The Game Show Forum
The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: TimK2003 on April 23, 2008, 09:48:29 AM
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Who were your favorite fill-in or substitute hosts on shows and the show they pinched hit on? Who were the worst?
My short List:
BEST
Jim Peck on Joker's Wild -- He always kept the game at a good clip and didn't overplay the trademark B&E:
"..If you answer this correctly.....you would win your 5th game....and you'd win that beautiful Buick Skylark....Here is your question..."
Jim once said he was told he was moving the game too quick!
WORST
Dave Price on Millionaire -- E'nuff Said!
Others???
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BEST: Bill Cullen on "Password Plus".
WORST: Alex Trebeck on "Wheel of Fortune" in the early 80's. Just seemed too uptight for me.
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[quote name=\'Steve_Bier\' post=\'184652\' date=\'Apr 23 2008, 09:57 AM\']
WORST: Alex Trebeck on "Wheel of Fortune" in the early 80's. Just seemed too uptight for me.
[/quote]
Wasn't he filling in when Chuck attempted suicide? Would those circumstances be reason for him to seem uptight?
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[quote name=\'DoorNumberFour\' post=\'184654\' date=\'Apr 23 2008, 10:19 AM\']
Wasn't he filling in when Chuck attempted suicide? [/quote]
Whoa whoa whoa whoa WHOA!
First, go read this thread (http://\"http://gameshow.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=5214\") from a few years ago. The ONLY reference to Chuck Woolery attempting suicide ANYWHERE is on this web page (http://\"http://www.gameshow-galaxy.net/wheel.htm\"). In our discussion of this subject, the author of that information said (rather stubbornly, I think) "I believe I had read this in a book somewhere. If I'm wrong, I apologize, but that's all I have to say."
If that information really was "in a book somewhere", he wouldn't be the only person in the world to have read it. He wouldn't even be the only person in this forum. So it's pretty likely that no such reference "in a book somewhere" exists, and we REALLY shouldn't be posting information like this as an assumed fact.
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[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'184655\' date=\'Apr 23 2008, 10:46 AM\']
First, go read this thread (http://\"http://gameshow.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=5214\") from a few years ago.
[/quote]
Great...now I'm back to wondering where the hell that rounded backdrop came from. :-P
Best:
Prolly Bergeron on Millionaire. I'd really love to see him land another regular hosting gig (on a game show, not something like "Dancing...")
Worst:
Dave Price, Millionaire. Like I mentioned in this post, (http://\"http://gameshow.ipbhost.com/index.php?s=&showtopic=14972&view=findpost&p=179763\") he seemed awkward (like Jim Caldwell on TTD awkward) and sounded like a stereotypical game show host (like the ones you'd see on a sitcom).
Jack Barry would be proud of the faux drama he managed to build, though...
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[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'184655\' date=\'Apr 23 2008, 09:46 AM\']
[quote name=\'DoorNumberFour\' post=\'184654\' date=\'Apr 23 2008, 10:19 AM\']
Wasn't he filling in when Chuck attempted suicide? [/quote]
Whoa whoa whoa whoa WHOA!
First, go read this thread (http://\"http://gameshow.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=5214\") from a few years ago. The ONLY reference to Chuck Woolery attempting suicide ANYWHERE is on this web page (http://\"http://www.gameshow-galaxy.net/wheel.htm\"). In our discussion of this subject, the author of that information said (rather stubbornly, I think) "I believe I had read this in a book somewhere. If I'm wrong, I apologize, but that's all I have to say."
If that information really was "in a book somewhere", he wouldn't be the only person in the world to have read it. He wouldn't even be the only person in this forum. So it's pretty likely that no such reference "in a book somewhere" exists, and we REALLY shouldn't be posting information like this as an assumed fact.
[/quote]
Oh NO! I thought I'd deleted that part :(
EDIT: There, fixed. What can I say, back then I was a bit hotheaded :)
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Worst:
Mark Goodson on "to Tell the Truth". For a guy who created so many television shows, and therefore spent so much time around TV studios, he had the most wooden on-camera demeanor that I've ever seen.
I mean, the show cues were all written out for the host on those cards that Bud would carry out to the desk with him every day... it's not **that** hard to deliver lines that a) you've heard about a million times before and b) are sitting right in front of your face!
