Author Topic: Same show, different host (Read 13045 times)

tyshaun1 · « **on:** June 09, 2013, 03:01:16 PM »

The Twisters thread mention of Geoff Edwards auditioning for $OTC has me wondering; what other shows out there had the possibility of a well-known host before they went to air? For instance, I know Geoff also did the pilot for \"Your Number\'s Up\" but Nipsey Russell got the series; Peter Tomarken hosted the \"Wordplay\" pilot which went to series with Tom Kennedy.

Tyshaun

Vahan_Nisanian · « **Reply #1 on:** June 09, 2013, 03:07:01 PM »

From the 2005 book The Ultimate TV Game Shows Book:

3rd Degree: Peter Marshall (Pilot); Bert Convy (Actual Show)

3\'s a Crowd: Wink Martindale (Pilot); Jim Peck (Actual Show)

50 Grand Slam: Peter Haskell (Pilot); Tom Kennedy (Actual Show)

Blackout: Robb Weller (Pilot); Bob Goen (Actual Show)

Catch Phrase: Rick Barry (Pilot); Art James (Actual Show)

Hollywood Game: Peter Allen (Pilot); Bob Goen (Actual Show)

Hollywood\'s Talking: Al Lohman (Pilot); Geoff Edwards (Actual Show)

Make me Laugh: Geoff Edwards (Pilot); Bobby Van (Actual Show)

Match Game 90: Bert Convy (Pilot); Ross Shafer (Actual Show)

Movie Game: Jack Narz (Pilot); Sonny Fox (Actual Show)

Show-Offs: Larry Blyden (Pilot); Bobby Van (Actual Show)

The Joker\'s Wild: Allen Ludden (Pilot); Jack Barry (Actual Show)

To Tell the Truth: Mike Wallace (Pilot); Bud Collyer (Actual Show)

To Tell the Truth \'90: Richard Kline (Pilot); Gordon Elliot (Actual Show)

Two for the Money: Fred Allen (Pilot); Herb Schriner (Actual Show)

Who, What or Where Game: Jack Narz (Pilot); Art James (Actual Show)

Winning Streak: Art James (Pilot); Bill Cullen (Actual Show)

calliaume · « **Reply #2 on:** June 09, 2013, 03:27:03 PM »

From the 2005 book The Ultimate TV Game Shows Book:

3rd Degree: Peter Marshall (Pilot); Bert Convy (Actual Show)

And Pete wasn\'t the least bit bitter about this.

3\'s a Crowd: Wink Martindale (Pilot); Jim Peck (Actual Show)

Talk about Wink dodging a bullet. I would guess this taped either before Tic Tac Dough was airing, or it might have been iffy for a second syndicated season.

Catch Phrase: Rick Barry (Pilot); Art James (Actual Show)

That would have been interesting - and would have made Rick Barry likely the tallest game show host ever (he\'s 6\' 7\").

Movie Game: Jack Narz (Pilot); Sonny Fox (Actual Show)

Who, What or Where Game: Jack Narz (Pilot); Art James (Actual Show)

Poor Jack - he was close to working in his home area of California in 1969, then doing a network game - and wound up having to commute to Montreal to do Beat the Clock within a year.

Winning Streak: Art James (Pilot); Bill Cullen (Actual Show)

I guess Art would have gotten the gig if Three on a Match had survived.

Chief-O · « **Reply #3 on:** June 09, 2013, 03:41:42 PM »

IIRC, another post here mentioned that Geoff Edwards almost landed \"Family Feud\". He apparently turned it down because he thought it would be too similar to \"The Neighbors\".

BrandonFG · « **Reply #4 on:** June 09, 2013, 03:52:36 PM »

I think Geoff was mentioned on the Feud True Hollywood Story. Wasn\'t Jack Narz considered as well?

-Wheel: even though Chuck hosted the first \"Shopper\'s Bazaar\" pilot, there was also Edd Byrnes.

-Peter Tomarken on Monopoly.

-Stretching this a bit, but according to Regis, Michael Davies had considered Phil Donahue*, Bill Cullen (!), and I think Maury Povich for Millionaire back in 1999. Regis quipped that Bill had been dead for eight years by that point.

-Bert Parks hosted the Hollywood Squares pilot, and Dan Rowan was considered. In the Backstage with the Original Hollywood Square book, Peter tells a story of how he \"screwed\" Rowan out of the hosting gig, to get even with Rowan for doing former acting partner Tommy Noonan wrong.

*Or maybe that was the syndicated version

MikeK · « **Reply #5 on:** June 09, 2013, 03:59:32 PM »

Catch Phrase: Rick Barry (Pilot); Art James (Actual Show)
That would have been interesting - and would have made Rick Barry likely the tallest game show host ever (he\'s 6\' 7\").

At least at the time. John Salley, all 7 feet of him, hosted I Can\'t Believe You Said That in 1998 for FOX Family.

The Pyramids · « **Reply #6 on:** June 09, 2013, 04:00:50 PM »

Peter Tomarken hosted a \'Whammy\' pilot but the job of course went to Todd Newton. Somtime somwhere here someone once mentioned others who hosted \'TPIR\' pilots in 1994 before the job going to Doug Davidson. Finally didn\'t Dolly Parton host a \'Feud\' pilot in what became the Pearson Louie Anderson version?

That Don Guy · « **Reply #7 on:** June 09, 2013, 05:46:54 PM »

Mike Eruzione (captain of the 1980 USA Olympic ice hockey team) was the host of one of the pilots of Starcade; Mark Richards (later Geoff Edwards) hosted the series.

