The Game Show Forum
The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: byrd62 on July 25, 2007, 04:23:26 PM
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Some age numbers for you:
Pat Sajak was 35 when he took over daytime Wheel of Fortune in the infamous "Woolery left Wheel" saga of Christmas 1981, and was not quite 37 when the Wheel went nighttime a couple of years later. He's now 60.
Vanna White was 25 when she took Susan Stafford's place next to the puzzle board in Nov. 1982. She is now 50.
Alex Trebek was 44 when he began his run as host of Jeopardy. He's now 67.
As for each show's announcers, Wheel's Charlie O. will be 75 soon, while Jeopardy!'s Johnny Gilbert is 73, so if those two are still around at their ages, maybe Pat, Vanna and Alex are each good for another decade.
But if there's pressure, be it from advertisers or stations, to retire Pat, Vanna and/or Alex, who would be their replacements?
Pat Kiernan would make a great Jeopardy! host, and maybe also Todd Newton on Wheel now that he was passed up for Drew Carey on TPiR, but both are in, or close to, their late 30's, so would they be too old already if either were to be offered that chance?
And what about Roger Lodge from GSN's Camouflage, who's probably about as old as Todd or P.K., or maybe Jeff Probst of Survivor and R&R J!, never mind that he's not yet 45? Ryan Seacrest of American Idol, given his game show hosting experience pre-Idol, could be an outside shot at age 32, or if that Temptation guy, Rossi Moreale, can prove himself, he might be given either of those.
Oh, and as for that Vanna slot on Wheel? I can't quite take a guess, but if she's not L. Lohan, B. Spears, P. Hilton or N. Richie, I would be happy with that.
Given that Wheel and J! are both well-established with long-term syndication deals into the next decade, I wouldn't see any changes being made--barring the unexpected. But I thought I'd bring up the "what if" on that.
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[quote name=\'byrd62\' post=\'158599\' date=\'Jul 25 2007, 04:23 PM\']
Jeopardy!'s Johnny Gilbert is 73[/quote]
I believe Johnny G. is 83.
To answer your question about a replacement, perhaps Charlie O. could do both WOF and J!.
Or maybe whoever announces on Let's Do Crosswords could announce for Jeopardy!
Might John Harlan be interested in a return to the Jeopardy! announcer's microphone?
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[quote name=\'Don Howard\' post=\'158619\' date=\'Jul 25 2007, 05:26 PM\']
Might John Harlan be interested in a return to the Jeopardy! announcer's microphone? [/quote]
I certainly hope not. A voice like his wouldn't work for Jeopardy!. But maybe Gary Kroeger...
/Then again, Harlan's voice didn't really work for American Gladiators, either...
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Is this what's going to happen now that the 10 year long game show internet community debate on who will replace Bob Barker is over?
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[quote name=\'nWo_Whammy\' post=\'158621\' date=\'Jul 25 2007, 06:42 PM\']
Is this what's going to happen now that the 10 year long game show internet community debate on who will replace Bob Barker is over?
[/quote]
Now that I think of it, who's waiting in the wings to replace Drew Carey a couple or three decades from now?
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[quote name=\'WhammyPower\' post=\'158620\' date=\'Jul 25 2007, 06:35 PM\']
[quote name=\'Don Howard\' post=\'158619\' date=\'Jul 25 2007, 05:26 PM\']
Might John Harlan be interested in a return to the Jeopardy! announcer's microphone? [/quote]
I certainly hope not. A voice like his wouldn't work for Jeopardy!.[/quote]
It worked for 6 months in 1978 and 1979.
83 sounds like a more accurate age for Gilbert. He hosted Music Bingo half a century ago. I doubt he was 23 back then...
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[quote name=\'WhammyPower\' post=\'158620\' date=\'Jul 25 2007, 03:35 PM\']
I certainly hope not. A voice like his wouldn't work for Jeopardy!.
[/quote]
Erm, it worked fine once.
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Probably me on Wheel of Fortune. But to many of you, that's a longshot.
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I wonder if anybody ever suggested Drew Carey back in the day on Usenet when the Price question came up?
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[quote name=\'bandit_bobby\' post=\'158632\' date=\'Jul 25 2007, 04:24 PM\']
Probably me on Wheel of Fortune. But to many of you, that's a longshot.
[/quote]
Well, hell. If we're gonna be that way about it, I'd sure give it a whirl...
/Replacing Pat or Alex, not Vanna.
//Wow.
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I think Marc Summers should replace Alex. Having hosted History IQ, I think he can handle something like J! i can picture Marc hosting J! Whilst, I can see Todd Newton host WOF. As for announcers, I think John Cramer, Randy West, or Jim Thornton can replace Johnny on J! whereas John Cramer or Randy West can replace Charlie O on Wheel. Hey, Charlie O' announced both TTD and TJW simultaneously and so did Jay Stewart. Maybe John Cramer can announce both J! and WOF and so could Randy West.
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[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' post=\'158633\' date=\'Jul 25 2007, 07:32 PM\']
I wonder if anybody ever suggested Drew Carey back in the day on Usenet when the Price question came up?