-Kevin
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Sonny Fox, filling in for Bud Collyer on "Beat The Clock" in 1956 I think it was. He was just totally out of his element, and demonstrated also why he got fired as host of "$64,000 Challenge."
Jim Fleming (the first newsreader on "The Today Show"), a TTTT sub host around 1961 had a bad rapport with the panel, and their was a distinct chill in the air in the exchanges between him and the panel.
And the one-time Bennett Cerf subbed as host on WML in 1956, you could also tell how much of a fish out of water he was to be on the other side of the stage.
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BEST:
a two time winner, Geoff Edwards filling in for Bill on "Chain Reaction" for a couple weeks in the early 80's, and for Monty on LMAD a few years later.
WORST:
Ralph Andrews on "Lingo" with a "supporting worst" to Margaux McKenzie.
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[quote name=\'narzo\' post=\'184686\' date=\'Apr 23 2008, 06:07 PM\']
WORST:
Ralph Andrews on "Lingo" with a "supporting worst" to Margaux McKenzie.
[/quote]
Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't he replace Michael Reagan outright?
From the few clips I've seen of him hosting, he really wasn't too bad. Probably a little nervous to finally be on camera after all those years backstage, but for a rookie host, he was quite tolerable.
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[quote name=\'Chief-O\' post=\'184687\' date=\'Apr 23 2008, 04:44 PM\']
Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't he replace Michael Reagan outright?[/quote]
I thought the gameplan was that he be interim while Reagan was off promoting his book, but the show got canned before Reagan could come back.
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[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'184689\' date=\'Apr 23 2008, 07:48 PM\']
[quote name=\'Chief-O\' post=\'184687\' date=\'Apr 23 2008, 04:44 PM\']
Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't he replace Michael Reagan outright?[/quote]
I thought the gameplan was that he be interim while Reagan was off promoting his book...
[/quote]
Well, I guess somebody had to raise the money to pay back the contestants...
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Worst:
Jm J Bullock on Hollywood Squares
Jm J Bullock on Super Sloppy Double Dare
I don't have anything against the guy, but his hosting is/was horrible. He talked a million miles a minute and ran all of his words together.
I recall that SSDD (Marc v. Harvey) ep where he talked so fast they told him to stretch it out.
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[quote name=\'bwood\' post=\'184711\' date=\'Apr 23 2008, 11:36 PM\']
I recall that SSDD (Marc v. Harvey) ep where he talked so fast they told him to stretch it out.
[/quote]
Yep! And he of course made note of it on camera. "And you go through the very, very looooong ear, grab the very, very loooooong flag..."
-Jason
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Can we count Marshall sitting in for Bergeron? If not, I'll go for Cullen on TTTT.
I'll nominate for the bad Jamie Farr (sitting in for Tom Kennedy on WORDPLAY).
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BEST
Jim Peck on Joker's Wild -- He always kept the game at a good clip and didn't overplay the trademark B&E:
"..If you answer this correctly.....you would win your 5th game....and you'd win that beautiful Buick Skylark....Here is your question..."
Jim once said he was told he was moving the game too quick!
He was indeed...during his phone appearance @ GSC7 back in 98, he mentioned that while filling in for Cullen during the final season, they'd gotten so used to Bill's slow-paced hosting style that they had to stop tape about 3/4 through an ep. The reason? Peck had run out of questions, so they had to refill his podium before resuming!
Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")
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For best, I'd nominate Jack Clark on Password, who did a fine job both interacting w/the celebs and keeping the game moving.
For worst, I'd concur w/Eric's choice of Sonny Fox on BtC...anyone know if he did better on TTTT or TPiR? JM J. Bullock was also up there...aside from his breakneck pace on SSDD, he was clueless on what to do when one of the teams missed a question in a non-dare situation early on.
Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")
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[quote name=\'ChuckNet\' post=\'184715\' date=\'Apr 23 2008, 11:49 PM\']
He was indeed...during his phone appearance @ GSC7 back in 98, he mentioned that while filling in for Cullen during the final season, they'd gotten so used to Bill's slow-paced hosting style that they had to stop tape about 3/4 through an ep. The reason? Peck had run out of questions, so they had to refill his podium before resuming!
[/quote]
I think Jim might actually be the only one who actually did BETTER then the guy who was hosting normally. No offense towards Barry or Cullen, but I think both of their primes were past them, though both did well.
