The Game Show Forum
The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: WhammyPower on March 05, 2008, 03:32:35 PM
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Seeing TTTT today had me thinking: Who was on a game show as a contestant that later became famous? A few names come to mind:
- Fred Armisen, TTTT2k (as an imposter)
- Kirstie Alley, Match Game
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-Jenny Jones, MG and I believe PYL
-Vanna White, TPiR
-Kathy Najimy, Feud and 80s Pyramid
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[quote name=\'WhammyPower\' post=\'180120\' date=\'Mar 5 2008, 03:32 PM\']
- Fred Armisen, TTTT2k (as an imposter)[/quote]
I did not know that!
Pyramid contestants who later became more famous: Mel Harris, David Graf, Kathy Najimy, Robert Wuhl and Constance McCashin
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Also, O.J. Simpson,
To Tell the Truth Hollywood Squares. I believe he actually appeared as a contestant AND a panelist.
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Okay, I'll list the ones all the ravid posters here know:
- Vanna White, TPiR
- Kirstie Alley, P+
- Phyllis Diller, YBYL
- Senator John Glenn, NTT
- O. J. Simpson, The Hollywood Squares
- Dr. Joyce Brothers, The $64K Q
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[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'180125\' date=\'Mar 5 2008, 03:39 PM\']
Pyramid contestants who later became more famous: Mel Harris, David Graf, Kathy Najimy, Robert Wuhl and Constance McCashin
[/quote]
Add Richard Kline and actress Lynnie Greene, who I saw her in person on stage as a civilian contestant winning $10,000 with the help of Peggy Cass in 1976. Lynnie would be on the short-lived CBS sitcom On Our Own, then became a screenwriter.
Also John Moschitta Jr., that fast-talking one, was on the Cullen 25K Pyramid during its first season. Meg Bennett, soap actress and writer, was a former champion on Three On A Match in the early 1970's.
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Then there was Brianne Leary (later to join CHiPS) who was one of the first (if not the first) to be a contestant on MG7x and then be booked as a panelist.
And Paul Reubens on GONG, if you want to go a whole other route.
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Tons on The Dating Game:
John Ritter
Tom Selleck
Bob Saget
Paul Reubens
Phil Hartman
just to name a few off the top of my mind...
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Drifting slightly off-topic, but Marla Gibbs on The People's Court.
-M
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Dick Williams, baseball manager, on Hollywood Squares
Mark DeCarlo, host of Travel Channel's "Taste of America," on Sale of the Century.
(You could probably include a bunch on such shows as IGAS, TTTT, but that isn't really being a contestant...)
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[quote name=\'MyronMMeyer\' post=\'180134\' date=\'Mar 5 2008, 03:16 PM\']
Drifting slightly off-topic, but Marla Gibbs on The People's Court.
[/quote]
Wasn't she already established on The Jeffersons by then? IIRC, TPC debuted in 1980 or 1981.
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I can think of some future celebs who were TTTT imposters in the unknown phases of their careers.
Tom Landry (then as assistant Giants coach)-1959
Lauren Hutton-1965
Willam Sanderson ("Larry")-1972
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[quote name=\'DrBear\' post=\'180135\' date=\'Mar 5 2008, 03:19 PM\']
Mark DeCarlo, host of Travel Channel's "Taste of America,"
[/quote]
And Friggin' Studs. :)
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Also have to add future ABC News correspondent Judd Rose on the last episode of "Split Second".
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don't forget the 16 year old "aspiring actress" Heather Graham on Scrabble! (http://\"http://youtube.com/watch?v=5y-bhSm1rkk\")
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oh.. and dare I call this guy a "celebrity".. but Skyler Stone won $25k on Dog Eat Dog and then used that appearance to launch somewhat of a comedy career starting with his failed Comedy Central show "Con" followed by an apparent streak of hosting B-list comedian collaboration shows..
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[quote name=\'SRIV94\' post=\'180136\' date=\'Mar 5 2008, 03:20 PM\']
[quote name=\'MyronMMeyer\' post=\'180134\' date=\'Mar 5 2008, 03:16 PM\']
Drifting slightly off-topic, but Marla Gibbs on The People's Court.
