Author Topic: The Twenty Greatest Game Show Announcers (Read 32189 times)

Chief-O · « **Reply #75 on:** January 27, 2007, 09:18:57 PM »

[quote name=\'PYLW\' post=\'144730\' date=\'Jan 27 2007, 05:42 PM\']
[quote name=\'davemackey\' post=\'144724\' date=\'Jan 27 2007, 02:56 PM\']
/Say, how many votes did That Guy Who Announced "Figure It Out" get, anyway?
[/quote]

The same amount Rich Jeffries and Dee Baker got, which shouldn't be too hard to figure out.

[/quote]

And if you're still wondering how much that is, it's the same amount Christopher Kriesa got.

Tim L · « **Reply #76 on:** February 01, 2007, 07:30:08 PM »

[quote name=\'cweaver\' post=\'144713\' date=\'Jan 27 2007, 01:39 PM\']
[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'144710\' date=\'Jan 27 2007, 02:00 PM\']

Quote

Was that the only announcing job Jack ever had?

He was the announcer on the Don Fedderson production "Life with Elizabeth" starring a young lass named Betty White.
[/quote]

I have a discount-rack DVD of that series (inexplicably labelled as the 1977 "Betty White Show") from its national syndication days and Narz is in that too. In fact he introduces each segment on camera. The three episodes on the disc, I believe, are from 1952-53.
[/quote]

I just found today probably that same DVD at a local Dollar Tree Today. It had the 70's "Betty White Show" Description on tbe cover and episodes 4, 6, and 8 of "Life With Elizabeth" inside.

Don Howard · « **Reply #77 on:** February 02, 2007, 12:13:36 PM »

Is the Top 20 available for view in another area of this board?
Our radio station was in pledge mode for the past week and a half and perhaps I've just missed a message about it.

PYLW · « **Reply #78 on:** February 02, 2007, 02:04:34 PM »

My apologies, I've been super busy this week. Tonight #20 and #19 will be released.

tvwxman · « **Reply #79 on:** February 02, 2007, 02:12:13 PM »

[quote name=\'PYLW\' post=\'145131\' date=\'Feb 2 2007, 02:04 PM\']
My apologies, I've been super busy this week. Tonight #20 and #19 will be released.
[/quote]
Why don't you just give us 5 or 10 at a time? I don't think (yes, I know I don't speak for everyone) that there is 'that' much interest in drawing this out that long, especially if you (shudder) have a life away from our little corner of the web....

PYLW · « **Reply #80 on:** February 02, 2007, 09:33:00 PM »

[quote name=\'tvwxman\' post=\'145132\' date=\'Feb 2 2007, 02:12 PM\'] [quote name=\'PYLW\' post=\'145131\' date=\'Feb 2 2007, 02:04 PM\']
My apologies, I've been super busy this week. Tonight #20 and #19 will be released.
[/quote]
Why don't you just give us 5 or 10 at a time? I don't think (yes, I know I don't speak for everyone) that there is 'that' much interest in drawing this out that long, especially if you (shudder) have a life away from our little corner of the web.... [/quote]

Actually, you sort of have a point...The interest comes in the top ten. I'll show 20-16 tonight and 15-11 on Sunday. After THAT it'll be two at a time.

PYLdude · « **Reply #81 on:** February 03, 2007, 12:54:27 AM »

[quote name=\'PYLW\' post=\'145159\' date=\'Feb 2 2007, 09:33 PM\']
[quote name=\'tvwxman\' post=\'145132\' date=\'Feb 2 2007, 02:12 PM\'] [quote name=\'PYLW\' post=\'145131\' date=\'Feb 2 2007, 02:04 PM\']
My apologies, I've been super busy this week. Tonight #20 and #19 will be released.
[/quote]
Why don't you just give us 5 or 10 at a time? I don't think (yes, I know I don't speak for everyone) that there is 'that' much interest in drawing this out that long, especially if you (shudder) have a life away from our little corner of the web.... [/quote]

Actually, you sort of have a point...The interest comes in the top ten. I'll show 20-16 tonight and 15-11 on Sunday. After THAT it'll be two at a time.
[/quote]

I still believe that's drawing it out unnecessarily.

Might I suggest 20-11 first, then the top 10 from 10-6, then moving at your own pace for 5-1?

