When Game Show Hosts Were At Their Peak...

[TimK2003]

For a fun little discussion:

What game show host was at their best -- running on all cylinders and was at their peak?

For a host that had only one or two shows, what show and about what time or season in their run did they peak (for example, which season was Richard Dawson's best on Feud)?

For those who did a whole slew of shows (Kennedy, Cullen, etc), what was their best show?

I'll start with Regis Philbin:  Millionaire was his crown jewel of game shows, and I think when he did the syndie shows was when he was on fire.

Tom Kennedy:  I'll say Split Second

Bob Barker: TPIR Early 80s.

[Ian Wallis]

For Tom Kennedy, even though they were four years apart I'd have to say either Split Second or Whew! (or both).  Both shows required a lot out of the host - so much so Tom even commented that he couldn't even take a sip of water between questioins on the former.  On the latter, if he screwed up a blooper read it could cost the contestant the round.

[Stackertosh]

Drew Carey's 2011-2012 seasons of TPIR: once Roger and co. left and Drew lost weight, he seemed happier and more energetic
Bob Barker, late 70s-80s—those were the best years of TPIR.
Gene Rayburn's Match Game in the 70s before Richard left.
Weakest Link: Annie Robinson UK (first 3 series)
Jim Perry: Card Sharks and Sale of the Century.

 

Are you talking about when Regis filled in for Meredith? for the week.

[BrandonFG]

Pat seemed at his loosest on Wheel in the 80s. I think by the 90s, he still had fun but was slowly starting to enter cruise control mode. By 2002 or so he really started phoning it in, and I really would love to see how much of a correlation there is between him realizing he wouldn’t become the next Jack Paar. More to the point, I think that while shopping could bring the show to a halt, Pat could at least have fun with a quirky prize on the turntable.

[Winkfan]

Some more examples:

Wink Martindale: Tic Tac Dough; especially during Thom McKee's reign of terror.
Peter Tomarken: Press Your Luck; 'nuff said.
Jim Perry: Though he did some shows in Canada, Sale Of The Century was his U.S. highpoint.
Jack Barry: The Joker's Wild; especially 1979-82.
Bert Convy: Between Tattletales and Super Password, I'd have to go with the latter.
Chuck Woolery: For me, it was Scrabble.
Jim Peck: TJW when he was sub-host. (If it does not count, I don't know what does.)
Bud Collyer: To Tell The Truth; I mentioned this in my tribute to him at my long-since-defunct website.
Bob Goen: Wheel Of Fortune; CBS run
Larry Blyden: What's My Line; see PYL.
Dick Clark: GS-wise, he peaked twice. 1975-80 ($10k/20k Pyramid) and 1984-88 ($25kP and $100kP)
Bob Eubanks: He, too, peaked twice. 1970-73 (The Newlywed Game) and 1986-89 (Card Sharks)

Cordially,
Tammy

[TLEberle]

Going back to Pat Sajak, I wonder how much the cancellation of his late night show drove him to just rolling along with Wheel, as it were.

[Chief-O]

Jim Perry: Though he did some shows in Canada, Sale Of The Century was his U.S. highpoint.
[snip]
Bert Convy: Between Tattletales and Super Password, I'd have to go with the latter.
Chuck Woolery: For me, it was Scrabble.

Will not argue either of these. Even with Bert's notoriety for blowing words/puzzles on SP, it made for fun TV. I'd argue $OTC calls for a master-level host, and yes, Jim handled it like a pro. I almost would've said that he handled CS about as well, but that didn't have a speed round or any need to stop mid-question to call for a contestant's answer.

For Tom Kennedy--having seen a nice chunk of "Whew!", it definitely calls for a host who can handle the rapid-fire Q&A, not to mention the complexity of the format. There are also the bloopers.....and I could possibly see a lesser host cracking up on some of them.

[Long live Jeopardy]

Richard Dawson - The 1976-78 200 point era of Family Feud
Ray Combs - The pre-Bullseye era of Family Feud
Bill Cullen - Blockbusters
Bob Barker - The Price Is Right 1991-96 era
Mike O'Malley - GUTS/Global GUTS
Marc Summers - Super Sloppy Double Dare 1989 season

[BrandonFG]

Going back to Pat Sajak, I wonder how much the cancellation of his late night show drove him to just rolling along with Wheel, as it were.