[/quote]
Wasn't she already established on The Jeffersons by then? IIRC, TPC debuted in 1980 or 1981.
[/quote]
Yeah, hence the "off-topic" part. I just wanted to mention it. I thought it an unusual oddity.
As opposed to the "usual" ones.
-M
"The participants are not actors."
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[quote name=\'MyronMMeyer\' post=\'180144\' date=\'Mar 5 2008, 03:38 PM\']
Yeah, hence the "off-topic" part. I just wanted to mention it. I thought it an unusual oddity.
As opposed to the "usual" ones.
-M
"The participants are not actors."
[/quote]
Ah. I thought you meant "off-topic" in terms of it being a court show, not the fact that an already-famous person was on it as a litigant/contestant.
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[quote name=\'DrBear\' post=\'180135\' date=\'Mar 5 2008, 04:19 PM\']Mark DeCarlo, host of Travel Channel's "Taste of America," on Sale of the Century.[/quote]
And Tic Tac Dough in 1990.
Bob Geren, manager of the Oakland A's, was on the daytime Family Feud in 1988.
Candice Bergen was on You Bet Your Life when she was 12.
Football Hall of Famer Bruce Matthews and his brother, Cleveland Browns legend Clay, were on the syndicated Family Feud in 1984.
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I didn't see anyone mention former NFL head coach Brian Billick and his appearance on Match Game '77.
Also, this may be a stretch, but professional wrestling star Nick Bockwinkel was a contestant on Hollywood Squares in 1968.
And it may be even more of a stretch, but wasn't future Chain Reaction host Blake Emmons a contestant on The Joker's Wild in 1985?
(Woo, hey, my 200th post. Yippie and stuff.)
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Renee O'Connor (from Xena) was on The Price Is Right in 1991.
And wasn't Steve Martin on The Dating Game way back when?
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Two I can think of:
Dan Tullis Jr. played Officer Dan on Married With Children. Before that, he was on Family Feud in 1976 and Tic Tac Dough in 1985.
Police Academy's Michael Winslow appeared on The Gong Show in 1978, doing the sound effects routine he's known for.
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[quote name=\'lobster\' post=\'180142\' date=\'Mar 5 2008, 04:36 PM\']
oh.. and dare I call this guy a "celebrity".. but Skyler Stone won $25k on Dog Eat Dog and then used that appearance to launch somewhat of a comedy career starting with his failed Comedy Central show "Con" followed by an apparent streak of hosting B-list comedian collaboration shows..
[/quote]
He was also the winner on the premiere of Whammy!.
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Ally Sheedy was on To Tell the Truth... As the guest AND as a panelist, I believe!
And if you want to go for a stretch, Larry King on To Tell the Truth in 1980... I mean, while he didn't gain big time fame until a few more years, I'm pretty sure he was still a popular radio host at the time, so correct me if I'm wrong.
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Actress Rachel Quaintance (http://\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1451029/\") was a contestant on ABC Millionaire.
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Add Don Johnson and Arnold to The Dating Game.
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Steve Martin was indeed on The Dating Game in an era when he was a comedy writer and sometimes performer on Sonny and Cher and The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.
This is sort of bending the topic a little, but Chris Wylde was on Trading Spaces before getting the hosting spot on Taboo, and has since been seen in commercial spots for DiGournio Pizza and also was an American Idol reject, under a different name.
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[quote name=\'alfonzos\' post=\'180127\' date=\'Mar 5 2008, 04:45 PM\']
- Dr. Joyce Brothers, The $64K Q
[/quote]
Add:
Connie Hines from Mr. Ed (Carol Post) on Dotto.
&
Catherine Bell (JAG) as a civilian imposter on TTTT'90
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Actor Frank Pesce (http://\"http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0675887/\") on the 3rd episode of Jack Clark's Cross-Wits (eight minutes of which are on the trading circuit).
