The Game Show Forum
The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: Gameshowcrackers on April 24, 2009, 11:40:35 AM
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Some game show announcers suit some shows but not others?
What programs do you think most suited the best known game show announcers' voices and on which shows do you think their vocal talents were most out of place (optional).
Here goes.......
GENE WOOD - Legendary announcer who lent his voice to almost 20 different GT games. Most suited IMO to Card Sharks, but seemed oddly out of place when he auditioned for The Price Is Right
JOHNNY OLSON - Probably the most famous of all game show announcers; his career spanned 40 years. At his all time best IMO on Gene Rayburn's Match Game but seemed oddly out of place when he lent his vocal talents to Tattletales.
BOB HILTON - Forever associated with the Bill Cullen hosted version of BLOCKBUSTERS
JOHNNY GILBERT - Forever identified as the booming voice of JEOPARDY but also lent his voice to more than 25 other shows
CHARLIE O'DONNELL - Forever the voice of WHEEEEEL OF FORTUNE
JACK CLARK - At his best IMO on the $25,000 Pyramid, his vocal did not really suit Wheel of Fortune (IMO)
KENNY WILLIAMS - Will always be the voice of The Hollywood Sqaures
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Rod Roddy on Press Your Luck.
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In my opinion, Gene failed horribly at the bombastic TPIR opening, but he has a great voice for prize descriptions.
Johnny Gilbert on Pyramid was really good fit.
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Maybe it's a generational thing, but I always associate Don Pardo as the "voice of Jeopardy!"
Jay Stewart probably had the most strenuous announcing gig on LMAD.
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[quote name=\'Gameshowcrackers\' post=\'213916\' date=\'Apr 24 2009, 10:40 AM\']
GENE WOOD - Legendary announcer who lent his voice to almost 20 different GT games. Most suited IMO to Card Sharks, but seemed oddly out of place when he auditioned for The Price Is Right[/quote]
Gene didn't really have a conventional GS announcer voice, but he seemed to fit every show he did. "Price" is the exception, however. I might also say Narz BTC, but I'll cut him some slack there---that was his first full time announcing job.
JOHNNY OLSON - Probably the most famous of all game show announcers; his career spanned 40 years. At his all time best IMO on Gene Rayburn's Match Game but seemed oddly out of place when he lent his vocal talents to Tattletales.
I thought Johnny did a great job on TT. Now, when he subbed on P+ [the week Bill Cullen sub-hosted, IIRC], that was somewhat out of place. Same with "Mindreaders".
CHARLIE O'DONNELL - Forever the voice of WHEEEEEL OF FORTUNE
Also did very well on "Joker" and TTD--heck, every B&E show he did.
I'd have to throw in Johnny Jacobs---not a huge "Newlywed" fan, but he did quite well there. Also did really great on "Joker".
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I think Gene Wood was most suited for "Family Feud". Even now, since 1999 with Burton Richardson at the helm, it still doesn't seem the same without him.
Also echoing what others have said about him being out of place on TPiR. Whereas Johnny O would exclaim, "HERE IT COMES!!...television's most exciting hour.." Gene was almost monotone and there was no excitement. "Here it comes...television's most exciting hour of fantastic prizes.."
Have a listen. (http://\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD7EgmTy3Vo\")
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Let's see:
I think Johnny Gilbert fit $25KP/$100KP very well, and sounds perfect on Jeopardy! "This... is... Sparta Jeopardy!" just wouldn't sound the same with anyone else's voice.
Charlie O'Donnell and Gene Wood have a good mellow-yet-energetic vibe that I've found fits most of the shows they announced, especially Charlie on the B&E library and Gene on the Family Fyooood. Charlie still sounds great on Wheel, even the show has been amped up over the past several years.
As for ones that didn't fit: Jack Clark was just too laid-back for Pyramid and Wheel and... well, just about anything else he announced, in my opinion. I was never a fan of Johnny Jacobs either. He always seemed to be stiff and restrained, which I thought especially made him clash with the loose, campy feel of the Chuck Barris library.
I agree that Johnny Olson didn't fit on Tattletales, but I'll add that Gene didn't either. Both of them seemed unnaturally bored-sounding on that show, which certainly needed a "fun" announcer. Johnny sounded bored on Body Language as well.
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[quote name=\'Twentington\' post=\'213971\' date=\'Apr 24 2009, 06:40 PM\']
As for ones that didn't fit: Jack Clark was just too laid-back for Pyramid and Wheel and... well, just about anything else he announced, in my opinion.
[/quote]
I always thought he was well-suited to the 60s Password because he was so laid back. The atmosphere was more "televised party game" than "game show," and a high-energy announcer wouldn't have worked there.