Ohter good ones:
About Alex Trebek on Wheel, I think he did well filling in on April 1st in 1997. Also, Pat Sajak did pretty good on Jeopardy! that day. Dennis James of course did ok doing TPIR for Bob. Bill Cullen on Password Plus. Marc Summers on Scrabble, it was nice seeing him do an adult game show. Peter Marshall did well on HS in 2002 :)
Bad:
Rosie on HS for the one round. I can't really think of any others for some reason (ones that weren't said I mean)
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I think I have one of Jack Clark's Passwords, which I'll have to watch again. Off the top of my head, Cullen on P+ is first one that comes to mind on the good side, and I have to agree with Goodson on (Trebek's) TTTT on the bad side.
After the April Fool's Day gag on J!/WoF, Alex said something to the effect that it showed that anyone could host. I thought he was far too modest. It showed the importance of the right host for the right show, because Sajak lacked the gravitas for J!
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Geoff Edwards always did a phenomenal job as the fill-in host, regardless of the format. LMaD and Chain Reaction (which he, of course, would later helm full-time) were already cited, and I could swear I remember him guesting on Joker's Wild during the last season.
I have to say the worst I've seen is actually on right now: Billy Bush guesting on Millionaire. He's absolutely deplorable and makes Bert Parks seem warm and genuine by comparison. Go back and watch his few episodes of the LMaD remake if you need further evidence. (And this opinion has nothing to do with his family relations.)
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[quote name=\'CountdownRound\' post=\'184776\' date=\'Apr 24 2008, 04:38 PM\']I have to say the worst I've seen is actually on right now: Billy Bush guesting on Millionaire. He's absolutely deplorable and makes Bert Parks seem warm and genuine by comparison. [/quote]I've seen bits and pieces of the three earlier shows, and all of tonight's, and I'm willing to be a bit more charitable. I'm tired of the "Are you ready to play? Well, too bad, because it's time for a break", though. If he was given more than a week as substitute host, maybe he'd grow into the role.
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[quote name=\'gsgalaxy82\' post=\'184717\' date=\'Apr 24 2008, 01:01 AM\']
I think Jim might actually be the only one who actually did BETTER then the guy who was hosting normally. No offense towards Barry or Cullen, but I think both of their primes were past them, though both did well.
[/quote]
If you go that route...
Alf was a better substitute host than John Davidson's regular hosting gig on Hollywood Squares!
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I feel both Jm. J and Shadoe did deplorable jobs filling in for John on HS.
I've only seen a snippet of Jm J, but the one show I have with Shadoe, Jm. J takes full advantage of being the center square (Joan Rivers was also MIA) and takes the lion's share of camera time. He actually took 3 minutes to answer a simple question on football helmets, and the cameras continually got shots of him goofing off with the helmets. It was like Shadoe was a substitute teacher and Jm J was the unruly student. Not what HS should be IMO.
I seem to recall Joan Rivers doing a one shot at hosting for an April Fools show, with John as center square (and to his credit, John Davidson was a great HS celeb, and you could never tell if he was bluffing.) Let's just say I wasn't laughing.
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Best: Bill Cullen for Allen Ludden on Password Plus.
Worst: Rosie O'Donnell for Tom Bergeron on Hollywood Squares.
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[quote name=\'TimK2003\' post=\'184797\' date=\'Apr 24 2008, 09:39 PM\']If you go that route...
Alf was a better substitute host than John Davidson's regular hosting gig on Hollywood Squares!
[/quote]
Well, as long as we're all in agreement.
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[quote name=\'whewfan\' post=\'184807\' date=\'Apr 25 2008, 02:37 AM\']
It was like Shadoe was a substitute teacher and Jm J was the unruly student. Not what HS should be IMO.[/quote]
You have just perfectly summed up the entire Davidson run of Squares.
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[quote name=\'whewfan\' post=\'184807\' date=\'Apr 25 2008, 05:37 AM\']
I feel both Jm. J and Shadoe did deplorable jobs filling in for John on HS.
I've only seen a snippet of Jm J, but the one show I have with Shadoe, Jm. J takes full advantage of being the center square (Joan Rivers was also MIA) and takes the lion's share of camera time. He actually took 3 minutes to answer a simple question on football helmets, and the cameras continually got shots of him goofing off with the helmets. It was like Shadoe was a substitute teacher and Jm J was the unruly student. Not what HS should be IMO.