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[quote name=\'SRIV94\' post=\'180138\' date=\'Mar 5 2008, 03:21 PM\'] [quote name=\'DrBear\' post=\'180135\' date=\'Mar 5 2008, 03:19 PM\']
Mark DeCarlo, host of Travel Channel's "Taste of America,"
[/quote]
And Friggin' Studs. :) [/quote]
He was a nice guy when I met him, so I try not to hold that against him.
Oh, and add Swoosie Kurtz, who was a pre-teen when she showed up to identify her father on TTTT (he was a noted bomber pilot whose plane was named ... anyone? anyone? Bueller?)
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30 posts in and nobody's said Randy West?
There. I did.
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[quote name=\'TimK2003\' post=\'180183\' date=\'Mar 5 2008, 06:33 PM\']
Catherine Bell (JAG) as a civilian imposter on TTTT'90
[/quote]
...and MG90
Josh
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Cynthia Nixon, who looks about 8 years old, as an imposter on 70's TTTT. She was the daughter of a staffer (can't recall the name, sorry) and I think she may have fooled one or two on the panel.
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Caren Kaye of "Blansky's Beauties," "It's Your Move" and the movie "My Tutor," on "Pyramid" some time in the 70s.
Newsweek financial columnist Jane Bryant Quinn on "Three on a Match." (Her daughter's charter MTV VJ Martha Quinn.)
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McLean Stevenson was a contestant on the CBS daytime "Password" (long-lost, of course)... and from what he said, played the game so well that he only managed to take home a set of American Tourister luggage.
-Kevin
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just remembered..
my FOF "partner" who I screwed over }:D, I later found out, was Liana Loggins, niece of Kenny Loggins, who went on to star in the blockbuster D-grade hits "The Face of the Serpent" and "Lord of the Vampires"..has apparently appeared on covers of "over 150 romance novels, most of them with Fabio" and is a self-proclaimed "Supermodel"
/oh.. you said celebrity?
//Foe.
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Tom Durkin, NBC horse racing announcer, MGPM
Kellie Martin, Eubanks Card Sharks TW
Stacey Gualante, Inside Edition - last two MG91s
Lesser known celeb from Perry Card Sharks is Todd Whitthorne (10/79). He spent time as an anchor at WFAA in Dallas in the late 90s and early 2000s with Paula McClure who had been an MG90 panelist and "Home" correspondent. Anyway, last I heard, he was working for the guy who coined the term "aerobics" in Dallas, as a spokesman. Though Dr. Kenneth Cooper can also speak very well too.
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Another on Perry CS was Anne Marie Johnson (played Roger Thomas' wife in the revised What's Happening Now series, then went on to join the In Living Color cast).
I was a fan of the movie and TV series Fame as well, and the guy who played Dwight, the nerdish hall monitor (David Greenlee) was on P+ in 1979 (I think in the Lee Meriwether/Peter Marshall week).
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Naomi Judd appeared on Hollywood Squares
Dennis Haskins played Scrabble
Of course our own Randy West played several shows; Hit Man, Press Your Luck, Face The Music, All Star Blitz
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[quote name=\'chrispw1\' post=\'180278\' date=\'Mar 6 2008, 12:55 PM\']
Of course our own Randy West played several shows; Hit Man, Press Your Luck, Face The Music, All Star Blitz
[/quote]
..and how did Mr. West come out overall?
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[quote name=\'lobster\' post=\'180282\' date=\'Mar 6 2008, 01:04 PM\'] [quote name=\'chrispw1\' post=\'180278\' date=\'Mar 6 2008, 12:55 PM\']
Of course our own Randy West played several shows; Hit Man, Press Your Luck, Face The Music, All Star Blitz
[/quote]
..and how did Mr. West come out overall? [/quote]
He got hit, pressed, faced and blitzed (just kidding, Randy!)
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[quote name=\'lobster\' post=\'180282\' date=\'Mar 6 2008, 02:04 PM\']
[quote name=\'chrispw1\' post=\'180278\' date=\'Mar 6 2008, 12:55 PM\']
Of course our own Randy West played several shows; Hit Man, Press Your Luck, Face The Music, All Star Blitz
[/quote]
..and how did Mr. West come out overall?
