Notable Game Show Hosts: Where Are They Now?
If you grew up watching Tic Tac Dough, The Jokers Wild, Scrabble and Family Feud, you have a warm place in your heart for such game show hosts as Wink Martindale, Chuck Woolery and Richard Dawson. In the light of reality TV, game shows seem to have declined. Where are the hosts now? Inquiring minds wanted to know…
First I searched on Wink Martindale and was delighted to find his website: Welcome to Wink’s World. I must say I was not all that impressed when surfing his site. His section on patriotism includes an MP3 of Celine Dion singing God Bless America and another post on “Thoughts By Rush Limbaugh“. In my (humble) opinion, people in entertainment have no business making public political statements (thank you, Jane Fonda) But I digress…
Many people don’t remember Chuck Woolery was the original host Wheel of Fortune from 1975 to 1981. Woolery eventually left Wheel of Fortune in a salary dispute with show producers, which he has admitted was a mistake on his part. According to an interview with Woolery after Griffin’s death, he demanded a raise from $65,000 per year to $500,000. Griffin was only willing to pay $400,000. Chuck recently appeared in the live stage show “$250,000 Game Show Spectacular” at the Las Vegas Hilton until the show ended in April of 2008. On his website, chuchwoolery.com, you’ll unexpectedly find a variety of quality products for the outdoor enthusiast.
And who can forget Richard Dawson of Family Feud? He won a Daytime Emmy Award for Best Game Show Host for his work on the show. One of his trademarks, kissing all the female contestants, was one of the things that made the show appear to be a warm and friendly program. However, Dawson was actually not averse to insulting contestants or sparking controversy, a fact which tended to escape references to the program. Many now think of him as a pervert who would cop a feel off of all the female contestants while their husbands and families watched. Seth MacFarlane’s Family Guy does a great parody of this in Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story:
Peter Griffin: [Hosting Family Feud] How are you Betsy, welcome to the show. You are a lovely young woman, [kisses her cheek]
Peter Griffin: and I’ll just get my hand up there and feel that one and that one [squeezes her breasts, she looks at him horrifically]
Peter Griffin: and we’re looking for something you shop for at the mall, three seconds.
If you have not yet seen this, you’re really missing out.
Richard Dawson was replaced by Ray Combs who, after significant financial losses, went mad. He frantically made phone calls from his apartment to his wife where he was sobbing and hysterical. His wife Debbie quickly called 911, and paramedics quickly responded. After he was treated and released, as Debbie was driving him home, Combs leaped from the car at a red light and disappeared behind some houses.
A few hours later, he was seen in front of his wife’s house. Debbie sent one of his children to lock the door, and when he wouldn’t open up, Combs became hysterical. He hit his head against the wall of the house and Debbie called the police. When they arrived, Combs claimed he had slipped in the Jacuzzi.
Combs was eventually admitted to the psychiatric ward of Glendale Adventist Medical Center and placed on a 72-hour mental observation hold. At about 4:10 in the morning, Pacific Standard Time, on Sunday, June 2, 1996, he committed suicide by removing the sheets from his bed and using them to hang himself in the closet of his hospital room. His family relied upon a $25,000 donation from Johnny Carson to pay for funeral expenses.
I haven’t really watched The Feud in a hot minute. I couldn’t accept John O’Hurley as the host after playing J. Peterman on Seinfeld. I could, however, consider giving 100 Mexicanos Dijieron a try, the Mexican version of the game show.
$@bs
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Esme Fisher on 05.12.2010
Well, Family Feud is actually a classic game that traces back wayback in the 80′s i guess. It is a nice game anyway.,~.
Austin Cook on 08.12.2010
“Family Feud” was a great game show in the old days, now we have “who wants to be a millionaire”"-”
Disease Treatments on 10.18.2010
i love to watch family feud on youtube and on our local cable tv operator”"`
Caldwell on 09.14.2011
This is exactly the information I need to. Thank you writing this publish.