I seem to recall Joan Rivers doing a one shot at hosting for an April Fools show, with John as center square (and to his credit, John Davidson was a great HS celeb, and you could never tell if he was bluffing.) Let's just say I wasn't laughing.
[/quote]
As 80s Squares guests hosts go, I have to give top honors to ALF.
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I have to say the worst I've seen is actually on right now: Billy Bush guesting on Millionaire. He's absolutely deplorable and makes Bert Parks seem warm and genuine by comparison. Go back and watch his few episodes of the LMaD remake if you need further evidence. (And this opinion has nothing to do with his family relations.)
I thought Dave Price was worse.
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[quote name=\'gsgalaxy82\' post=\'184717\' date=\'Apr 24 2008, 01:01 AM\']
I think Jim might actually be the only one who actually did BETTER then the guy who was hosting normally. No offense towards Barry or Cullen, but I think both of their primes were past them, though both did well.
[/quote]
I agree...while it was nice to see Bill have one more show, I def think the show would've been in better hands under Peck, just the way Barry wanted it.
Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")
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[quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' post=\'184823\' date=\'Apr 25 2008, 12:40 PM\']
I thought Dave Price was worse.
[/quote]
Yup. That's a no-brainer. :)
Billy Bush looked like Drew in the beginning...slightly out-of-element, but with time could handle the show well.
I wish I would have seen Tom on Millionaire...sounds like he did pretty good.
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Best:Dennis James filling in for Bob on that '74 Christmas show, great job! Of course Dennis was hosting the nighttime version, so he was already familiar with that format.
May I ask what I missed on H2? Rosie filled in for Tom? Or is it a joke I missed?
Worst: Not too many sub hosts to choose from, I think we've already covered the few times it's happened already. Keep Patrick Wayne from pinch hitting, good enough for me
:D
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I enjoyed Betsy Palmer's guest host stint on IGAS.
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I actually enjoyed Dave and Billy on Millionaire, but that goes back to my vehement hatred of Meredith Viera.
Geoff definitely is up there in my picks for best, without a doubt, along with Jack Clark on Password.
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[quote name=\'DjohnsonCB\' post=\'194227\' date=\'Aug 15 2008, 07:31 PM\']
I enjoyed Betsy Palmer's guest host stint on IGAS.
[/quote]
Of the Secret panelists that filled in for Garry, I liked Henry the best. Absolutely nothing against Bill, I just really enjoyed the back-and-forth between Henry (at the host desk) and the panel (particularly Bill), like Garry was there. I found myself missing it during the Steve Allen tenure.
As for Bill, he was spot on in his month subbing on P+.
I think I'll also add Tim Vincent on Millionaire. If Chain Reaction had gone to series with him, it may not have sucked so very much.
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[quote name=\'Queen of Nerdocrombesia\' post=\'194251\' date=\'Aug 15 2008, 08:39 PM\']I think I'll also add Tim Vincent on Millionaire. If Chain Reaction had gone to series with him, it may not have sucked so very much.[/quote]I don't think Bill Cullen himself could have saved the black hole of suck that was Chain Reaction 2006.
All the same, there's a happy thought.
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[quote name=\'TLEberle\' post=\'194252\' date=\'Aug 15 2008, 10:52 PM\']I don't think Bill Cullen himself could have saved the black hole of suck that was Chain Reaction 2006.[/quote]
Whether he could is the classic example of an undefined limit: +∞ plus -∞ is unanswerable.
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[quote name=\'rwalker\' post=\'194061\' date=\'Aug 14 2008, 03:53 PM\']
May I ask what I missed on H2? Rosie filled in for Tom? Or is it a joke I missed?
[/quote]
She hosted a round or two in the first season (1998). By that point, Tom had already built up a great hosting style, and maintained a laid-back approach, esp. when confirming a right answer. Rosie, IMO, brought too much of a sitcom game show hostess approach to the game.
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I don't know if this was mentioned, but Ralph Andrews was a subpar fill in for Michael Reagan on Lingo (he actually ended up hosting for the rest of the run). Apparently this version of Lingo was having budget problems and contestant's didn't get their earnings. Michael Reagan himself, IMO, was no flashy guy either, but it was obvious that Ralph couldn't find anyone else to host, and ended up doing the show himself. Chuck Woolery had them both beat being a far more competent host than either of them on Lingo.