[/quote]
Off the top of my head, he was Hit Man's last champion (won $1000 or so, I can't remember), won a new car and other goodies on PYL, and a trip to Mexico on Blitz.
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[quote name=\'chrispw1\' post=\'180278\' date=\'Mar 6 2008, 01:55 PM\']
Naomi Judd appeared on Hollywood Squares
[/quote]
I recall also seeing a clip of Naomi on 70's Password, on one of those "Before They Were Stars" clip shows
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This may be a stretch (depending on how well people know him from the NFL), but Myke Horton, who later was Gemini on American Gladiators, was on PYL in 1985.
IIRC, wasn't Linda Cardellini (Scooby Doo and Legally Blonde, just to name a couple, but I remember her best as Lindsey Weir from Freaks and Geeks) also on TPIR?
Anthony
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Bernadette Peters, as a child, on NTT.
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Another wrestling stretch, but former WWE wrestler Rico, then a police officer, was an American Gladiators champion.
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[quote name=\'fostergray82\' post=\'180299\' date=\'Mar 6 2008, 03:00 PM\']
[quote name=\'lobster\' post=\'180282\' date=\'Mar 6 2008, 02:04 PM\']
[quote name=\'chrispw1\' post=\'180278\' date=\'Mar 6 2008, 12:55 PM\']
Of course our own Randy West played several shows; Hit Man, Press Your Luck, Face The Music, All Star Blitz
[/quote]
..and how did Mr. West come out overall?
[/quote]
Off the top of my head, he was Hit Man's last champion (won $1000 or so, I can't remember), won a new car and other goodies on PYL, and a trip to Mexico on Blitz.
[/quote]
I recall Mr. West winning a car on his final spin on one of his PYL appearances.
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He got hit, pressed, faced and blitzed (just kidding, Randy!)
Love it! And thanks for the loose enough interpretation of the term "celebrity" to include me in this thread.
[quote name=\'fostergray82\' post=\'180299\' date=\'Mar 6 2008, 12:00 PM\']
[quote name=\'lobster\' post=\'180282\' date=\'Mar 6 2008, 02:04 PM\']..and how did Mr. West come out overall? [/quote]
Off the top of my head, he was Hit Man's last champion (won $1000 or so, I can't remember), won a new car and other goodies on PYL, and a trip to Mexico on Blitz.
[/quote]
$27,000+ including a car on PYL - the damn first season rules required "retirement" after $25,000 ;-(
$19,000+ plus Puerto Vallarta (and Mazatlan traded for other crap) on Blitz
$1,000 on TTTT (we stumped, and Kitty was not pleased!)
$500 on "Sweethearts"
$50 on WML
I forgot what I won on "Face The Music" and hope the episode never surfaces.
And I forget the other 2 shows I did, excluding pilots.
Anybody wanna buy any Rice-A-Roni or L'Eggs?
The apple cider mix was great after the Northridge earthquake.
The Heath Bars took several Halloweens to dispose of.
The Success Rice as not successful.
The G'aranimals were the perfect gift for Joey Reynolds' daughter.
The pressure cooker became a metaphor for my adolescence.
The cookware was a wedding gift.
The Chunky Candy gift certificates are still in the dresser draw.
The rest of the crap may still be in my storage locker with my John Denver backstage pass and Asleep at the Wheel T-shirt.
Thanks for the memories!
Randy
tvrandywest.
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[quote name=\'tvrandywest\' post=\'180360\' date=\'Mar 6 2008, 05:58 PM\']
$1,000 on TTTT (we stumped, and Kitty was not pleased!)
[/quote] hah, cool -- what was the stump?
The rest of the crap may still be in my storage locker with my John Denver backstage pass and Asleep at the Wheel T-shirt.
so an Emo Retro Vintage ebay listing waiting to happen
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[quote name=\'lobster\' post=\'180378\' date=\'Mar 6 2008, 05:48 PM\']
[quote name=\'tvrandywest\' post=\'180360\' date=\'Mar 6 2008, 05:58 PM\']
$1,000 on TTTT (we stumped, and Kitty was not pleased!)
