GS hosts commuting from one coast to another

[spb1962]

There are at least four instances of game shows hosts who lived on one coast and commuted to the other to tape their game show(s).

Steve Allen and Jayne Meadows lived in California and SA traveled to NYC from 1964-67 to do I've Got a Secret.

Allen Ludden and Betty White supposedly moved to California during the last season of Password on CBS daytime, 1966-67.

Dick Clark traveled from California to NYC to tape $10,000/$20,000/$50,000 Pyramid from 1973-81.

Gene Rayburn traveled from Cape Cod to California to tape Match Game from 1973-82 as well as Match Game/Hollywood Squares Hour from 1983-84.

How many shows were taped during the period when the above-mentioned hosts traveled from one coast to the other?  Some details are sketchy, specifically since (according to Gil Fates' WML? book) Goodson-Todman shows did not tape five shows in one day until 1968 when What's My Line? started its daily syndicated version.

[Jimmy Owen]

Geoff Edwards did a daily radio show in Los Angeles and commuted to NYC to host Jackpot! on the weekends. He also commuted to Montreal for CR.  Jack Narz commuted from Cali to NYC and Montreal for BTC.  I'm not sure where Jim Perry lived at the time, but he did Card Sharks in Burbank and Definition and Headline Hunters in Toronto concurrently.  Monty Hall traveled from Cali to Orlando for LMAD, to Canada for other shows.

[BrandonFG]

I believe Tom Bergeron used to fly from Connecticut to do Hollywood Squares.

[chris319]

There are many instances of emcees, announcers, producers, directors, etc. commuting from SoCal to Las Vegas for shows that taped there. I have never, ever understood how that works out economically given the time and travel expense involved, even if they have a "deal" with a hotel/casino. Seems to me it would be a lot cheaper, less time consuming and more convenient to have cast and company simply drive to Burbank, Bev and Fair, Prospect and Talmadge or Metromedia square to tape 10 shows over two days.

Not an emcee, but Johnny Olson used to divide his time between his apartment here in West Hollywood and his ranch in West Virginia. Prior to that he used to commute to Miami Beach for the Gleason show.

[Ian Wallis]

I'm not sure where Jim Perry lived at the time, but he did Card Sharks in Burbank and Definition and Headline Hunters in Toronto concurrently.

Jim lived in Toronto for most of the '70s.  As soon as Card Sharks became a hit, he moved his family out to LA and travelled to Toronto to do the other shows.

[tvwxman]

I believe Tom Bergeron used to fly from Connecticut to do Hollywood Squares.

Still travels for his shows. He won't leave New England permanently.

[Matt Ottinger]

Bill Cullen commuted to Hollywood each week to do Place The Face way back in 1954.  That was in addition to the three or four regular radio and TV gigs he had at the time in New York.  I don't know whether that makes him the first transcontinental host, but at the time, it was considered enough of a novelty that there were newspaper stories about his schedule.

[Robert Carter]

I believe Pat Sajak commutes from Maryland for Wheel. And yes, Bergeron commutes. I think I recall an article somewhere about how Tom used to stay in one of those extended-stay motels while in Hollywood for Squares, kinda downscale for a position like that but evidently in line with his conservative financial outlook, as evidenced by this article  at Bankrate.com, of all places.

[calliaume]

I believe Art James commuted from New York to California to do Temptation.

[vtown7]

Just curious: how far do you suppose Rossi commuted for Temptation?

[SamJ93]

Bill Cullen commuted to Hollywood each week to do Place The Face way back in 1954.  That was in addition to the three or four regular radio and TV gigs he had at the time in New York.  I don't know whether that makes him the first transcontinental host, but at the time, it was considered enough of a novelty that there were newspaper stories about his schedule.

Interesting.  Do those articles happen to mention whether Bill flew commercially, or on a private plane provided by the network?  

It really says something that, given how rare and expensive air travel was back in the '50s, Bill was such a valuable commodity that CBS would be willing to shuttle him back and forth between jobs.

[Matt Ottinger]

Bill Cullen commuted to Hollywood each week to do Place The Face way back in 1954.  That was in addition to the three or four regular radio and TV gigs he had at the time in New York.  I don't know whether that makes him the first transcontinental host, but at the time, it was considered enough of a novelty that there were newspaper stories about his schedule.

Interesting.  Do those articles happen to mention whether Bill flew commercially, or on a private plane provided by the network?  

It really says something that, given how rare and expensive air travel was back in the '50s, Bill was such a valuable commodity that CBS would be willing to shuttle him back and forth between jobs.

Commercial.  One of the treasures in my collection is a full-page Variety ad that Bill's management took out after the run of Place the Face. Bill thanks the airline staff for their graciousness, but says that for now, all his shows would originate from New York.  

Yes, given that there was certainly no lack of West Coast talent by that time, it's surprising that Bill would be shipped across the country for a once-a-week show.  Still, it probably had less to do with CBS and more to do with the sponsor.  A LOT of Bill's work in the fifties, especially on radio, was sponsored by Prom, which also sponsored Place the Face.  That's almost certainly not a coincidence.

[SamJ93]

Did Marc Summers need to commute from anywhere else when "Double Dare" taped its first few seasons in Philadelphia?