Johnny Gilbert seems to do well on shows with big openings (like Pyramid and Jeopardy.) I would love to hear him do the TPIR "Here it comes..." intro.
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I think Rod Roddy was the perfect choice to step into Price after Johnny O, especially since his suits were as colorful as the Big Doors!
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[quote name=\'Twentington\' post=\'213971\' date=\'Apr 24 2009, 06:40 PM\']
As for ones that didn't fit: Jack Clark was just too laid-back for Pyramid and Wheel and... well, just about anything else he announced, in my opinion.
[/quote]
I'll agree with Pyramid (then again, I'm used to Charie O. and Johnny), but not with wheel.
Jack was laid back, but at the same time, he read the prize descriptions quite nicely and would even chuckle from time to time. I would think for a show that had him announce for 7 1/2-8 years (and judging from the clips and episodes I've seen), he had a smooth voice that wasn't bombastic or jagged, but it wasn't boring either. Charlie will always be the voice of Wheel (some might disagree), and I'm used to his low-pitch tone (which is also innocuous).
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Johnny O. will always be identified with TPIR. His voice was undeniably authentic. Even calling Barker's name sends good viibes to open the show the right way. He may've been out of place on TT, but he wasn't all that bad either.
Jay Stewart was not only a fit at LMAD, he was also a natural fit at the 80's $otC. When it comes down to style, he's on top of his game.
Nobody can compare to Kenny Williams' announcing on the original NBC version of HSq. He was so good at it, he rerely strays too far off even if the audience was laughing it up during the intros.
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[quote name=\'Craig Karlberg\' post=\'214002\' date=\'Apr 25 2009, 04:00 AM\']
His voice was undeniably authentic.
[/quote]
So it was his real voice. I knew it!!
I've wondered why Johnny G. never auditioned for the announce job at TPiR when Johnny O. died.
His plate, though, was very full during the 1980s.
I remember hearing either his voice or that of Gene Wood in the '80s and thinking, "Does this guy ever take a day off?"
Shifting back to topic, I liked Don Morrow on The Challengers...particularly during the era of The Ultimate Challenge when he'd tell us at the open how many steps away the champion was from a stab at the big jackpot.
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[quote name=\'Twentington\' post=\'213971\' date=\'Apr 24 2009, 06:40 PM\']
I was never a fan of Johnny Jacobs either. He always seemed to be stiff and restrained, which I thought especially made him clash with the loose, campy feel of the Chuck Barris library.
[/quote]
I have to say tho that I felt he did a great job at the top of each edition of the Gong Show!
As for Johnny Gilbert, I agree that it would have been great to hear him do the opening to the Price Is Right and command contestants to Come On Down to take their places in contestants row. I wonder why he wasn't offered an audition following the death of Rod Roddy - perhaps it could be that he is contracted exclusively to Sony Pictures and is precluded from doing other shows; I do not know.
But the Price Is Right certainly has more announcer copy than any other program and IMO Gilbert possbily has the best diction of any of the announcing greats making him a perfect fit for the show!
Strangely tho, Gilbert was never really a prolific GT annoucer in a career spanning more than 50 years, only occasionally subbing for Gene Wood on a few GT shows such as Family Feud and Card Sharks.
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Johnny Gilbert did announce TPIR for two years. ABC TPIR, but still.....
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[quote name=\'Don Howard\' post=\'214008\' date=\'Apr 25 2009, 07:49 AM\']
Shifting back to topic, I liked Don Morrow on The Challengers...particularly during the era of The Ultimate Challenge when he'd tell us at the open how many steps away the champion was from a stab at the big jackpot.
[/quote]
Yes----why did I not mention him??? I thought he actually did better on "Sale" than Jay Stewart did.
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It's funny - Jack Clark's delivery on Wheel seemed to match the host at the time. With Chuck, he was more bombastic. Once Pat took over, he got more low key like Pat was.
-Jason
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Since most of the big voices have been paired up, here's one more from the bottom of the stack...:
John Harlan -- Name That Tune.
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[quote name=\'Gameshowcrackers\' post=\'213916\' date=\'Apr 24 2009, 10:40 AM\']
JOHNNY OLSON - Probably the most famous of all game show announcers; his career spanned 40 years. At his all time best IMO on Gene Rayburn's Match Game but seemed oddly out of place when he lent his vocal talents to Tattletales.
[/quote]
He subbed for Gene Wood on Card Sharks a couple of times in its original run. I thought he seemed a little out of place there. That, and the pilot of Family Feud.
This is probably just me, but I never thought the Pyramid openings sounded quite right with Charlie O'Donnell.
As for Johnny Gilbert, he just seems to own any role he gets perfectly. The only time I've really heard him seem out of place was when he filled in on Family Feud. I just associate that show so much with Gene Wood. Up until Burton took duties for it in '99, Gene Wood was *the* voice for that show.