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[quote name=\'Queen of Nerdocrombesia\' post=\'194251\' date=\'Aug 15 2008, 11:39 PM\']Of the Secret panelists that filled in for Garry, I liked Henry the best. Absolutely nothing against Bill, I just really enjoyed the back-and-forth between Henry (at the host desk) and the panel (particularly Bill), like Garry was there. I found myself missing it during the Steve Allen tenure.[/quote]
I'm not absolutely sure, but Bill may never have actually filled in for Garry Moore on IGAS. Probably for the same reason he didn't permanently replace Garry on TTTT. He was too good as a panelist.
It worked just fine to have Henry as a substitute host, even if he wasn't as smooth. Better to keep it "in the family" than to bring in an outsider to host. I even liked it when Bennett Cerf hosted WML, and he was just awful.
Henry did substitute for Steve Allen at least once, but by that point in the run they could tape shows in advance, and missing a live broadcast became less of an issue.
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[quote name=\'whewfan\' post=\'194282\' date=\'Aug 16 2008, 10:04 AM\']Apparently this version of Lingo was having budget problems and contestant's didn't get their earnings. [/quote]
Which is a shame for many reasons, but the one $64,000 win they had (floating around in pretty bad shape) is one of my all-time favorite bonus rounds, and probably my absolute favorite of those without a countdown clock.
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[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'194315\' date=\'Aug 16 2008, 07:58 PM\']
I'm not absolutely sure, but Bill may never have actually filled in for Garry Moore on IGAS.[/quote]
According to the archive of Tammy's list, Bill subbed on July 24, 1957 (and what a week, with guest Gypsy Rose Lee). The next week, Henry subbed, and then for the next month, it was Hal March at the helm.
[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'194315\' date=\'Aug 16 2008, 07:58 PM\']
Probably for the same reason he didn't permanently replace Garry on TTTT. He was too good as a panelist.[/quote]
My thoughts precisely.
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[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'194315\' date=\'Aug 16 2008, 07:58 PM\']
I'm not absolutely sure, but Bill may never have actually filled in for Garry Moore on IGAS.
[/quote]
Yes he did. He guest-hosted a "Summer Special" in 1957. My thought while watching it was that Bill probably didn't do it very often because after IGAS morphed into "variety show that looks like a game show," it may have required a bit more mobility than Bill could have handled. In fact, it was after watching that show that I suddenly realized how active Garry was every week.
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[quote name=\'TwoInchQuad\' post=\'184670\' date=\'Apr 23 2008, 11:19 AM\']
Worst:
Mark Goodson on "to Tell the Truth". For a guy who created so many television shows, and therefore spent so much time around TV studios, he had the most wooden on-camera demeanor that I've ever seen.
I mean, the show cues were all written out for the host on those cards that Bud would carry out to the desk with him every day... it's not **that** hard to deliver lines that a) you've heard about a million times before and b) are sitting right in front of your face![/quote]
To be fair to my former employer, I've seen the episode he emceed with Betsy Palmer sitting in for Kitty and I've also seen him emcee it in the office in preparation for the 1980 version. He was fine with the format, i.e. conducting business, moving things along and getting the language out, but you are correct, as a personality he was stiff and wooden. But he was like that in person, and it explains why he hired affable guys like Bill Cullen, Bud Collyer and Gene Rayburn as emcees instead of trying to emcee his shows himself as Jack Barry and Monty Hall did.
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[quote name=\'TwoInchQuad\' post=\'184670\' date=\'Apr 23 2008, 01:19 PM\']
Worst:
Mark Goodson on "to Tell the Truth". For a guy who created so many television shows, and therefore spent so much time around TV studios, he had the most wooden on-camera demeanor that I've ever seen.
I mean, the show cues were all written out for the host on those cards that Bud would carry out to the desk with him every day... it's not **that** hard to deliver lines that a) you've heard about a million times before and b) are sitting right in front of your face!
-Kevin
[/quote]
Four and a half months later, I noticed the reference to Bud. You mean he filled in for two different hosts? Interesting.
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While maybe not the best, I have to say that Sally Struthers did an admirable job subbing for Vicki Lawrence on the daytime "Win, Lose or Draw." Not that the show had the toughest format, but still, she seemed pretty natural in the host(ess) role.
Speaking of female sub hosts, did anyone see Betty White's week of hosting "Password" in 1975?
