MovieChat Forums > TV General > Professional game show celebrity

Professional game show celebrity

posted 8 years ago by Thor-Delta
9 replies | jump to latest

Particularly in the 1970s, but also in the 50s, 60s, and 80s, there were certain people who appeared as the celebrity guest on game shows very frequently.

Peggy Cass is a good example of this. Betty White spent years as such a person. For a period in the 1980s Jamie Farr became an example of this, as did Lauri Hendler and Richard Kline.

Which others could also be described as a "professional game show celebrity"? I guess it's a better fate for a performer than appearing on reality TV (hell...any fate is better for a performer than reality TV).

Have you played Atari today?

[–] amyghost 8 years ago

Paul Lynde with The Hollywood Squares is the very definition of this. Although Lynde had had a long-running career in stage, film, and television it's my bet that audiences of a certain generation knew him more from his appearances on that show than from anything else he'd ever done.

50 Is The New Cutoff Age.

[–] drunkbear 8 years ago

Jm J Bullock also turned into a 'Hollywood Squares' celeb, in the 80s & 90s.

- What are you gonna do, when the world catches on?

[–] Thor-Delta 8 years ago

Jm J Bullock also appeared on over 20 episodes of Body Language (1984), a show I've been needing to check out (well, it's a Mark Goodson Production, which is always a good sign). The shows cast list seems to include a lot of professional game show celebrities (Betty White, Charles Nelson Reilly, Tom Poston, Jo Anne Worley, etc....)

Have you played Atari today?

[–] NJtoTX 8 years ago

Bill Cullen, Kitty Carlisle (though she was in Night at the Opera)

"I was so disappointed when they closed the Stock Exchange." - Donald Trump, 9/11/2001

[–] Thor-Delta 8 years ago

Bill Cullen appeared as host on more game shows than anybody else, often hosting several shows at the same time, AND still found time to be a guest celebrity on others. There were at least two shows where Cullen both hosted and appeared as guest celebrity (For example, he hosted the syndicated version of "Pyramid" and appeared as celebrity guest on the daytime version. He also appeared as both substitute host on "Password Plus" and a celebrity guest on "Super Password").

Have you played Atari today?

[–] NJtoTX 8 years ago

My brother-in-law's dad was on Eye Guess. Embarrassingly giddy, but he won.

"I was so disappointed when they closed the Stock Exchange." - Donald Trump, 9/11/2001

[–] Thor-Delta 8 years ago

Unfortunately, I read that only one complete episode and one partial episode survives of that series. Producer Bob Stewart did not begin regularly keeping the tapes of the shows he produced until around 1977/1978.

Have you played Atari today?

[–] rycki1138 8 years ago

Brett Somers, Charles Nelson Reilly, Fannie Flagg, Richard Dawson (he was a regular on Match Game before getting the hosting job on Family Feud).

Nipsey Russell

I don't know what they have to say. It makes no difference anyway. Whatever it is, I'm against it.