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Did anyone else ever worry that the J! folks would find out Johnny was moonlighting over at "The Quiz Kids Challenge"?
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Johnny Gilbert was and is awesome on "Jeopardy!", a job he's held for a quarter-century now. Isn't he like 88 or 89 years old now? Hard to believe! I remember him announcing on Ruprecht's "Supermarket Sweep" and he was awesome on that too, giving the play by play. I especially loved season 1 when they'd have a person dressed up as a giant carrot, or a can of string beans, blocking and chasing the sweeping contestants throughout the aisles, just hilarious!
Charlie O IS Wheel of Fortune to me. Jack Clark did really well, and I was sad when he died, but I remember Wheel back in '75 and Charlie announcing, and I'm glad he's on the show now too, a perfect fit. I liked his work on the B&E shows too very much, especially HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT Potato!!!
I agree, Gene Wood sounded very out of place announcing Price is Right back in late 85, early 86. Rod was a perfect fit on that show, and Press Your Luck.
Rich Jeffries, who I did not see mentioned, was like nails on a blackboard to me. I disliked him during the first few weeks on Super Password, and on Rafferty's Blockbusters too. His voice was just too nasally or shrill somehow. He sounds like a very nice guy, but as announcers go, just not up to snuff.
I liked Burton's work on "Price is Right", so-so on "Feud".
Incidentally, I think Don Pardo sounded awesome on the Cullen Price is Right eps, and he sounds exactly the same now as he did over half a century ago, just amazing!
Appropriate to bring up announcers, especially last week in sports, with the death of Harry Kalas, and the retirement of John Madden. Great idea for a topic!
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Did anyone else ever worry that the J! folks would find out Johnny was moonlighting over at "The Quiz Kids Challenge"?
Well, Monsieur Gilbert was doing likewise with $25/100k P and Supermarket Sweep around the same period; and I never heard anyone raise a big stink about it. Also, another Johnny (Jacobs) was moonlighting for Barry-Enright at about the same period he was toiling for Chuck Barris.
Remember when Gene Wood announced Love Connection? I thought he was under "exclusive" contract to G-T at the time.
And I'm surprised NOBODY mentioned Charlie Tuna on Scrabble!
Cordially,
Tammy
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[quote name=\'Winkfan\' post=\'214075\' date=\'Apr 25 2009, 08:27 PM\']
Monsieur Gilbert
[/quote]
Is that Gilbert or Gil-bear? =)
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[quote name=\'Winkfan\' post=\'214075\' date=\'Apr 25 2009, 08:27 PM\']
Monsieur Gilbert was doing likewise with $25/100k P and Supermarket Sweep around the same period; and I never heard anyone raise a big stink about it. Also, another Johnny (Jacobs) was moonlighting for Barry-Enright at about the same period he was toiling for Chuck Barris.
[/quote]
No stink to be made. Randy W. (as opposed to Randy X.) or someone else in the know can back this up, but seeing how announcers are way on the low end of the pay scale, cheers to those who were able to find a wad of other programs to submit their talents to.
[quote name=\'Winkfan\' post=\'214075\' date=\'Apr 25 2009, 08:27 PM\']
Remember when Gene Wood announced Love Connection? I thought he was under "exclusive" contract to G-T at the time.
[/quote]
The Gene Wood surprise for me was when I found out that Your Number's Up wasn't a G-T show. I thought he had a G-T exclusivity situation going on as well. Then, I realized that with daytime and nighttime Family Feud gone, he was down to just one show (Super Password) so of course he's gonna go for the dough wherever it's available to him. But, yes, the Love Connection assignment on top of daytime and nighttime Card Sharks plus Super Password was an eye-raiser {picture that}.
[quote name=\'Winkfan\' post=\'214075\' date=\'Apr 25 2009, 08:27 PM\']
And I'm surprised NOBODY mentioned Charlie Tuna on Scrabble!
[/quote]
We were saving it for you.
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[quote name=\'Winkfan\' post=\'214075\' date=\'Apr 25 2009, 08:27 PM\']
[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' post=\'214067\' date=\'Apr 25 2009, 04:50 PM\']Did anyone else ever worry that the J! folks would find out Johnny was moonlighting over at "The Quiz Kids Challenge"?[/quote]
Well, Monsieur Gilbert was doing likewise with $25/100k P and Supermarket Sweep around the same period; and I never heard anyone raise a big stink about it. Also, another Johnny (Jacobs) was moonlighting for Barry-Enright at about the same period he was toiling for Chuck Barris.
Remember when Gene Wood announced Love Connection? I thought he was under "exclusive" contract to G-T at the time.
