Game Shows would not be complete without a Master of Ceremonies, Host, or Emcee to lead the show and keep the flow. A good Host does more than just explain the rules of the show, they also must know how to make the contestant feel comfortable, be witty and funny, but not necessarily a comedian. Follow direction, adapt quickly, keep the audience entertained and stay on schedule. The latter is less important on modern game shows where a lot of editing goes on to cut out any unnecessary content, but most Classic Game Shows were taped live, such as The Price is Right with Bob Barker. Most of the show took place in a single take, rather than constantly going back to retake certain scenes, or removing contestant reactions and host interactions to save time. By keeping the show intact, it gave a more genuine feel and made it more fun for contestants, guests and the audience alike.
Here is a list of some of the most popular and well known Classic Game Show hosts that were on their air at one or several points in time during the “Classic” era from the 1940’s to the 1990’s. I have included their names and a few of the shows that they starred in. I will also continue to edit and add more content to this section, including personal bios, and photos of their on-air appearances.
Fred Allen – Judge for Yourself (1953–54)
Steve Allen – I’ve Got a Secret (1964–67), Battle Dome (1999–2001)
Bob Barker – Truth or Consequences (1956–74), The Family Game (1967), The New Price is Right/The Price Is Right (1972–2007), That’s My Line (1980-81)
Chuck Barris – The Gong Show (1976–80)
Jack Barry – Juvenile Jury (1947–56 & 1970–71), Life Begins at Eighty (1950–1956), Twenty-One (1956–58), Tic-Tac-Dough (1956), Concentration (1958), The Generation Gap (1969), The Joker’s Wild (1972–75 & 1977–84), Break the Bank (1976–77), Joker! Joker!! Joker !!! (1979–80)
Jon Bauman – The Pop ‘N Rocker Game (1983–84), Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour (co-hosted with Gene Rayburn) (1983–84), Karaoke Showcase (circa 1986–87)
Larry Blyden – Personality (1967–69), You’re Putting Me On (1969), The Movie Game (1969–70), What’s My Line? (1972–75)
Wally Bruner – What’s My Line (1968–72)
Jim Caldwell – Tic-Tac-Dough (1985–86), Top Card (1989–91)
Dick Clark – The Object Is (1963–64), Missing Links (1964), The $10,000/$20,000/$25,000/$50,000/$100,000 Pyramid (1973–80, 1981 & 1982–89), The Krypton Factor (1981), The Challengers (1990–91), Scattergories (1993), It Takes Two (1997), Winning Lines (2000)
Bud Collyer – Winner Take All (1948–50), Beat the Clock (1950–61), On Your Way (1953–54), Feather Your Nest (1954–56), To Tell the Truth (1956–68), Number Please (1961)
Ray Combs – Family Feud/The New Family Feud Challenge (1988–94), Family Challenge (1995–96)
Bert Convy – Tattletales (1974–78 & 1982–84), Super Password (1984–89), Win, Lose or Draw (1987–89), 3rd Degree (1989–90), Match Game (1990, unaired pilot)
Bill Cullen – Act It Out (1949), Winner Take All (1952), Bank on the Stars (1954), The Price Is Right (1956–65), Eye Guess (1966–69), Three on a Match (1971–74), Winning Streak (1974–75), The $25,000 Pyramid (1974–79), Pass the Buck (1978), Password Plus (1980, sub), Chain Reaction (1980), Blockbusters (1980–82), Child’s Play (1982–83), Hot Potato (1984), The Joker’s Wild (1984–86)
John Charles Daly – What’s My Line? (1950–67), It’s News to Me (1951–54)
Richard Dawson – Masquerade Party (1974–75), Family Feud (1976–85 & 1994–95)
Hugh Downs – Concentration (1958–69)
Geoff Edwards – Hollywood’s Talking (1973), The New Treasure Hunt (1973–77/1981–82), Jackpot (1974–75 & 1989–90), Shoot for the Stars (1977), Play the Percentages (1980), Chain Reaction (1980, as a sub-host), Starcade (1983–85), The All-New Let’s Make A Deal (1985, as a sub-host), The New/$40,000 Chain Reaction (1986–91), Fun & Fortune (1996–2002)
Bob Eubanks – The Newlywed Game (1966–74, 1977–80, 1985–89 & 1998–2000), The Diamond Head Game (1975), Rhyme and Reason (1975–76), All Star Secrets (1979), Dream House (1983–84), Trivia Trap (1984–85), Card Sharks (1986–89), Family Secrets (1993), Powerball: The Game Show (2000–02)
Pat Finn – The Joker’s Wild (1990–91), Shop ’til You Drop (1991–94, 1996–98, 2000–02), The Big Spin (1999–2004)
Art Fleming – Jeopardy!/The All New Jeopardy! (1964–75 & 1978–79), College Bowl (1978)
Joe Garagiola – He Said, She Said (1968–69), Memory Game (1971). Sale of the Century (1971–73), To Tell the Truth (1977), Strike It Rich (1986)
Merv Griffin – Play Your Hunch (1958–62)