[/quote] hah, cool -- what was the stump? [/quote]
There's a question for Al Capp!
I was imposter for a guy who gave scandal tours of Washington, DC. Kitty asked about some ancient U.S. President's personal peccadilloes... some 18th century politico she probably dated! Knowing nothing of the guy, I chuckled knowingly and said something like, "Well, that's a whole show in itself."
Game. Set. Match.
Randy
tvrandywest.com
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The Heath Bars took several Halloweens to dispose of.
Dispose of??? DISPOSE OF??? One doesn't "dispose" of Heath bars as if they were fish bones. No sir! One consumes them oneself. The L'Eggs and Success rice one gives away at Halloween (and a small fraction of this year's trick-or-treaters will return next year, guranteed).
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[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'180387\' date=\'Mar 6 2008, 08:16 PM\']
Dispose of??? DISPOSE OF??? One doesn't "dispose" of Heath bars as if they were fish bones. No sir! One consumes them oneself. The L'Eggs and Success rice one gives away at Halloween (and a small fraction of this year's trick-or-treaters will return next year, guranteed).
[/quote]
You and I disagree about many things.
We do not, however, fark around when it comes to English toffee. :)
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[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'180387\' date=\'Mar 6 2008, 11:16 PM\']
Dispose of??? DISPOSE OF??? One doesn't "dispose" of Heath bars as if they were fish bones. No sir! One consumes them oneself. The L'Eggs and Success rice one gives away at Halloween (and a small fraction of this year's trick-or-treaters will return next year, guranteed).
[/quote]
Come now, don't trick-or-treaters also want a great pair of L'eggs?
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[quote name=\'CountdownRound\' post=\'180394\' date=\'Mar 7 2008, 01:29 AM\'] [quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'180387\' date=\'Mar 6 2008, 11:16 PM\']
Dispose of??? DISPOSE OF??? One doesn't "dispose" of Heath bars as if they were fish bones. No sir! One consumes them oneself. The L'Eggs and Success rice one gives away at Halloween (and a small fraction of this year's trick-or-treaters will return next year, guranteed).
[/quote]
Come now, don't trick-or-treaters also want a great pair of L'eggs? [/quote]
Nah, you paint the eggs and hand 'em out at Easter.
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I don't think anyone mentioned Mare Winningham on The Gong Show. Or Susannah Williams on Super Password If not, I'll take the toffee as a consolation prize.
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David Graf was a celebrity player on The $25,000/$100,000 Pyramid and was an everyman player on The $20,000 Pyramid, where he won with Patty Duke Astin in the Winner's Circle. During a week when David and Patty were the celebrity players, a clip of David's big money win was shown.
And for this thread contribution, I'd like to check out Randy West's L'eggs. On second thought................
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And if we're mentioning "Name That Tune," Leslie Uggams and John Glenn (and Eddie Hodges, if you consider becoming a child star in a Broadway show "celebrity").
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[quote name=\'uncamark\' post=\'180406\' date=\'Mar 7 2008, 12:03 PM\'](and Eddie Hodges, if you consider becoming a child star in a Broadway show "celebrity").[/quote]Eddie also had a movie, TV, and recording career (http://\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0388155/\") (including a film with Frank Sinatra), so I would say he qualifies.
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[quote name=\'Mike Tennant\' post=\'180432\' date=\'Mar 7 2008, 02:09 PM\']
[quote name=\'uncamark\' post=\'180406\' date=\'Mar 7 2008, 12:03 PM\'](and Eddie Hodges, if you consider becoming a child star in a Broadway show "celebrity").[/quote]Eddie also had a movie, TV, and recording career (http://\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0388155/\") (including a film with Frank Sinatra), so I would say he qualifies.[/quote]
I don't know, I think a lot of the names we've mentioned strain the idea of 'celebrity' even more than Bob Stewart did in the waning years of The $25,000 Pyramid. My uncle was a working actor in New York for fifty years, with Broadway, film and television credits on his resume, but there's a difference between 'working actor' and 'celebrity'.