And I'm surprised NOBODY mentioned Charlie Tuna on Scrabble!
Cordially,
Tammy
[/quote]
I guess what I was thinking is that when it came out QKC was designed to knock off Jeopardy but it just turned out to be a Jeopardy knockoff. :)
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[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' post=\'214097\' date=\'Apr 26 2009, 10:08 AM\']
I guess what I was thinking is that when it came out QKC was designed to knock off Jeopardy but it just turned out to be a Jeopardy knockoff. :)
[/quote]
Mervin & Company possibly got a look at the pilot to that, laughed it off and saw it for the no-threat that it was. If Johnny had accepted the announcer's job on The Challengers, though, that could have set off some trouble.
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[quote name=\'JasonA1\' post=\'214041\' date=\'Apr 25 2009, 01:38 PM\']
It's funny - Jack Clark's delivery on Wheel seemed to match the host at the time. With Chuck, he was more bombastic. Once Pat took over, he got more low key like Pat was.
-Jason
[/quote]
It was Jacks low-key style on 'Wheel' that made him my favorite GS announcer to this day.
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And who could forget announcer/sidekick George Fenneman on "You Bet Your Life" with the one, the only....GROUCHO!!!!!!!!! τΏτ
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I feel bad for Gene in that PiR intro - he was kind of robotic when saying "you are the first four contestants..."
I would love for Johnny Gilbert to do a PiR open. Sadly, it will likely never happen.
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[quote name=\'Chief-O\' post=\'214017\' date=\'Apr 25 2009, 08:46 AM\']
Yes----why did I not mention him??? I thought he actually did better on "Sale" than Jay Stewart did.
[/quote]
I have a tape of Jay's last week of "$ale" (including the "up for grabs" intro) and the clip of Morrow's intro would distinguish two very distinct styles. Jay was better suited during the shopping era, as Morrow handled the last two years of the series.
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[quote name=\'Don Howard\' post=\'214096\' date=\'Apr 26 2009, 08:59 AM\']
The Gene Wood surprise for me was when I found out that Your Number's Up wasn't a G-T show. I thought he had a G-T exclusivity situation going on as well. [/quote]
He also did the announcing duties on Bruce Forsyth's Hot Streak & Win Lose or Draw - neither of which were GT packaged shows.
[quote name=\'Don Howard\' post=\'214096\' date=\'Apr 26 2009, 08:59 AM\']
Then, I realized that with daytime and nighttime Family Feud gone, he was down to just one show (Super Password) so of course he's gonna go for the dough wherever it's available to him
[/quote]
Not strictly true. After the nighttime version of Feud finished in the fall of 85, as well as his duties on Super Password Gene also annouced the nighttime version of TPIR hosted by Tom Kennedy as well as Body Language, another TK emceed show (filling in for the late Johnny Olson).
By 1988, at the height of his fame he was announcing concurrent runs on and off of no fewer than 6 different shows - Super Password (NBC Daytime), Card Sharks (CBS Daytime), Family Feud (CBS Daytime), Classic Concentration (NBC Daytime), Love Connection (Syndicated) & Win Lose or Draw (syndicated), making him at that time probably *the* busiest and hardest working announcer in the industry!
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Gene was basically a freelance announcer who worked mostly for G-T. When Johnny O died, Gene for all intents and purposes became the voice of Mark Goodson Productions. Right up until FF went off with Dawson in '95, Gene was quite busy. He basically did WLoD because of his friendship with Bert Convy, but hey, it helped to pay his bills.
As for game shows that fit the announcer, here's my Top 5
Johnny Olson - TPIR
Gene Wood - FF
Jay Stewart - LMAD
Rod Roddy - PYL
Don Pardo - Jeopardy
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[quote name=\'wdm1219inpenna\' post=\'214074\' date=\'Apr 25 2009, 08:21 PM\']
Rich Jeffries, who I did not see mentioned, was like nails on a blackboard to me. I disliked him during the first few weeks on Super Password, and on Rafferty's Blockbusters too. His voice was just too nasally or shrill somehow. He sounds like a very nice guy, but as announcers go, just not up to snuff.
[/quote]
I agree with the discussion thus far but wanted to second this opinion in particular. I didn't mind Rich Jeffries on Blockbusters because I think his voice was more "in key" with the BB theme song than SP. On SP, he was absolutely dreadful those first couple weeks.
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[quote name=\'LetsGoMets2003\' post=\'214105\' date=\'Apr 26 2009, 11:13 AM\']
I feel bad for Gene in that PiR intro - he was kind of robotic when saying "you are the first four contestants..."
[/quote]
The result of following up Johnny O, who was nearly as identified with Price as Barker at that point.