PYLW · « **Reply #82 on:** February 04, 2007, 11:19:20 AM »

20. Ernie Anderson (Break The Bank)- 14

19. Burton Richardson (To Tell The Truth, Family Feud)- 20

18. John "Harvey" (Double Dare, History I.Q.)- 28

17. Bill Wendell (To Tell The Truth, Sale of the Century)- 32

16. Bob Clayton (Concentration, Various Pyramid's)- 41

PYLW · « **Reply #83 on:** February 04, 2007, 11:23:20 AM »

15. Alan Kalter (To Tell The Truth, The $128,000 Question)- 49

14. Charlie Tuna (Scrabble, The New Battlestars)- 59

13. Don Morrow (Now You See It, Sale of the Century)- 60

12. Bob Hilton (Blockbusters, any show that needed a sub announcer...)- 61

11. John Harlan (Password, You Don't Say)- 89

PYLW · « **Reply #84 on:** February 08, 2007, 11:56:19 PM »

10. Jack Clark- 90 (Tattletales, Various Subbing shows)

9. Kenny Williams- 98 (The Hollywood Squares, High Rollers)

8. Randy West- 99 (Hollywood Showdown, Supermarket Sweep, TPiR subbing)

7. Jay Stewart- 143 (Let's Make a Deal, Tic Tac Dough)

6. Johnny Jacobs- 171 (Anything done by Chuck Barris, The Joker's Wild)

Matt Ottinger · « **Reply #85 on:** February 09, 2007, 08:48:18 AM »

Either there's a tie near the top or a huge name got left off. There are five slots and six very well-known announcers left, and while that's not the way ties are normally ranked, I see that's how it was done at the bottom of the list.

PYLW · « **Reply #86 on:** February 09, 2007, 02:46:03 PM »

Yeah, I did it the way I did another list a long time ago...My apologies, next time I'll do it in a way that is less confusing.

tvwxman · « **Reply #87 on:** February 09, 2007, 03:59:05 PM »

[quote name=\'PYLW\' post=\'145736\' date=\'Feb 9 2007, 02:46 PM\']
Yeah, I did it the way I did another list a long time ago...My apologies, next time I'll do it in a way that is less confusing.

[/quote]
Next time? Sorry, kid, but I don't even think this was worth it the first time.

There's just too much of a voting discrepancy here, especially with (IMHO) some of the younger kids who (it appears) voted for some without an appreciation for veteran announcers. You gonna tell me that Rod Roddy was better than Kenny Williams or Bob Clayton? And as much as I respect Randy, I'd like to hear his opinions on a top 10 (besides Johnny. We all know where Olsen had better end up), and more importantly, if he thinks he is better now than industry vets like Hilton, Clark and Kalter.

My two cents.

tvrandywest · « **Reply #88 on:** February 10, 2007, 02:18:37 PM »

[quote name=\'tvwxman\' post=\'145744\' date=\'Feb 9 2007, 12:59 PM\']
... And as much as I respect Randy, I'd like to hear his opinions on a top 10 (besides Johnny. We all know where Olsen had better end up), and more importantly, if he thinks he is better now than industry vets like Hilton, Clark and Kalter.[/quote]
I'm honored and humbled to be listed among my childhood idols and respected friends. Just looking at the names mentioned in these most recent posts fills me with thoughts and memories.

Bob Hilton proved to be a friend when he readily agreed to travel back to LA to fill-in for me on some dates when I was double booked. Jack Clark was one of the kindest men I've ever met. Jay Stewart taught me so much during the time he was my agent, in what turned out to be his final days. Rod made me laugh a million times with his wickedly sharp sense of humor since we first met in the 1970s... so many of these names have special meaning for me.

Other than giving top honors to Johnny Olson for his exemplary work and for a lifetime of on-the-air and off-air professionalism, it's impossible for me to numerically rank these guys. The work is so subjective. Is Picasso "better" than Rembrandt? Is Mozart "better" than Bach? On a more contemorary timeline, what about comparisons among favorite sports figures or favorite actors?

Is Toni Braxton "better" than Dinah Washington, simply because the memory of Dinah's work has faded with time, or is completely unknown to younger ears? Was Anna Nichole Smith "better" than Jayne Mansfield at what they both did? Should younger opinions be discounted simply because they don't share the same perspective of time as other opinions? As such, is George W. Bush "better" than FDR? OK, that one's too easy!

I remember responding to folks referring to the CBS poll for TPiR announcers with a comment about ranking ice cream flavors. One man's Rocky Road is another's Tutti Fruitti. When you're dealing with people beyond a certain minimum level of expertise, the criteria for judgement is far too subjective. Did some voters subconsciously give me extra points because I had the chance to meet them or because I responded to an e-mail when they never had a similar opportunity to have contact with an announcer from another time or the other coast?

Bottom line, I suggest we interpret this thread as it was most likely intended - a chance to continue informal dialogue among game show fans. Personally, I'm happy to see the respect given to the announcers... it's a job that is sometimes thankless and somewhat in the shadows.

Thanks for placing me in such good company. I'm thrilled to think that my contributions have meant something to a few fans, and that I may have influenced a few people in the way that I was touched by the voices that fascinated me.

Randy
tvrandywest.com

clemon79 · « **Reply #89 on:** February 10, 2007, 02:51:44 PM »

[quote name=\'tvrandywest\' post=\'145829\' date=\'Feb 10 2007, 11:18 AM\']
Did some voters subconsciously give me extra points because I had the chance to meet them or because I responded to an e-mail when they never had a similar opportunity to have contact with an announcer from another time or the other coast?
[/quote]
No, we gave you extra points because Rich Fields sucks.