[/quote]
Not likely because in the heyday of usenet (The early-mid 1990's) Carey was just emerging out of standup comedy to begin his television career..He was just becoming a known quantity then..
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Todd Newton would be perfect for Wheel of Fortune. He'd yell just as loudly as the contestants.
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[quote name=\'bandit_bobby\' post=\'158632\' date=\'Jul 25 2007, 04:24 PM\']Probably me on Wheel of Fortune. But to many of you, that's a longshot.[/quote]The only host in history who would manage to forget the names of the contestants during the show.
Or the only one who would throw a hissy if the $100,000 was picked and not won.
To echo the earlier sentiment: Really, now. We just finished up one host choice. Why bother with a hypotheticall that might be a decade or more in the future.
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[quote name=\'TLEberle\' post=\'158657\' date=\'Jul 25 2007, 11:34 PM\'][quote name=\'bandit_bobby\' post=\'158632\' date=\'Jul 25 2007, 04:24 PM\']Probably me on Wheel of Fortune. But to many of you, that's a longshot.[/quote]The only host in history who would manage to forget the names of the contestants during the show.
[/quote]
You don't think the contestant coordinators could make sure that every show had at least one Elizabeth or Deborah?
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[quote name=\'Don Howard\' post=\'158619\' date=\'Jul 25 2007, 06:26 PM\']
Or maybe whoever announces on Let's Do Crosswords could announce for Jeopardy!
[/quote]
Assuming, of course, "Merv Griffin's Crosswords" even HAS an announcer. Remember: most shows don't have announcers any more, as there's no need (as useless as a main title song on a sitcom anymore). The production company just hires a comic to do warmup and that's that. Those that still do are thought to be legacies.
Charlie O'Donnell and Johnny Gilbert are the last two throwbacks to the golden era.
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[quote name=\'davemackey\' post=\'158680\' date=\'Jul 26 2007, 07:38 AM\']
Charlie O'Donnell and Johnny Gilbert are the last two throwbacks to the golden era.
[/quote]
I'll counter Don Pardo, even though he's not doing a game show currently (although on what he does do a game-show spoof is done every once in a while).
I was one of those mesmerized by him in the hotel lobby.
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[quote name=\'davemackey\' post=\'158680\' date=\'Jul 26 2007, 05:38 AM\']
[quote name=\'Don Howard\' post=\'158619\' date=\'Jul 25 2007, 06:26 PM\']
Or maybe whoever announces on Let's Do Crosswords could announce for Jeopardy!
[/quote]
Assuming, of course, "Merv Griffin's Crosswords" even HAS an announcer....
[/quote]
The show is planning to have an announcer, but the style will be very different from Charlie O / Johnny Gilbert.
Randy
tvrandywest.com
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I know it's not that big of a deal, but I prefer a show where the host is introduced by an announcer. "I'm Roger Lodge" just doesn't cut it.
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[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' post=\'158687\' date=\'Jul 26 2007, 08:21 AM\']
I know it's not that big of a deal, but I prefer a show where the host is introduced by an announcer. "I'm Roger Lodge" just doesn't cut it.
[/quote]
It reeks of cheaping out to me. Especially because all they need to do is toss someone a few bucks, have them record it once, and they can fire it on a cart or something. I realize this wouldn't be Randy's (or my) preferred solution, but at least it's doesn't scream "WE'RE CHEAP".
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[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'158689\' date=\'Jul 26 2007, 10:47 AM\']
[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' post=\'158687\' date=\'Jul 26 2007, 08:21 AM\']
I know it's not that big of a deal, but I prefer a show where the host is introduced by an announcer. "I'm Roger Lodge" just doesn't cut it.
[/quote]
It reeks of cheaping out to me. Especially because all they need to do is toss someone a few bucks, have them record it once, and they can fire it on a cart or something. I realize this wouldn't be Randy's (or my) preferred solution, but at least it's doesn't scream "WE'RE CHEAP".
[/quote]
Which is exactly what they did on the first U.S.-produced season of "Lingo" with Randy Thomas.
Or, if you follow the Fox/Mike Darnell template, you can have Mark Thompson spoil the whole damn show in the bumpers and make the sort of smarmy accusations about the contestant's marriage that could set Fox up for a lawsuit (and I'm talking about that bumper on "Lyrics!" last night).
Since I've only seen bits and pieces, does Australian "Temptation" have an announcer or does Livinia do all of the prize copy?
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[quote name=\'uncamark\' post=\'158690\' date=\'Jul 26 2007, 08:53 AM\']
Since I've only seen bits and pieces, does Australian "Temptation" have an announcer or does Livinia do all of the prize copy?
[/quote]
Livinia does the prize copy for everything, yeah. And there's no introduction per se...the show starts with them walking through the revolving doors and doing a quick intro about the previous night's show, ending with Ed saying "Welcome to Temptation!" Cue title sequence, and the wipe back to the studio ends with Ed and Livinia taking the last couple steps towards Ed's podium.
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For Alex: Pat Keirnan.