If you look through the G-T roster of shows in the 1970s, I would think they were assigned based on their different strengths. Johnny was probably better at at shows that needed a livelier audience, Gene was better at doing the rapid fee plugs at the tail end of shows. I suspect, as the decade went along, Johnny had all the work he wanted (this was a 70-year-old man still working at Price; Gene was semi-retired by that age).
This is (I think) a roster of the shows shot in California from 1971 until Johnny died:
Password -- John Harlan, Johnny was still based in NYC
Price -- Johnny
I've Got a Secret -- Johnny
Match Game -- Johnny
Tattletales -- Jack Clark, then Gene -- maybe G-T didn't want Jack doing their show and Dealer's Choice simultaneously, and Gene took over after Beat the Clock expired
Now You See It -- Johnny
Showoffs -- Gene
Family Feud -- Gene
Double Dare -- Johnny, then Gene
The Better Sex -- Gene
Card Sharks -- Gene
Password Plus -- Gene
Mindreaders -- Johnny (maybe because it was a comedy game?)
Blockbusters -- Bob Hilton (by this time, Gene was doing 20 shows a week)
Tattletales '82 -- Johnny (anybody know why?)
Child's Play -- Gene
Match Game/Hollywood Squares Hour -- Gene
Body Language -- Johnny
Super Password -- Rich Jeffries, then Gene
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Johnny O also handled Narz Concentration, which I think was taped at KTTV, so he was doing Price, Match and NYSI in 1974-75 simultaneously.
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[quote name=\'calliaume\' post=\'214199\' date=\'Apr 27 2009, 04:20 PM\']
The result of following up Johnny O, who was nearly as identified with Price as Barker at that point.
If you look through the G-T roster of shows in the 1970s, I would think they were assigned based on their different strengths. Johnny was probably better at at shows that needed a livelier audience, Gene was better at doing the rapid fee plugs at the tail end of shows. I suspect, as the decade went along, Johnny had all the work he wanted (this was a 70-year-old man still working at Price; Gene was semi-retired by that age)... [/quote]
Much of this is answered in the definitive Johnny O bio which is at the publisher for what is promised to be a summer release. In brief, Goodson realized that the streamlined TPiR format being prepped for 1972 was so copy intensive that it needed Johnny who was already planning his retirement. He was reticent to relocate to LA, but did so with his wife's blessing, under the assumption that it would, like most shows, probably not run more than a few years. Once in LA he started with IGAS while Price was still in pre-production. The subsequent "assignments" were more about availability and taping schedules than any other single factor.
Randy
tvrandywest.com
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[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' post=\'214222\' date=\'Apr 27 2009, 08:38 PM\']
Johnny O also handled Narz Concentration, which I think was taped at KTTV, so he was doing Price, Match and NYSI in 1974-75 simultaneously.
[/quote]
With Concentration, Johnny O was doing four shows between April 1974 and June 1975. This was BEFORE Price became a 60-minute show. I saw Johnny O at TPIR, MG and Concentration in 1975. I had no idea he was that old, but he definitely didn't act his age mentally. He was a bundle of energy. I guess in 1977 Double Dare was a bit much for him with three other shows, the 60-minute Price being one of them.
Concentration did indeed tape at KTTV. I even whispered the answer of one of the puzzles to Johnny. "Complaint department." He was impressed. I was 16 at the time.
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[quote name=\'tvrandywest\' post=\'214249\' date=\'Apr 27 2009, 08:20 PM\']
[quote name=\'calliaume\' post=\'214199\' date=\'Apr 27 2009, 04:20 PM\']
The result of following up Johnny O, who was nearly as identified with Price as Barker at that point.
If you look through the G-T roster of shows in the 1970s, I would think they were assigned based on their different strengths. Johnny was probably better at at shows that needed a livelier audience, Gene was better at doing the rapid fee plugs at the tail end of shows. I suspect, as the decade went along, Johnny had all the work he wanted (this was a 70-year-old man still working at Price; Gene was semi-retired by that age)... [/quote]
Much of this is answered in the definitive Johnny O bio which is at the publisher for what is promised to be a summer release. In brief, Goodson realized that the streamlined TPiR format being prepped for 1972 was so copy intensive that it needed Johnny who was already planning his retirement. He was reticent to relocate to LA, but did so with his wife's blessing, under the assumption that it would, like most shows, probably not run more than a few years. Once in LA he started with IGAS while Price was still in pre-production. The subsequent "assignments" were more about availability and taping schedules than any other single factor.
Randy
tvrandywest.com
[/quote]
Now I'm really intrigued! While I was only 14 when he passed away, I've always enjoyed Johnny's announcing immensely. Is this bio going to be solely on Johnny's life and career? With all due respect, I find it difficult to imagine that there would be much of a demand for a tome such as this. That being said, I will buy it as soon as I'm able to.