Brendan
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[quote name=\'pyrfan\' post=\'194382\' date=\'Aug 18 2008, 12:27 AM\']
While maybe not the best, I have to say that Sally Struthers did an admirable job subbing for Vicki Lawrence on the daytime "Win, Lose or Draw." Not that the show had the toughest format, but still, she seemed pretty natural in the host(ess) role.
Speaking of female sub hosts, did anyone see Betty White's week of hosting "Password" in 1975?
[/quote]
Betty's a pro whatever she does - but she lived that format.
There's an entirely different category to explore here - sub-hosts (and really good ones) who filled in so their hosts could play the game, like Jack Narz for Tom Kennedy on "You Don't Say!" (I think he did this on "Password Plus" too).
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[quote name=\'davemackey\' post=\'194393\' date=\'Aug 18 2008, 08:09 AM\']There's an entirely different category to explore here - sub-hosts (and really good ones) who filled in so their hosts could play the game, like Jack Narz for Tom Kennedy on "You Don't Say!" (I think he did this on "Password Plus" too).[/quote]
Marc Summers (who was part of GS-Hosts Week anyhow) took over as MC of Scrabble so Chuck could play.
Did Jim Perry ever play CS? I can't recall that he did but the episodes of brain cell mis-function grow increasingly frequent.
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[quote name=\'SteveR\' post=\'194396\' date=\'Aug 18 2008, 09:25 AM\']
Did Jim Perry ever play CS? I can't recall that he did but the episodes of brain cell mis-function grow increasingly frequent.
[/quote]
Not to my recollection. The only shows I recall Perry playing were P+ and FF. Perry did all of the hosting for the Game Show Hosts tournament and didn't do any of the playing.
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[quote name=\'davemackey\' post=\'194393\' date=\'Aug 18 2008, 05:09 AM\']
There's an entirely different category to explore here - sub-hosts (and really good ones) who filled in so their hosts could play the game, like Jack Narz for Tom Kennedy on "You Don't Say!" (I think he did this on "Password Plus" too).[/quote]
The example I always think of here is when Bert Convy plays TattleTales and they brought out Barker and Gene Rayburn and such.
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[quote name=\'davemackey\' post=\'194393\' date=\'Aug 18 2008, 08:09 AM\']There's an entirely different category to explore here - sub-hosts (and really good ones) who filled in so their hosts could play the game, like Jack Narz for Tom Kennedy on "You Don't Say!" (I think he did this on "Password Plus" too).[/quote]
Jack Narz sub-hosting Password Plus is one that always floors me. He acts like he's been hosting it for 20 years.
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Speaking of female sub hosts, did anyone see Betty White's week of hosting "Password" in 1975?
I remember it well. They were into the electronic readout for passwords by then, and each game on the first day started with a funny password "welcoming" Betty. One I remember was "...ahh! a female touch..." Obviously they weren't played by the contestants, but I the audience cracked up each time. I was hoping they'd continue that for the whole week but they didn't do it again beyond the first day.
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[quote name=\'TLEberle\' post=\'194252\' date=\'Aug 15 2008, 11:52 PM\']
[quote name=\'Queen of Nerdocrombesia\' post=\'194251\' date=\'Aug 15 2008, 08:39 PM\']I think I'll also add Tim Vincent on Millionaire. If Chain Reaction had gone to series with him, it may not have sucked so very much.[/quote]I don't think Bill Cullen himself could have saved the black hole of suck that was Chain Reaction 2006.
All the same, there's a happy thought.
[/quote]
There's a joke in there, but I'm not gonna....nope!
Let some established user be the one. Thank you
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[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'194325\' date=\'Aug 16 2008, 10:33 PM\']
[quote name=\'TwoInchQuad\' post=\'184670\' date=\'Apr 23 2008, 11:19 AM\']
Worst:
Mark Goodson on "to Tell the Truth". For a guy who created so many television shows, and therefore spent so much time around TV studios, he had the most wooden on-camera demeanor that I've ever seen.
I mean, the show cues were all written out for the host on those cards that Bud would carry out to the desk with him every day... it's not **that** hard to deliver lines that a) you've heard about a million times before and b) are sitting right in front of your face![/quote]
To be fair to my former employer, I've seen the episode he emceed with Betsy Palmer sitting in for Kitty and I've also seen him emcee it in the office in preparation for the 1980 version. He was fine with the format, i.e. conducting business, moving things along and getting the language out, but you are correct, as a personality he was stiff and wooden. But he was like that in person, and it explains why he hired affable guys like Bill Cullen, Bud Collyer and Gene Rayburn as emcees instead of trying to emcee his shows himself as Jack Barry and Monty Hall did.
