was okay on TPIR to me, but hearing him on the TPIR 94 pilot, seemed very out of place. Burton was a better fit for that IMO.

[whewfan]

My initial reaction was Mark L. too, for the same reason.  I think Mark L. started gaining legitimacy was with Russian Roulette.

Graham Elwood too.  Strip Poker?  Meh.  Cram?  Much better.

I think it would be hard for just about anyone to make something palatable out of stripping and poker. I mean, who watched Strip Poker for the GAME?! (Considering it was short lived, a better question might be WHO was watching?!) Cram obviously had a LOT more going for it. 

[parliboy]

Who are some game show hosts & announcers who started out badly, but ended up being at least passable?
I thought of this because I seem to remember Mark L. Walberg getting a lot of flak when he first started out... although this may have just been because his early shows (Shop 'til You Drop, The Big Date) were themselves rather lacking in quality.

Mark L Walberg feels like a talented guy who worked in an era with of a lot of crap TV and did what he could to put food on the table.  Given good material, he rises to its level.  He doesn't elevate a show, but he doesn't lower it either.

[BrandonFG]

Drew Carey on TPiR. Not that he was terrible in his first season but there were definitely growing pains where he stumbled a bit. Hell, I'd add Barker as well. He was very robotic and overexplained things a lot in the half-hour era. If the Internet were a mainstream thing in 1972, I have a feeling several of us would've said "He's no Bill Cullen, that's for sure."