Chris
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[quote name=\'gaubster2\' post=\'214279\' date=\'Apr 28 2009, 08:49 AM\']
Now I'm really intrigued! While I was only 14 when he passed away, I've always enjoyed Johnny's announcing immensely. Is this bio going to be solely on Johnny's life and career? With all due respect, I find it difficult to imagine that there would be much of a demand for a tome such as this. That being said, I will buy it as soon as I'm able to.
[/quote]
It all started as an article for Emmy magazine, as a labor of love to the guy who inspired my life's work and started me in the business. But because of Johnny's extensive personal writings and the goodwill of the dozens of his co-workers and his surviving relatives who really encouraged me and provided pieces of the puzzle, it became a history of broadcasting as Johnny lived it.
Johnny's career paralleled the development of broadcasting - he was there at the birth of network radio, working for NBC's Red and Blue Networks, CBS and the infant ABC. He hosted a very early experimental television show in 1944, emceed one of the first daily simulcast (radio and TV) programs, was the star of America's very first daytime network entertainment show. He sang on network radio and hosted a dozen early TV shows, working for all four TV nets, before he was there for the birth of Goodson-Todman's empire, the blacklist, and the game show scandals. And before you enjoyed his TV announcing Johnny toured the country as a big band singer, and even starred in a feature film and appeared on Broadway!
Working from his oral and written memoirs we go behind-the-scenes of all of it, as he experienced it. And from personal interviews with Mark Goodson, Gene Rayburn, Bob Barker, Roger Dobkowitz, Barbara Hunter, etc., and the crews at TV City, as well as his old scripts and personal photos it's a total history of broadcasting as he lived it... even some of the scandals that involved his friends and co-workers - including Garry Moore's battle with a CBS exec and IGAS' Allen Sherman's tragic decent into alcoholism.
And for those who want to know more about the birth of TPiR, the funny moments on the set, and want to see some of the scripts for the funny showcases that Johnny appeared in, with his personal markings and notes (with Fremantle's permission), there's all that cool stuff, too.
You're right - it will never be a mass- appeal best-seller and it won't make me rich. But that isn't the motivation ;-)
Randy
tvrandywest.com
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[quote name=\'tvrandywest\' post=\'214286\' date=\'Apr 28 2009, 01:22 PM\']
And for those who want to know more about the birth of TPiR, the funny moments on the set, and want to see some of the scripts for the funny showcases that Johnny appeared in, with his personal markings and notes (with Fremantle's permission), there's all that cool stuff, too.
You're right - it will never be a mass- appeal best-seller and it won't make me rich. But that isn't the motivation ;-)
Randy
tvrandywest.com
[/quote]
Count me as another person who will buy this book. I'll buy and read this over Barker's book anyday. Do we have a release date for it? I'm looking forward to this and Chris Mann's book about TPIR.
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[quote name=\'BillCullen1\' post=\'214276\' date=\'Apr 28 2009, 10:13 AM\']I guess in 1977 Double Dare was a bit much for him with three other shows, the 60-minute Price being one of them.[/quote]What exactly does this mean?
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[quote name=\'Modor\' post=\'214308\' date=\'Apr 28 2009, 05:54 PM\']
[quote name=\'BillCullen1\' post=\'214276\' date=\'Apr 28 2009, 10:13 AM\']I guess in 1977 Double Dare was a bit much for him with three other shows, the 60-minute Price being one of them.[/quote]What exactly does this mean?
[/quote]
Johnny O was doing TPIR, MG and Concentration along with Trebek's DD in 1977. Even though it was done in Studio 33 like TPIR and MG, it was probably a bit much and maybe Johnny wanted to lighten his work load. That might be why Gene Wood became the announcer for DD.
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[quote name=\'BillCullen1\' post=\'214310\' date=\'Apr 28 2009, 05:06 PM\']it was probably a bit much and maybe Johnny wanted to lighten his work load. [/quote]Oh, OK. I thought you meant something more serious happened.
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[quote name=\'BillCullen1\' post=\'214288\' date=\'Apr 28 2009, 12:41 PM\']
[quote name=\'tvrandywest\' post=\'214286\' date=\'Apr 28 2009, 01:22 PM\']
And for those who want to know more about the birth of TPiR, the funny moments on the set, and want to see some of the scripts for the funny showcases that Johnny appeared in, with his personal markings and notes (with Fremantle's permission), there's all that cool stuff, too.
You're right - it will never be a mass- appeal best-seller and it won't make me rich. But that isn't the motivation ;-)
Randy
tvrandywest.com
[/quote]
Count me as another person who will buy this book. [/quote]
I would, too. It'd be nice to have a book signing as well.
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[quote name=\'tvrandywest\' post=\'214286\' date=\'Apr 28 2009, 10:22 AM\']
[quote name=\'gaubster2\' post=\'214279\' date=\'Apr 28 2009, 08:49 AM\']
Now I'm really intrigued! While I was only 14 when he passed away, I've always enjoyed Johnny's announcing immensely. Is this bio going to be solely on Johnny's life and career? With all due respect, I find it difficult to imagine that there would be much of a demand for a tome such as this. That being said, I will buy it as soon as I'm able to.
[/quote]
It all started as an article for Emmy magazine, as a labor of love to the guy who inspired my life's work and started me in the business. But because of Johnny's extensive personal writings and the goodwill of the dozens of his co-workers and his surviving relatives who really encouraged me and provided pieces of the puzzle, it became a history of broadcasting as Johnny lived it.
You're right - it will never be a mass- appeal best-seller and it won't make me rich. But that isn't the motivation ;-)
Randy
tvrandywest.com
[/quote]
Randy, I WILL buy this book as soon it is available. I'm assuming that you played a very major role in collating together the information for the book and for that, I thank you. Your website is a very nice tribute to the man (who by all accounts was a terrific human being). I'm sure Johnny would have been honored to have you carry on his legacy. Once you can, please let us know when the book will become available and if we can place pre-orders. Again, thank you, for providing us an opportunity to get to know more about Johnny, the history of television and radio, and more anecdotes about TPIR.
Chris
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EoTVGS stated that Johnny Gilbert did serve as interim announcer on TPIR after Johnny O died. Is this true or not? If it's not. Then he would have been a good fit after Johnny O.
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[quote name=\'Jamey Greek\' post=\'214389\' date=\'Apr 29 2009, 06:05 PM\']
EoTVGS stated that Johnny Gilbert did serve as interim announcer on TPIR after Johnny O died. Is this true or not? If it's not. Then he would have been a good fit after Johnny O.
[/quote]
I remember talking to Gene Wood back in '87, and since Johnny's passing came so sudden, Gene said G-T had to keep the show going on schedule, so initially (and I forgot who subbed first), they got whoever they could to fill in at the last minute, like with most other game shows at the time (and since there were a still a lot of game shows, they were still in the era where there were more needs than announcers).
Shortly thereafter, they started to officially "audition" those who came in to sub, including Gene Wood, Rod Roddy, Rich Jeffries, and Johnny Gilbert (But I think Johnny subbed just to "fill-in" and before they were actively auditioning).
Since Johnny O's passing was so long ago, I'm trying to remember which audition period lasted longer -- Johnny O's or Rod Roddy's. I want to say that the post-Roddy auditions were more pronounced (vote for your fave at CBS.com), but I still think the post-Olsen auditions went longer.
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[quote name=\'TimK2003\' post=\'214406\' date=\'Apr 29 2009, 08:45 PM\']I remember talking to Gene Wood back in '87, and since Johnny's passing came so sudden, Gene said G-T had to keep the show going on schedule, so initially (and I forgot who subbed first), they got whoever they could to fill in at the last minute, like with most other game shows at the time (and since there were a still a lot of game shows, they were still in the era where there were more needs than announcers).
[/quote]
Didn't Phil Hartman audition as well? I actually thought he wasn't a bad announcer, but that's just based off hearing him on the Pop & Rocker game.
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[quote name=\'BillCullen1\' post=\'214187\' date=\'Apr 27 2009, 02:46 PM\']
Gene was basically a freelance announcer who worked mostly for G-T. When Johnny O died, Gene for all intents and purposes became the voice of Mark Goodson Productions. Right up until FF went off with Dawson in '95, Gene was quite busy. .[/quote]
As well as Johnny and Gene, Bob Hilton was another who I personally rate as one of the really good announcers of the last golden era of game shows who was also a prolific announcer on GT packaged shows including The Price Is Right, Super Password, Password Plus, Card Sharks, Body Language, Childs Play, Trivia Trap and, of course, BLOCKBUSTERS. He also lent his vocals to an equal number of non GT shows.
[quote name=\'BillCullen1\' post=\'214187\' date=\'Apr 27 2009, 02:46 PM\']
He basically did WLoD because of his friendship with Bert Convy, but hey, it helped to pay his bills.[/quote]
I remember Gene saying that when he decided to take up the announcing duties on this show, he had to relinquish Love Connection and that Eric Lieber was not happy about it at the time.
[quote name=\'Jamey Greek\' post=\'214389\' date=\'Apr 29 2009, 05:05 PM\']
EoTVGS stated that Johnny Gilbert did serve as interim announcer on TPIR after Johnny O died. Is this true or not? If it's not. Then he would have been a good fit after Johnny O.