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[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'180437\' date=\'Mar 7 2008, 01:38 PM\']I don't know, I think a lot of the names we've mentioned strain the idea of 'celebrity' even more than Bob Stewart did in the waning years of The $25,000 Pyramid. My uncle was a working actor in New York for fifty years, with Broadway, film and television credits on his resume, but there's a difference between 'working actor' and 'celebrity'.
[/quote]So, using Bob Stewart's definition, would this guy (http://\"http://us.imdb.com/name/nm1733584/\") qualify?
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[quote name=\'rigsby\' post=\'180438\' date=\'Mar 7 2008, 03:00 PM\']So, using Bob Stewart's definition, would this guy (http://\"http://us.imdb.com/name/nm1733584/\") qualify?[/quote]
Good lord, no. It's been scientifically proven by Wikipedia that I'm not a celebrity. Honestly, complete strangers discussed and debated whether or not my life has meaning, and ultimately decided it does not. This, BTW, is not a procedure I would recommend to anyone with any kind of ego.
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[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'180437\' date=\'Mar 7 2008, 02:38 PM\']
[quote name=\'Mike Tennant\' post=\'180432\' date=\'Mar 7 2008, 02:09 PM\']
[quote name=\'uncamark\' post=\'180406\' date=\'Mar 7 2008, 12:03 PM\'](and Eddie Hodges, if you consider becoming a child star in a Broadway show "celebrity").[/quote]Eddie also had a movie, TV, and recording career (http://\"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0388155/\") (including a film with Frank Sinatra), so I would say he qualifies.[/quote]
I don't know, I think a lot of the names we've mentioned strain the idea of 'celebrity' even more than Bob Stewart did in the waning years of The $25,000 Pyramid. My uncle was a working actor in New York for fifty years, with Broadway, film and television credits on his resume, but there's a difference between 'working actor' and 'celebrity'.
[/quote]Let's put it this way: I recognized Hodges's name and knew a few things about him without having to look him up. I would think others did likewise. At least during the mid-fifties to mid-sixties he probably qualified as a celebrity to some small degree.
On the other hand, we may find that we have trouble defining "celebrity" definitively just as we have with defining "game show." One person's celebrity may be another person's has-been (or never was). I agree, though, that there have been a few stretches in this thread, and depending on your perspective Eddie Hodges may be one of them.
The flip side of this discussion is: How many "celebrities" do we know almost exclusively from their appearances on game shows? How many do we think of as celebrities only because the announcers or emcees of those shows called them "celebrities" or "stars"? Brett Somers and Nipsey Russell, just to take two examples, would probably be known today about as well as Eddie Hodges if they hadn't been on game shows for years.
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[quote name=\'Mike Tennant\' post=\'180441\' date=\'Mar 7 2008, 03:14 PM\']Let's put it this way: I recognized Hodges's name and knew a few things about him without having to look him up. I would think others did likewise. At least during the mid-fifties to mid-sixties he probably qualified as a celebrity to some small degree.[/quote]
Fair enough, and I freely admit Hodges was not the best example in this thread. I consider myself to be pretty savvy when it comes to show business 'celebrity', and I'd never heard of many of the names that have been mentioned, and still didn't know who they were after seeing their IMDB listings.
Meanwhile, yeah, I could name several non-game credits for Brett and Nipsey but you're right (and especially with Brett), it's only because I was already predisposed to be aware of their careers because I knew them from game shows.
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We do not, however, fark around when it comes to English toffee. :)
I await the day when it rains Almond Roca.
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[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'180444\' date=\'Mar 7 2008, 12:38 PM\']
We do not, however, fark around when it comes to English toffee. :)
I await the day when it rains Almond Roca.
[/quote]
"Holy shite! There are cat turds falling out of the sky!"
"Um, no, it's ok! <crunch!>"
<woman faints>
/http://img111.imageshack.us/img111/4118/spacklerdl4.jpg
//approves