Game Show Host Time-Sharing

[TravisP]

I know there have been reserve hosts for some shows like TPIR as a one-off, but were there any shows which had one host presenting it for half/two-thirds of one series for another (Reserve) host to take over and host it for the remainder of the duration, I'm not talking about co-hosts.

Reason I ask is that The Vault is set to return on May 11th running for seventeen weeks (Doubled to last year) in the UK. (ITV1's other big money game show and summer filler for Millionaire?) with Melanie Sykes returning to the role, however she is seven months pregnant and is expecting her second child in July but the show is set to finish on 31st August but no-news is mentioned whether a stand-by presenter is going to take over. Davina McCall is a possibility as she hosted back in 2002.

BTW did Vanna White ever had a replacement on Wheel while she was pregnant?

[Jimmy Owen]

You mean like Bob Clayton for Hugh Downs, Larry Blyden for Bill Leyden and/or Sonny Fox and/or Wally Bruner, Joe Garagiola for Jack Kelly, etc?  I don't think there has been a pregnant host on a US game show.  As for one host taking over for another for one show, I remember Patti Deutsch's husband Donald Ross filling in for Bert Convy on "Tattletales" for a third of the show, then Bert for the rest.

[zachhoran]

[quote name=\'TravisP\' date=\'Apr 30 2004, 04:49 AM\']

BTW did Vanna White ever had a replacement on Wheel while she was pregnant? [/quote]
 Nope, her two kids were born while WOF was on their taping hiatus. Vanna missed three weeks of shows IIRC(this was long before her pregnancies): One week of daytime shows in June 1986(Sue Stafford filled in for that Teen Week) when Vanna's significant other of the time was killed in a plane crash, and two weeks in early 1991 upon her marriage(they have since split up I believe; Tricia Gist filled in for Vanna on those weeks)

[TimK2003]

[quote name=\'TravisP\' date=\'Apr 30 2004, 04:49 AM\'] I know there have been reserve hosts for some shows like TPIR as a one-off, but were there any shows which had one host presenting it for half/two-thirds of one series for another (Reserve) host to take over and host it for the remainder of the duration, I'm not talking about co-hosts.
 [/quote]
 During the final years of Jack Barry's life in the early 80s, Jack would have Jim Peck come in as the "Mid-Season Replacement" on The Jokers Wild.  

Not exactly sure how many seasons this was done or the # of weeks out of the season that Jim worked, though.

[calliaume]

Some of the hosts needed backups -- Hugh Downs hosted Concentration for seven years while also on Today, and there were occasions when the latter went out of town for shows.  (Read Seven Glorious Days, Seven Fun-Filled Nights, where Today is on location in San Diego, while Hugh is still in New York on Concentration -- only to note he'll be off the show the next week with Bob Clayton minding the store.)

Carol Merrill worked through nearly her full pregnancy on LMaD.  Did Lacey Pemberton take any time off from Card Sharks when she had her kid?

[rugrats1]

Going back to the original post, the poster mentioned something about substitute hosts on TPIR. On the Cullen version, there were several hosts that filled in when Bill is either sick, on vacation, or on special assignment for another program -- according to the "Encyclopedia", Bills subs were Jack Clark, Bob Kennedy, Johnny Gilbert, Sonny Fox, Sam Levenson, Merv Griffin, Robert Q. Lewis, Jack Narz, Arlene Francis and Don Pardo.

On the Barker version -- Dennis James, the host of the early-1970s syndie version, subbed for Bob on CBS around Christmas 1974. I think that was the only time someone else other than Bob hosted the CBS Price. These days, if Bob needed to take more time off, they reschedule the tapings and, if need be, schedule reruns instead of new shows.

[Craig Karlberg]

If TPIR did a sub host bit in 1974 with Dennis James, I wondered if any of the models(Barker's Beauties) needed time off due to pregnancy or other reasons?

[Jimmy Owen]

[quote name=\'Craig Karlberg\' date=\'May 1 2004, 02:43 AM\'] If TPIR did a sub host bit in 1974 with Dennis James, I wondered if any of the models(Barker's Beauties) needed time off due to pregnancy or other reasons? [/quote]
 No, Dennis was married.

[zachhoran]

[quote name=\'calliaume\' date=\'Apr 30 2004, 10:26 PM\'] Did Lacey Pemberton take any time off from Card Sharks when she had her kid? [/quote]
 Yes, she took a bit of time off, Karen Thomas of $1 Mil CoaL and Kyle Aletter(Lee Meriwether's daughter and 80s stand-in TPIR model) were among the fill-ins.

[calliaume]

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'May 1 2004, 05:08 AM\'] [quote name=\'Craig Karlberg\' date=\'May 1 2004, 02:43 AM\'] If TPIR did a sub host bit in 1974 with Dennis James, I wondered if any of the models(Barker's Beauties) needed time off due to pregnancy or other reasons? [/quote]
No, Dennis was married. [/quote]
 From Mr. Mom:

Annette (Miriam Flynn):  [sing-song voice, after Michael Keaton runs off] He's married!
Joan (Ann Jillian):  [higher-pitched sing-song voice] So were we, once!

I don't think any of the original TPIR models had kids, did they?

[JayC]

Bill Cullen pinched hit for Allen Ludden sometime during Password Plus I think

[PeterMarshallFan]

[quote name=\'Craig Karlberg\' date=\'May 1 2004, 03:43 AM\'] If TPIR did a sub host bit in 1974 with Dennis James, I wondered if any of the models(Barker's Beauties) needed time off due to pregnancy or other reasons? [/quote]
 Janice's camera incident, which was in 1988 IIRC, is one instance..

[SRIV94]

[quote name=\'JayC\' date=\'May 1 2004, 08:39 AM\'] Bill Cullen pinched hit for Allen Ludden sometime during Password Plus I think [/quote]
 You are correct, sir.  Ludden took four weeks off in April and May 1980 and Cullen filled in for him.  Meanwhile, Geoff Edwards filled in on CHAIN REACTION for Cullen for those weeks.

Doug

[adamjk]

Correct me if I am wrong, but didn't Jack Parr sub on Password in the 60's once?

[sshuffield70]

[quote name=\'SRIV94\' date=\'May 1 2004, 01:32 PM\'] [quote name=\'JayC\' date=\'May 1 2004, 08:39 AM\'] Bill Cullen pinched hit for Allen Ludden sometime during Password Plus I think [/quote]
You are correct, sir.  Ludden took four weeks off in April and May 1980 and Cullen filled in for him.  Meanwhile, Geoff Edwards filled in on CHAIN REACTION for Cullen for those weeks.

Doug [/quote]
 Funny how those four weeks led to a five year gig.