[/quote]
I've checked in Steve Ryan and co's definitive encylopedia of TV Game Shows and according to this 'bible' not only did Johnny Gilbert fill in at the annoucer's podium following the death of Johnny O but so did Charlie O'Donnell on occasion. Does anyone recall Charile O doing the show or have footage of it?
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[quote name=\'Gameshowcrackers\' post=\'214703\' date=\'May 2 2009, 07:41 AM\']I've checked in Steve Ryan and co's definitive encylopedia of TV Game Shows and according to this 'bible' not only did Johnny Gilbert fill in at the annoucer's podium following the death of Johnny O but so did Charlie O'Donnell on occasion. Does anyone recall Charile O doing the show or have footage of it?
[/quote]
I thought it was confirmed ages ago that Gilbert, O'Donnell and Hartman only ever held off-air auditions.
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[quote name=\'Gameshowcrackers\' post=\'214703\' date=\'May 2 2009, 06:41 AM\']
I remember Gene saying that when he decided to take up the announcing duties on this show, he had to relinquish Love Connection and that Eric Lieber was not happy about it at the time.[/quote]Reading various online accounts, I seem to recall that Eric Lieber wasn't very happy, period.
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[quote name=\'Twentington\' post=\'214461\' date=\'Apr 30 2009, 11:42 AM\']
Didn't Phil Hartman audition as well? I actually thought he wasn't a bad announcer, but that's just based off hearing him on the Pop & Rocker game.
[/quote]
He was pretty good, I thought. He was loud, but not in a bad way - really got your attention at the top of a show.
I have to admit though that I can't picture (hear?) Johnny Gilbert announcing Price. It just doesn't work in my mind.
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[quote name=\'TroubadourNando\' post=\'214753\' date=\'May 2 2009, 09:36 PM\']
I have to admit though that I can't picture (hear?) Johnny Gilbert announcing Price. It just doesn't work in my mind.
[/quote]
I can.
THIS ISSSS JEOPARDY THE PRICE ISSSS RIGHHHT!
LOL
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[quote name=\'Gameshowcrackers\' post=\'215037\' date=\'May 6 2009, 11:03 AM\'][quote name=\'TroubadourNando\' post=\'214753\' date=\'May 2 2009, 09:36 PM\']
I have to admit though that I can't picture (hear?) Johnny Gilbert announcing Price. It just doesn't work in my mind.[/quote]
I can.
THIS ISSSS JEOPARDY THE PRICE ISSSS RIGHHHT!
LOL
[/quote]
[JG] "Now entering Contestant's Row are these 4 people...A College Student, from Sacramento, California, Mary Smith....A College Student from Kent, Ohio, James Thomas...A Librarian...and College Student from College Station, Texas, Shawna Martin...And a returning contestant wannabe, whose cash spending on 5 trips to see The Price Is Right totals $6752, a College Student, from Princeton, New Jersey, George Johnson....[/JG]
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[quote name=\'TimK2003\' post=\'215110\' date=\'May 6 2009, 07:03 PM\'][JG] "Now entering Contestant's Row are these 4 people...A College Student, from Sacramento, California, Mary Smith....A College Student from Kent, Ohio, James Thomas...A Librarian...and College Student from College Station, Texas, Shawna Martin...And a returning contestant wannabe, whose cash spending on 5 trips to see The Price Is Right totals $6752, a College Student, from Princeton, New Jersey, George Johnson....[/JG][/quote]
Actually, Johnny working TPiR isn't such a stretch when you consider he worked SUPERMARKET SWEEP for awhile. (And worked Cullen's TPiR when it moved to ABC because Don Pardo was exclusive to NBC.)
/OK, you're on.
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[quote name=\'Gameshowcrackers\' post=\'214181\' date=\'Apr 27 2009, 10:59 AM\'][quote name=\'Don Howard\' post=\'214096\' date=\'Apr 26 2009, 08:59 AM\']
Then, I realized that with daytime and nighttime Family Feud gone, he {Gene Wood} was down to just one show (Super Password) so of course he's gonna go for the dough {hosting Your Number's Up outside the G-T family} wherever it's available to him.[/quote]
Not strictly true. After the nighttime version of Feud finished in the fall of 85, as well as his duties on Super Password Gene also annouced the nighttime version of TPIR hosted by Tom Kennedy as well as Body Language, another TK emceed show (filling in for the late Johnny Olson).
[/quote]
It is indeed strictly true. When the two FFs went off the air, Johnny O. wasn't dead yet, so Gene had no way of knowing he'd get nighttime TPiR and BL added to his plate. And you don't fill in for someone who's passed away. You replace them....either temporarily or permanently.