WarioBarker · « **Reply #8 on:** June 09, 2013, 06:28:03 PM »

The original Wild & Crazy Kids had different hosts for the 1989 pilot; not sure who, though. Also, I remember someone from Jeopardy! (I think) posted very briefly on the Sony forums that Bob Hilton hosted a pilot in 1976.

Lemme see what I can find from my reference materials...
The Amateur\'s Guide to Love: Joe Flynn (Pilot), Gene Rayburn (Series)
Born Lucky: Mark Sweet (Pilot), Bob Goen (Series)
Chain Letter: Dennis James (Pilot), Jan Murray (Series)
Chain Reaction \'06: Tim Vincent (Pilot), Bil Dwyer (Series)
Choose Up Sides: Bob Kennedy (Pilot), Gene Rayburn (Series)
Classic Concentration: Orson Bean (Concentration Pilots), Alex Trebek (Series)
The Face Is Familiar: Jack Clark (Pilot), Jack Whitaker (Series)
The Gong Show: Gary Owens (Pilot), John Barbour (Series, first taped week), Chuck Barris (Series, first aired week onward)
The Guinness Game: Bob Hilton (Pilot), Don Galloway (Series)
Home Shopping Game: Dean Goss (Pilot), Bob Goen (Series)
Hot Streak: Gene Rayburn (Party Line Pilot), Bruce Forsyth (Series)
How Do You Like Your Eggs?: Howard Blumenthal (Pilot), Bill Cullen (Series)
The Love Experts: Jack Cassidy (Pilot), Bill Cullen (Series)
The New Newlywed Game: Jim Lange (Pilots), Bob Eubanks (Series)
Penny To A Million: Bud Collyer (Pilot), Bill Goodwin (Series)
Quick As A Flash: Bill Cullen (Pilot), Bobby Sherwood (Series)
Rodeo Drive: Peter Tomarken (Pilot), Louise Duart (Series)
Trivial Pursuit: America Plays: Mark L. Walberg (Pilot), Christopher Knight (Series)
WinTuition: Marc Cohen (Pilot), Marc Summers (Series)
You\'re On Your Own: Jack Barry (Pilot), Steve Dunne (Series)
You\'re Putting Me On: Ron Husmann (Pilot), Bill Leyden (Series)

The Joker\'s Wild: Allen Ludden (Pilot); Jack Barry (Actual Show)

Technically you could also list Jim McKrell as hosting a pilot, since Joker was two-thirds of Barry\'s 1970 pilot The Honeymoon Game and would likely have been the whole thing if it had sold.

3\'s a Crowd: Wink Martindale (Pilot); Jim Peck (Actual Show)
Talk about Wink dodging a bullet. I would guess this taped either before Tic Tac Dough was airing, or it might have been iffy for a second syndicated season.

I think Jamie Locklin brought this up: Wink\'s 3\'s A Crowd pilot taped in 1969.

-Peter Tomarken on Monopoly.

In 1989, yes. Before him, Marc Summers in 1987.

-Bert Parks hosted the Hollywood Squares pilot, and Dan Rowan was considered.

Sandy Baron apparently did a pilot in 1966.

Peter Tomarken hosted a \'Whammy\' pilot but the job of course went to Todd Newton.

Todd hosted a pilot the same day Peter did.

someone once mentioned others who hosted \'TPIR\' pilots in 1994 before the job going to Doug Davidson.

Mark Kriski hosted a pilot in 1993, as did Doug.

Mike Eruzione [...] was the host of one of the pilots of Starcade

The original pilot. Alex Trebek hosted the next three pilots, which were much closer to the program that debuted.

Winkfan · « **Reply #9 on:** June 09, 2013, 06:41:53 PM »

When Steve Beverly had his Name That Tune tribute online many moons ago, it said that after NTT was thrown off of CBS, host George DeWitt was later considered for both Video Village; and then Double Exposure. Those gigs, respectively, were instead given to Jack Narz (later Monty Hall) and Steve Dunne.

Cordially,
Tammy

chad1m · « **Reply #10 on:** June 09, 2013, 07:04:12 PM »

Finally didn\'t Dolly Parton host a \'Feud\' pilot in what became the Pearson Louie Anderson version?

She did, in 1998. A year previously, Doug Davidson\'s name had been associated with a potential revival. (Mediaweek, Jan. 13, 1997.)

TLEberle · « **Reply #11 on:** June 09, 2013, 07:33:20 PM »

I am confused by the laundry list: isn\'t part of the point of the pilot to see if a particular person would be well suited to that format? It doesn\'t seem to be much of a surprise that the host would change from pilot to finished product.

BrandonFG · « **Reply #12 on:** June 09, 2013, 07:36:50 PM »

About a year before that, a guy named Tom Green (not the MTV jokester) hosted a pilot for a Card Sharks revival...one that was pretty different than the pretty different one hosted by Pat Bullard.

Jimmy Owen · « **Reply #13 on:** June 09, 2013, 07:44:42 PM »

What I don\'t get is why an established host like Geoff Edwards would turn down the chance to host a Goodson-Todman show like Family Feud. In those days, that was 26 weeks of guaranteed employment. I don\'t think Geoff ever did any G-T shows as host or panelist. That story seems far-fetched.

Vahan_Nisanian · « **Reply #14 on:** June 09, 2013, 07:51:29 PM »

Here\'s one more I can think of:

In 1963, there was a short-lived Heatter-Quigley game on NBC called People Will Talk. The actual show was hosted by Dennis James. But the pilot was taped for CBS with Arthur Godfrey as the host. This is according to The Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows.