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

I thought of this because I seem to remember Mark L. Walberg getting a lot of flak when he first started out... although this may have just been because his early shows (Shop 'til You Drop, The Big Date) were themselves rather lacking in quality.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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