Exactly. He could at least say he tried, but he also realized he hosts a syndicated version of a show that's printing money in 1989 so why not ride the wave?

Now that I think of it, I do wonder if he ever lobbied to guest host for Carson?

[JasonA1]

Pat did an episode of The Carson Podcast that I enjoyed...about his relationship with The Tonight Show. I shall not spoil what he says about guest hosting if you don't already know, but here it is:

https://carsonpodcast.com/pat-sajak/

-Jason

[TLEberle]

Brandon: apologies, I totally spaced out and didn't see you posted largely the same points I did.

It's easy to say that a host's peak is your favorite of the bunch, or perhaps the most memorable show a host did. To say that Reege peaked during Millionaire is obvious--I can't imagine anyone saying that Password 2008 was his best work. Or heaven forbid The Neighbors.

For me, I think peak Alex T. is either High Rollers or Classic Concentration--he's laid back, enjoying the game and his guests, but never forgets to respect the format or the time frame of a show.

I could watch Uncle Bill hosting just about anything, but for me his work on The Price is Right and Three on a Match was exemplary. So was a lot of his other work but TPIR made him a mega-star and Three on a Match gave him lots to react to.

I think Marc's work on History IQ proved that he was able to handle completely different surroundings in a way that Trivia Unwrapped or Pick Your Brain didn't really offer.

[BrandonFG]

Brandon: apologies, I totally spaced out and didn't see you posted largely the same points I did.

All good! And thanks Jason for the podcast link. It's too bad they never worked anything out.

As much as I want to argue Alex really made J! his thing at some point in the last 15 or so years, answering the question I gotta agree one of his earlier gigs really showcases the wit that we wouldn't see for a couple decades on J! He was a little looser in the first three or four seasons, then the show became a little more scholarly into the 90s before getting more casual around the mid-00s. Alex seemed to change his hosting style accordingly.

[Jeremy Nelson]

As much as I want to argue Alex really made J! his thing at some point in the last 15 or so years, answering the question I gotta agree one of his earlier gigs really showcases the wit that we wouldn't see for a couple decades on J! He was a little looser in the first three or four seasons, then the show became a little more scholarly into the 90s before getting more casual around the mid-00s. Alex seemed to change his hosting style accordingly.

I'd put Alex's peak at 1989-90. He's a well oiled machine on both J and CC, and his comfort with both shows. He hasn't quite evolved into Professor Alex by then.

While I think Dick Clark was stupendous on Pyramid for the entirety of the run, I think his peak was the $20K era. The welcome tweaks to the format from '82 onward helped to tighten the show up, but I was always impressed by how he was able to manage the show and its timing so effortlessly when games could run longer than expected.

[Ian Wallis]

I could watch Uncle Bill hosting just about anything, but for me his work on The Price is Right and Three on a Match was exemplary. So was a lot of his other work but TPIR made him a mega-star and Three on a Match gave him lots to react to.

I think for a host to be at his peak, he should also be likeable.  You could certainly make an argument that some hosts were more likeable than others, but one thing I noticed when I was a kid was how likeable and personable Bill was.  He seemed like a really nice guy who was generally interested in his contestants and that always stuck with me.  I'm not saying other hosts don't also have this quality, but I noticed that about Bill more than any of the others from when I first started watching him - and I think it was likely on Three on a Match.

[Matt Ottinger]

I've said for a long time that there's a pre Eye Guess Bill and a post Eye Guess Bill.  Most of us picture the later Bill for a lot of reasons.  It's the one we remember as a child, or the one we enjoy more in the color reruns.  And he was great then because he was just about always great.  Still, for a career peak, it's hard to match where Bill was in the late 50s and early 60s.  The Price Is Right and I've Got a Secret were prime time hits, plus a daytime version of Price was flourishing AND he was the morning man for NBC's flagship radio station in New York.  Add them all up and he was one of the highest paid entertainers of his era.