Monty Hall – Twenty One (1958), Keep Talking (1968), Video Village/Video Village Junior (1961–62), Let’s Make a Deal (1963–76, 1980, 1984–85 & 1990–91), It’s Anybody’s Guess (1977), Beat the Clock (1979–80), The Joke’s on Us (1983–84), Split Second (1986–87)
Dennis James – Cash and Carry (1946–47), Okay, Mother (1948–51), Chance of a Lifetime (1952–56), The Name’s the Same (1954–55), High Finance (1956), Haggis Baggis (1959), Beat the Odds (1962–63), Your First Impression (1962–64), People Will Talk (1963), PDQ (1965–69), The Nighttime Price Is Right (1972–77), Name That Tune (1974–75)
Tom Kennedy – The Big Game (1958), You Don’t Say! (1963–69, 1975), Split Second (1972–75), Break the Bank (1976), 50 Grand Slam (1976), Name That Tune/The $100,000 Name That Tune (1974–80), Whew!/Celebrity Whew! (1979–80), Password Plus (1980–82), Body Language (1984–86), The Nighttime Price Is Right (1985–86), Wordplay (1986–87)
Jim Lange – Oh My Word (1965–67), The Dating Game/The New Dating Game (1965–74 & 1977–80), Spin-Off (1975), Give-n-Take (1975), Word Grabbers (1976, unaired pilots), Double Play (1976, unaired pilot),Bullseye (1980–82), The Newlywed Game (1984), The $100,000 Name That Tune (1984–85), The $1,000,000 Chance of a Lifetime (1986–87), Triple Threat (1988–89)
Vicki Lawrence – Win, Lose or Draw (1987–89)
Robert Q. Lewis – The Name’s the Same (1951–54), Make Me Laugh (1958)
Allen Ludden – College Quiz Bowl/G.E. College Bowl (1959–62), Password/Password All-Stars (1961–69, 1971–75), Win With the Stars (1968–69), The Joker’s Wild (1969, unaired pilot), Stumpers (1976), Liar’s Club (1977), Password Plus (1979–80)
Peter Marshall – Hollywood Squares (1966–82), Storybook Squares (1969), All-Star Blitz (1985), Yahtzee (1988), The Reel to Reel Picture Show (1998)
Wink Martindale – What’s This Song? (1964–65), Can You Top This? (1970), Words and Music (1970–71), Gambit/Las Vegas Gambit (1972–78 & 1980–81), The New Tic-Tac-Dough/Tic-Tac-Dough (1978–86), Headline Chasers (1985–86), The New High Rollers (1987–88), The Last Word (1989–90), Great Getaway Game (1990–91), Trivial Pursuit (1993–94), Boggle (1994), Shuffle (1994), Debt (1996–98), Instant Recall (2010)
Garry Moore – I’ve Got a Secret (1952–64), To Tell the Truth (1969–77)
Jack Narz – The Price Is Right (1957–58), Dotto (1958), Top Dollar (1958–59), Video Village (1960–61), Seven Keys (1961–64), I’ll Bet (1965), Beat the Clock (1969–72), Concentration (1973–79), Now You See It (1974–75)
Jim Peck – The Big Showdown (1974–75), Hot Seat (1976), Second Chance (1977), You Don’t Say! (1978–79), Three’s A Crowd (1979–80), The Joker’s Wild (1981–86 as sub-host)
Jim Perry – It’s Your Move (1967), Eye Bet (1971), Headline Hunters (1972–83), Definition (1975–89), Card Sharks (1978–81), Sale of the Century (1983–89)
Bill Rafferty – Every Second Counts (1984), Card Sharks (1986–87), Blockbusters (1987)
Gene Rayburn – Make the Connection (1955), The Match Game (1962–69), The Amateur’s Guide to Love (1972), Match Game ’73-Match Game ’79/Match Game PM (1973–82), Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour (co-hosted with Jon Bauman) (1983–84), Break the Bank (1985), The Movie Masters (1989–90)
David Ruprecht – Supermarket Sweep (1990–98, 1999–2004)
Marc Summers – Double Dare/Super Sloppy Double Dare (1986–88), Couch Potatoes (1989), Family Double Dare (1990–93), What Would You Do? (1991–93), Pick Your Brain (1993–94), History IQ (2000), WinTuition (2002–04)
Rip Taylor – The $1.98 Beauty Show (1978–80)
Peter Tomarken – Hit Man (1983), Press Your Luck (1983–86), Bargain Hunters (1987), Wipeout (1988–89), Prime Games (1994–96), Paranoia (2000)
Alex Trebek – Reach for the Top (1966–73), The Wizard of Odds (1973–74), High Rollers (1974–76 & 1978–80), Double Dare (1976–77), The $128,000 Question (1977–78), Pitfall (1981–82), Battlestars (1981–82 & 1983), Jeopardy! (1984–2020), Classic Concentration (1987–91), Super Jeopardy! (1990) To Tell the Truth (1991)
Gene Wood – Anything You Can Do (1971–72), Beat the Clock (1972–74)
Chuck Woolery – Wheel of Fortune (1975–81), Love Connection (1983–94), Scrabble (1984–90, 1993), The Dating Game (1997–2000), Pyramid (1997, unsold pilot), Greed (1999–2000), Lingo (2002–07), Chuck Woolery: Naturally Stoned (2003), Think Like a Cat (2008)
More stuff to read:
Note: While I try to make sure that this section is as accurate as possible, there is always a chance that a correction may be necessary. Please feel free to contact me if you notice anything that needs attention. Thank you for visiting and hope you enjoyed your stay!
Source: Wikipedia, Personal Archives, Archive.org, The Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows