Hosts who just stopped hosting

[Jimmy Owen]

Anybody have any insight as to why certain ubiquitous hosts suddenly stopped hosting game shows?  I'm thinking specifically of Jan Murray and Bert Parks, who were in show biz long after their last game shows.  You can add other examples.

[cmjb13]

maybe nobody made them an offer?

[drmusic_99]

This may not be quite what you had in mind, but in this interview, Monty Hall basically says he'll never host LMaD again.

[Dbacksfan12]

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Sep 5 2003, 11:02 AM\'] Anybody have any insight as to why certain ubiquitous hosts suddenly stopped hosting game shows?  I'm thinking specifically of Jan Murray and Bert Parks, who were in show biz long after their last game shows.  You can add other examples. [/quote]
 Garry Moore hung it up voluntaraily....I thought Bert Parks declined to host any more GSes after not getting the HS job......

[SplitSecond]

I wouldn't quite count a throat cancer patient leaving the broadcasting industry as a voluntary retirement.

[combsisthebest]

The first person that came to mind for me was Bill Rafferty. What ever happened to him?

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'combsisthebest\' date=\'Sep 5 2003, 10:50 PM\'] The first person that came to mind for me was Bill Rafferty. What ever happened to him? [/quote]
 I think he went back to standup comedy.

[The Ol' Guy]

As far as the classic hosts you mentioned, Murray and Parks, maybe they fell victim to Lin Bolen-type thinking? Out with the old, in with the young? I don't know if Parks ever got out of his mode of loud hosting that went back to his radio days. Hopefully I'll soon be getting a copy of the HS pilot with Parks I ordered to see if that was the case. Chain Letter was a nice last ride vehicle for Murray. He was one of the few Catskills comics who understood game shows, yet he still maintained a bit of classic comedian brashness that probably didn't mesh with networks' ideas as to what would appeal to women going into the 70s. He was clever and subdued on Chain Letter and kept the game moving. I'd love to have a tape of Jan doing Chain Letter to enjoy the memories again.

[TheInquisitiveOne]

The Number One person that comes to my mind when I see this subject is Jim Perry. He found great success with $ale of the Century, then after his 6 year, three month run, he just disappeared. Someone here did say that he appeared on CBN for an interview, and I found out that he wrote a book (which exists because I looked for it in all of the major book-selling websites). However, after March 24, 1989, he just left and did a good job of covering his tracks. I really miss that guy.

The Inquisitive One

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'TheInquisitiveOne\' date=\'Sep 6 2003, 01:00 AM\'] The Number One person that comes to my mind when I see this subject is Jim Perry. [/quote]
 Remember that Jim had done \"Definition\" in Canada for some time before even Card Sharks, much less Sale Of The Century. For most people, 20 years in most any job is enough, and if he was smart with his money and was able to retire, why shouldn't he be able to enjoy it?

[TheInquisitiveOne]

Remember that Jim had done \"Definition\" in Canada for some time before even Card Sharks, much less Sale Of The Century. For most people, 20 years in most any job is enough, and if he was smart with his money and was able to retire, why shouldn't he be able to enjoy it?

I think Jim SHOULD be able to enjoy his retirement, as I wish him all of the best. You are right to say that 20 years is an amazing run and that he should enjoy the rest of his life in the privacy of his own home.

My thing is, well before the days of GSN, my only exposure to this man was on $ale, both in the original NBC run and the USA reruns. I just wish that I knew what he was up to and that he is living a good life. That's all.

The Inquisitive One

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'TheInquisitiveOne\' date=\'Sep 6 2003, 01:47 AM\'] My thing is, well before the days of GSN, my only exposure to this man was on $ale, both in the original NBC run and the USA reruns. [/quote]
 Sure, you caught him later in his career. Hell, we have a generation right now who has never seen Allen Ludden on first-run television, or doesn't remember Bob Barker with dark hair.

I believe last time someone had news from Perry, he was completely content and enjoying retirement.

[Matt Ottinger]

There's a fascinating thread of information about Jim Perry's retirement years at a place called The Daily Ping.  His wife left several messages answering fans' questions about their lives together and the show.  Some people doubt whether it really was his wife, but the information seemed very specific and mundane for it to have been a hoax.  You have to scroll through a lot of \"I loved that show!\" sorts of messages (some from names that will be familiar to many of you), but the information is interesting.

http://www.dailyping.com/archive/2000/06/01/

[calliaume]

With a few exceptions, most people who've hosted a show haven't come back because they haven't been asked or because their health didn't permit them to continue.

Garry Moore did retire, but health issues pushed him along that road.

According to Nick Clooney's column on The Money Maze, he was offered another show a year or so later and declined.

I doubt Bert Parks decided not to do game shows after HS didn't work out (you think his salary for hosting Miss America covered a year's worth of expenses); his style just wasn't well suited to most games.

[chris319]

Um, could the fact that the networks no longer mount daytime game shows explain why you don't see much of emcees emeriti any more?