[/quote]
Didn't MG fill in for Trebek on TTTT '91?
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Well, though this might not count, you had Dingleberries like McClean Stevenson, who hosted MG for a round or two, and had Rayburn playing in his place. Quite frankly, I'm so glad Rayburn made him sit back down, he was forcing his humor way too bad as a host. He was just fine as a panelist.
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[quote name=\'SRIV94\' post=\'184713\' date=\'Apr 23 2008, 11:54 PM\']
I'll nominate for the bad Jamie Farr (sitting in for Tom Kennedy on WORDPLAY).
[/quote]
Oh, God, yes! All those shows he was on in the 1980s telling the likes of Dick Clark and Bert Convy and others that "I can do this". No, you can't, Klinger. He was stilted and stiff. Why in heaven's name was he subbing for Tom for those three shows anyway? As I recall, no mention was made of Tom on those episodes and Charlie O. intro'd Jamie as though he was the host, not an understudy.
His electronic mortal sin of planned badness would not be surpassed until I saw Jimmie Walker guest host for The Hullabalooer on Matchmaker.
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[quote name=\'rwalker\' post=\'194627\' date=\'Aug 20 2008, 03:31 PM\']
Didn't MG fill in for Trebek on TTTT '91?
[/quote]
He filled in for 2 episodes, when Trebek's wife went into labor.
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[quote name=\'Don Howard\' post=\'195065\' date=\'Aug 24 2008, 10:05 PM\']
Why in heaven's name was he subbing for Tom for those three shows anyway? As I recall, no mention was made of Tom on those episodes and Charlie O. intro'd Jamie as though he was the host, not an understudy. [/quote]Could it have been either a test, a trial, or a warmup for that failed NBC pilot that never reached air?
On the good side...Jim Peck filling in on The Joker's Wild.
No one overtly negative comes to mind right now.
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[quote name=\'Modor\' post=\'195096\' date=\'Aug 25 2008, 08:46 AM\']
[quote name=\'Don Howard\' post=\'195065\' date=\'Aug 24 2008, 10:05 PM\']
Why in heaven's name was he subbing for Tom for those three shows anyway? As I recall, no mention was made of Tom on those episodes and Charlie O. intro'd Jamie as though he was the host, not an understudy. [/quote]Could it have been either a test, a trial, or a warmup for that failed NBC pilot that never reached air?
[/quote]
Just about. At the time, Farr hosted the G/T Pilot "Oddball", and, when he guested on the Game Show Hosts week on "Scrabble", he was introduced as the host of the upcoming "Double Up".
Anyone know about what was behind "Double Up"?
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[quote name=\'Robert Hutchinson\' post=\'194427\' date=\'Aug 18 2008, 06:45 PM\']
[quote name=\'davemackey\' post=\'194393\' date=\'Aug 18 2008, 08:09 AM\']There's an entirely different category to explore here - sub-hosts (and really good ones) who filled in so their hosts could play the game, like Jack Narz for Tom Kennedy on "You Don't Say!" (I think he did this on "Password Plus" too).[/quote]
Jack Narz sub-hosting Password Plus is one that always floors me. He acts like he's been hosting it for 20 years.
[/quote]
Great...now I'm all disappointed that we don't have 20 years of Narz hosting Password to enjoy.
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[quote name=\'gsgalaxy82\' post=\'184666\' date=\'Apr 23 2008, 01:14 PM\']
[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'184655\' date=\'Apr 23 2008, 09:46 AM\']
[quote name=\'DoorNumberFour\' post=\'184654\' date=\'Apr 23 2008, 10:19 AM\']
Wasn't he filling in when Chuck attempted suicide? [/quote]
Whoa whoa whoa whoa WHOA!
First, go read this thread (http://\"http://gameshow.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=5214\") from a few years ago. The ONLY reference to Chuck Woolery attempting suicide ANYWHERE is on this web page (http://\"http://www.gameshow-galaxy.net/wheel.htm\"). In our discussion of this subject, the author of that information said (rather stubbornly, I think) "I believe I had read this in a book somewhere. If I'm wrong, I apologize, but that's all I have to say."