For Pat: Hmm...Jeff Probst?
Probably me on Wheel of Fortune. But to many of you, that's a longshot.
No.
For Vanna: A big, electronic gameboard. Oh wait....
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For Alex: I'm still pegging Probst, and have been for awhile.
For Pat: I can somehow see Seacrest in the gig. I mean it was Merv that brought him his first game show, and he's now a bankable, proven host talent.
For Vanna: Sorry, I have to go with the puzzleboard by itself.
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I'll join the chorus for not replacing Vanna if she leaves the puzzleboard, but I'd like to see her take over the hosting duties when Pat leaves, assuming she's still there and wants the job. She's as much a part of the show as Pat is, and probably knows the timing and rules better than anyone new would be able to learn them. When they're both gone, maybe it's time to consider hanging it up. Or I hear that Rolf Benirschke's available.
For Alex, Probst would be good, and I could also kind of see John O'Hurley taking over. When he did the Celebrity Spelling Bee, I described him as being able to "out-Trebek Trebek," but I could also see that as a negative.
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[quote name=\'Unrealtor\' post=\'158826\' date=\'Jul 27 2007, 12:45 PM\']
I'll join the chorus for not replacing Vanna if she leaves the puzzleboard, but I'd like to see her take over the hosting duties when Pat leaves, assuming she's still there and wants the job. She's as much a part of the show as Pat is, and probably knows the timing and rules better than anyone new would be able to learn them. When they're both gone, maybe it's time to consider hanging it up. Or I hear that Rolf Benirschke's available.
[/quote]
And yet everytime they have her speak (either as contestant or fill in-host), she comes off as a stiff, cuecard reading idiot.
As a guy who's interviewed her twice, trust me when I say, she isn't up to hosting. Period.
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[quote name=\'tvwxman\' post=\'158827\' date=\'Jul 27 2007, 12:49 PM\']
[quote name=\'Unrealtor\' post=\'158826\' date=\'Jul 27 2007, 12:45 PM\']
I'll join the chorus for not replacing Vanna if she leaves the puzzleboard, but I'd like to see her take over the hosting duties when Pat leaves, assuming she's still there and wants the job. She's as much a part of the show as Pat is, and probably knows the timing and rules better than anyone new would be able to learn them. When they're both gone, maybe it's time to consider hanging it up. Or I hear that Rolf Benirschke's available.
[/quote]
And yet everytime they have her speak (either as contestant or fill in-host), she comes off as a stiff, cuecard reading idiot.
[/quote]
Susan Stafford could pull it off. When she and Chuck were on WOF, all of their chatting sounded natural. Pat and Vanna seem like they're still on their first date.
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For Alex: I'm still pegging Probst, and have been for awhile.
I'd be OK with that. He's proven he can handle that type of format.
/Why was Rock N Roll Jeopardy ever cancelled anyway?
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[quote name=\'sshuffield70\' post=\'158782\' date=\'Jul 26 2007, 09:26 PM\']
For Vanna: Sorry, I have to go with the puzzleboard by itself.
[/quote]
Sorry, but they're never going to go without the eye candy. Maybe they'd give a model more to do--maybe the model reads prize copy and they don't replace Charlie O. when he retires. But they've got to have somebody in glittery dresses. And it's not like Vanna's replacement has to memorize 80 pricing games.
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Here's a name not thrown out yet who could replace Alex: Larry Cedar. I thought he did an excellent job doing those game show segments on Square One TV back in the day. Yeah, I know he's an actor, but then again Art Fleming was also an actor before he signed on to the original Jeopardy!, so maybe he could make the transition well. Heck, I even thought Larry could also do Merv Griffin's Crosswords (that is if Ty Treadway doesn't work out).
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[quote name=\'BMaurice06\' post=\'159357\' date=\'Aug 2 2007, 12:30 AM\']
Here's a name not thrown out yet who could replace Alex: Larry Cedar. I thought he did an excellent job doing those game show segments on Square One TV back in the day. Yeah, I know he's an actor, but then again Art Fleming was also an actor before he signed on to the original Jeopardy!, so maybe he could make the transition well. Heck, I even thought Larry could also do Merv Griffin's Crosswords (that is if Ty Treadway doesn't work out).
[/quote]
What......the.......hell.........????
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[quote name=\'BMaurice06\' post=\'159357\' date=\'Aug 2 2007, 12:30 AM\']
................ Heck, I even thought ...........................
[/quote]
No, you didn't. You really didn't.
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[quote name=\'BMaurice06\' post=\'159357\' date=\'Aug 2 2007, 12:30 AM\']
Here's a name not thrown out yet who could replace Alex: Larry Cedar. I thought he did an excellent job doing those game show segments on Square One TV back in the day.[/quote]
That was 20 years ago. (Good heavens, it's been over 20 years since Square One?!) If you want to unearth someone who hosted a real game show from 20 years ago, get Henry Polic II. Better yet, do a Google image search on Henry Polic II and see how well he's aged. Time has not been kind to HP2.
Name recognition and reasonably current game show work be damned.