Who did the best job on \'To Tell the Truth\'? Except for Lynn Swan, it occurs to me that there is a very strong pool to choose from. I\'ll go with Gary Moore.
What was wrong with Lynn Swann? I thought he was alright...
Who did the best job on To Tell the Truth? I'll go with Garry Moore.
It\'s a bit hard to pick the BEST, but my personal ranking, from best to worst
Garry Moore- They made best use of his talents by incorporating Garry in funny intros to the first group of contestants. Garry was also naturally chatty and friendly to the panel, like they\'re old friends.
Bud Collyer- It was a different era, and the original TTTT, while it had many entertaining guests and contestants, it\'s a bit more \"pedestrian\" than the Garry Moore version. Still, Bud fits in quite well here,
Gordon Elliott- IMO the best host of the 1990 run, only ousted because of contract problems. He had a style of humor that was quirky, and he seemed to enjoy the show.
John O\'Hurley- In terms of talent, I think John was a bit closer in style to Bud, and I think he added a lot of class to the show.
Alex Trebek- Alex does about as good a job as you might expect. To be fair, he was the last host of the 1990 version which was not doing too well ratings wise.
Joe Garagiola- Imagine having to fill Garry Moore\'s shoes. Sure, Joe didn\'t quite have the same level of talent than Garry, but all things considering I thought he was just fine.
Lynn Swann- I think he was only intended as a fill in until they could get a more permanent host. Lynn did fine in his short reign as host, but nothing memorable.
Robin Ward- Unless you count pilot host Richard Klein, Robin was easily the worst of the bunch. Robin was ill at ease, didn\'t have any chemistry with the panel, and even worse, the TTTT set looked like a flashy discotheque instead of a classy set that fans were used to.
HONORABLE MENTION- Bill Cullen- Bill hosted on occasion while Garry was on vacation, then somewhat longer term when Garry was sidelined due to throat cancer. He could\'ve taken Garry\'s place permanently, but it was decided that Bill\'s quick wit and talents were far better suited on the panel.
I had not recalled Robin Ward and the \'80 - \'81 version when I started the thread. He, more so than Swan, is indeed the weak link.
Robin Ward- Unless you count pilot host Richard Klein, Robin was easily the worst of the bunch. Robin was ill at ease, didn\'t have any chemistry with the panel, and even worse, the TTTT set looked like a flashy discotheque instead of a classy set that fans were used to.
TTTT had a far worse set IMO than the Robin Ward set back in the late 60s-early 70s with the set that looked like a drug addict\'s nightmare! All those freaky colors and swirls distracted me from the game...ugh...
JakeT
I agree Jake... the first Garry Moore TTTT set was definitely too busy and too \"psychedelic\". Not long after that, they toned down the set with solid blue panels instead of those lava lamp like designs.
However, having the panel and contestants enter through \"clamshell\" shaped doors (although they also experimented with the panel coming out from behind a wall, and also having the panel already standing behind the desk at the intro.) looked awkward to me.
I agree Jake... the first Garry Moore TTTT set was definitely too busy and too \"psychedelic\". Not long after that, they toned down the set with solid blue panels instead of those lava lamp like designs.
However, having the panel and contestants enter through \"clamshell\" shaped doors (although they also experimented with the panel coming out from behind a wall, and also having the panel already standing behind the desk at the intro.) looked awkward to me.
I thought the set that followed the psychodelic set was just kinda plain and butt-ugly but at least more \"classy\" that the \"hey man, let\'s light a doobie and find the real dude\" set...they really got it right with the final set used until the end of the 70\'s syndie run...and that set must have been a favorite for many since it was the logo that went along with that set that was reprised in the 90s version.
And no arguements here...the Robin Ward version had sooooooo much wrong with it...more than just the set...just really not a very enjoyable half-hour of television...actually, I gotta wonder...with many older televisions, when that god-awful bright red TTTT logo came onto the screen, did it cause lots of sets to have that annoying audio buzz? Just curious...
JakeT
I agree Jake... the first Garry Moore TTTT set was definitely too busy and too \"psychedelic\". Not long after that, they toned down the set with solid blue panels instead of those lava lamp like designs.
When TTTT returned in \'69, it was the psychedelic era. I think the set was just a reflection of the times. As for placing the hosts in order from first to worst, IMO it goes like this:
Bud C.
Garry M.
Alex T.
John O.
Joe G.
Gordon E.
Lynn S.
Robin W,
Plus, he was never a permanent host but I must give my namesake an honorable mention for holding the fort while Garry Moore was away.
Bud Collier seemed like a fun hater. Never said anything funny, even though he had the best panels. Heck, he had Johnny Carson and Dina Merrill on, plus Tom Poston as a regular. Garry was great. And I loved Gordon Elliott.
He just wanted to get home to catch that night\'s episode of Lassie.
With Bud Collyer, I think he was a host that could vary his style. On TTTT, he was laid back and straightforward. The show was really about the three contestants and the panel. On the other hand, you\'ll see a different Bud Collyer on Beat the Clock. There, he was a real showman, being very enthusiastic and energetic, and ready for funny quips when stunts went unexpectedly wrong (such as once when they ran out of balloons for a couple to use from them breaking so much, so they had to give them the stunt.)
Trebek is the same way. On Jeopardy!, he is mostly quite serious and seldom joked around, but on High Rollers and Concentration, he was considerably looser and joked around more.
This thread has me realizing that the same thing I liked better about the Moore/Garagiola TTTT compared to Collyer is what I liked less about the syndie WML compared to John Daly\'s version, i.e., the casual atmosphere. Now I\'m wondering if either he or the director deliberately got Collyer to adopt that style.
When Wally Bruner did WML, his style was very close to John Daly. Considering he was a newsman, that should be no surprise. However, Larry Blyden was indeed very laid back, although if you watch his early WML eps. he was a bit stiff, but he eventually loosened up and had fun.
DoorNumberFour- Yeah I think One on One was fine, considering it gave more time to know the truth about one of the imposters. However, this version of One on One also cut away time for the regular games. On one hand, Robin didn\'t have a lot of time to converse with the panel, but on the other hand, the impression I got of Robin Ward was that he seemed uncomfortable and wanted to get the show overwith. They also seemed to have some issues with the staging, considering the introduction of the panel. Having them enter from the clamshell doors was fine, but they also had them enter from behind the front wall, which was awkward because the panelists didn\'t always come out when being introduced. Alan Kalter had to say \"Nipsey Russell.... Nipsey!\"
It may seem that hosting TTTT doesn\'t require much effort, but the role of the host should expand beyond reading the affadavit, keeping track of who\'s turn it is to question, and asking one or two questions to the real person.
However, having the panel and contestants enter through \"clamshell\" shaped doors (although they also experimented with the panel coming out from behind a wall, and also having the panel already standing behind the desk at the intro.) looked awkward to me.
I know the panel was standing behind the desk whenever Cullen was on, but he didn\'t do it that often. Once Blockbusters started, he stayed in CA. Also, with Bill, Peggy and Kitty, they never had the three of them on the same week. They may have done that on purpose.