If that information really was "in a book somewhere", he wouldn't be the only person in the world to have read it. He wouldn't even be the only person in this forum. So it's pretty likely that no such reference "in a book somewhere" exists, and we REALLY shouldn't be posting information like this as an assumed fact.
[/quote]
Oh NO! I thought I'd deleted that part :(
EDIT: There, fixed. What can I say, back then I was a bit hotheaded :)
[/quote]
I read in an Uncle John's Bathroom Reader that Trebek filled in because Woolery was ill.
Anyway, as far as this topic goes, would Trebek on TTTT'90 count? He wasn't exactly a sub I guess, more like a last-minute-we-fired-our-last-host-will-someone-please-fill-his-shoes. I thought that he seemed more relaxed and warm on TTTT, much like his hosting on Classic Concentration. Too bad this version was already on its 19th host by the time Trebek came on.
Cullen also did very well subbing on P+, the only Password family I've seen him on. I've not really seen any other "guest host" gigs, though.
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[quote name=\'Jay Temple\' post=\'194341\' date=\'Aug 17 2008, 01:24 PM\']
[quote name=\'TwoInchQuad\' post=\'184670\' date=\'Apr 23 2008, 01:19 PM\']
Worst:
Mark Goodson on "to Tell the Truth". For a guy who created so many television shows, and therefore spent so much time around TV studios, he had the most wooden on-camera demeanor that I've ever seen.
I mean, the show cues were all written out for the host on those cards that Bud would carry out to the desk with him every day... it's not **that** hard to deliver lines that a) you've heard about a million times before and b) are sitting right in front of your face!
-Kevin
[/quote]
Four and a half months later, I noticed the reference to Bud. You mean he filled in for two different hosts? Interesting.
[/quote]
Indeed he did! At least a couple of them aired a few years ago on GSN during their MG tribute, IIRC. They were color daytime episodes from late in the run. I don't remember now if they specifically mentioned the reason for Bud's absence, but by that time his health had gotten very bad.
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[quote name=\'TenPoundHammer\' post=\'197398\' date=\'Sep 16 2008, 11:23 PM\']
I read in an Uncle John's Bathroom Reader that Trebek filled in because Woolery was ill.
[/quote]
Never, never cite John Javna (a.k.a. Uncle John) as a definitive source. Nice guy, but a lot of his stuff is not well researched.
(Side note: about eight years ago, Javna was supposed to be doing a Cult TV update, taking out some of the shows no one cared about anymore and putting in new things (like The X-Files). My job was to create four pages of web sites about the TV shows (and put in a big honking credit for Game Shows '75). I did my job, but he never did his, so it never came out. I may be a little resentful.)
Jim Fleming (the first newsreader on "The Today Show"), a TTTT sub host around 1961 had a bad rapport with the panel, and their was a distinct chill in the air in the exchanges between him and the panel.
I read a book on the Today show that said Fleming was pretty much disliked on that show, too. He left in a snit when J. Fred Muggs was introduced.
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[quote name=\'calliaume\' post=\'197586\' date=\'Sep 17 2008, 11:48 PM\']
[quote name=\'TenPoundHammer\' post=\'197398\' date=\'Sep 16 2008, 11:23 PM\']
I read in an Uncle John's Bathroom Reader that Trebek filled in because Woolery was ill.
[/quote]
Never, never cite John Javna (a.k.a. Uncle John) as a definitive source. Nice guy, but a lot of his stuff is not well researched.[/quote]I do, however, seem to recall this was the account given in The Jeopardy! Book.
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[quote name=\'Modor\' post=\'197592\' date=\'Sep 18 2008, 02:02 AM\']
[quote name=\'calliaume\' post=\'197586\' date=\'Sep 17 2008, 11:48 PM\']
[quote name=\'TenPoundHammer\' post=\'197398\' date=\'Sep 16 2008, 11:23 PM\']
I read in an Uncle John's Bathroom Reader that Trebek filled in because Woolery was ill.
[/quote]
Never, never cite John Javna (a.k.a. Uncle John) as a definitive source. Nice guy, but a lot of his stuff is not well researched.[/quote]I do, however, seem to recall this was the account given in The Jeopardy! Book.
[/quote]
And Trebek said so in one of the interview clips that you can unlock on the PSX 2nd edition of J!, so...would sure seem to me that we've got at least two sources here that can back that up?