Line #38 Main/GameShowHost


1	[[quoteright:350:[[Series/ThatMitchellAndWebbLook https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/NumberwangHost_5400.png]]]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:"[[{{Calvinball}} That's Numberwang!]]"]]
3
4	->''"Hi gang! Pop Quiz here! We ask several historical questions to our players, then act flabbergasted at their overwhelming ignorance!"''
5	-->-- '''Father Time''' as this Trope on a game show sketch, ''WesternAnimation/{{Histeria}}''
6
7	The visible front end of any GameShow. This is the person who moderates the show and actually runs the game; s/he also enforces the rules (though s/he usually has to defer to off-screen officials for any close judgment calls), engages in small talk with the guests, and keeps the mood light and fun.
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9	Game Show Hosts are popular butts of jokes in fiction. This may have something to do with their need to maintain a jovial atmosphere as previously stated, even when contestants are losing, which might make them seem aloof; or maybe they just come across as slimy and slick, like common depictions of a [[HonestJohnsDealership used car salesman]]. For whatever reason, fictional game show hosts are often presented as [[SmarmyHost smarmy, obnoxious, untrustworthy opportunists]] who seem to revel in the misfortune of contestants (a DeadUnicornTrope, of course). Also, since quiz show hosts know, by necessity, the answer to each question (at least in theory; there are some game shows, like ''Series/FamilyFeud'' and ''Series/CardSharks'', that don't list the answers on the card), they tend to come off as condescending — perhaps unintentionally, but nonetheless. They also tend to be almost [[AlwaysMale exclusively male]]; [[MenActWomenAre women on a game show's staff are more likely to be]] {{lovely assistant}}s.
10
11	Despite their reputation, some hosts become legendary if they have a specific gimmick to them, or they end up coming off as sincerely wanting a contestant to win big. Since, in most instances, it's not ''his'' money he's giving away, the host is more or less rooting for the contestant, even if it's only in the back of his mind. To some hardcore game show fanatics, the skills of the host (and his sincerity) can make or break a show's success, and they seem to be right: Some of the more successful game shows are known in part for how the host carried the show along.
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13	There has been a recent (not new) trend, at least for high-profile American programs, to cast has-been D-listers and comedians as Game Show Hosts.
14	----
15	!!Notable Game Show Hosts include:
16	* Creator/BillCullen, the original host of ''Series/ThePriceIsRight'', ''Series/{{Blockbusters}}'', and many other shows.
17	* Bob Barker of ''Series/TruthOrConsequences'' and ''The Price Is Right'', probably the most famous game show host in history.
18	** Dennis James, Tom Kennedy and Doug Davidson, from various nighttime syndicated versions of the latter show.
19	* A close second might be Creator/AlexTrebek of ''Series/{{Jeopardy}}'', ''Series/HighRollers'', ''[[{{Series/Concentration}} Classic Concentration]]'', and ''Series/DoubleDare1976''.
20	** Art Fleming, the original host of ''Jeopardy!''.
21	* Creator/BruceForsyth, the British host who gives a new meaning to the term "Brucie Bonus". His most famous game shows are ''Series/TheGenerationGame'', ''[[Series/CardSharks Play Your Cards Right]]'', and ''Series/ThePriceIsRight''.
22	* Gene Rayburn of ''Series/MatchGame'' and the first few weeks of ''Series/BreakTheBank1985''.
23	** Ross Shafer and Michael Burger of both 1990s revivals.
24	* Richard Dawson, from the original ''Series/FamilyFeud''.
25	** Also the late Ray Combs from the 1980s revival of same.
26	** And Creator/LouieAnderson (1999-2002), Creator/RichardKarn (2002-2006), Creator/JohnOHurley (2006-2010), and Steve Harvey (2010-present).
27	** Creator/AlRoker hosted a one-season ''Celebrity Family Feud'' SpinOff during the summer of 2008.
28	* Chuck Woolery, original host of ''Series/WheelOfFortune'' and ''Series/LoveConnection''; also ''Series/{{Scrabble}}'', ''Series/TheDatingGame'' and ''Series/{{Lingo}}''.
29	** Creator/BillEngvall hosted a one-season revival of the latter show in 2011.
30	* Pat Sajak of ''Wheel of Fortune''. Rolf Benirschke, Bob Goen, and David Sidoni have also hosted versions.
31	* Creator/MontyHall and Creator/WayneBrady of ''Series/LetsMakeADeal''; the former also hosted the 1979-80 revival of ''Series/BeatTheClock'' and the 1986-87 revival of ''Series/SplitSecond1972'' (which he also produced).
32	* Wink Martindale of ''Series/TicTacDough'', ''Series/HighRollers'' (the 80s version), ''[[Series/{{Gambit}} Las Vegas Gambit]]'' and ''Series/{{Debt}}''.
33	* Jack Bailey of ''Series/QueenForADay''.
34	* Bob Eubanks of ''Series/TheNewlywedGame'', ''Series/TriviaTrap'' and the 1980s version of ''Series/CardSharks''.
35	* Bert Convy of ''Series/{{Tattletales}}'', ''[[Series/{{Password}} Super Password]]'' and ''Series/WinLoseOrDraw''.
36	* Peter Tomarken of ''Series/PressYourLuck''.
37	** Todd Newton of its revival, ''Series/{{Whammy}}'', ''Hollywood Showdown'' and ''Series/FamilyGameNight''.
38	** Matthias Opdenhövel (who also hosted ''Die Quizshow'' (the German localization of Fox's short lived gameshow ''It's Your Chance of a Lifetime'')), and later Steven Gätjen of ''Series/SchlagDenRaab'', with Stefan Raab as the featured opponent (who also hosted the 2009 season of ''Schlag den Star'' before taking the role as the Joker from the 2010 series onwards, and the late night variety show ''TV Total''), and Elton as the host of "Blamieren Oder Kassieren"
39	* Peter Marshall, original host of ''Series/TheHollywoodSquares''.
40	** Also John Davidson (1986-1989) and Creator/TomBergeron (1998-2004) for the various revivals. Sha-Na-Na's Jon "Bowzer" Bauman hosted the ''Squares'' portion of the trainwreck that was the ''Series/TheMatchGameHollywoodSquaresHour'', and Peter Rosenberg hosted ''Hip Hop Squares''.
41	* Regis Philbin of ''Series/WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire'' (the American version) and ''[[Series/{{Password}} Million-Dollar Password]]''.
42	** Meredith Vieira of the former program.
43	* Drew Carey of ''The Price Is Right'', ''Power of Ten'', and ''Series/WhoseLineIsItAnyway''.
44	* Anne Robinson of ''Series/TheWeakestLink'' became so popular in Britain that she migrated to the United States to host the Americanized version.
45	** The syndicated version would be hosted by George Gray. Yes, the same guy who is now TheAnnouncer on ''The Price Is Right''.
46	*** Gray also hosted ''Extreme Gong'', a cable revival of ''Series/TheGongShow''.
47	* Brit host Chris Tarrant has hosted at least 16 different game shows, but is most associated with ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?''.
48	* Speechwriter/actor Ben Stein of ''Series/WinBenSteinsMoney''.
49	* The ''Buzz!'' series of party video games features Music/JasonDonovan as a stereotypical Game Show Host.
50	* The various sarcastic voice-over hosts of the ''VideoGame/YouDontKnowJack'' series, most notably Cookie.
51	** The short-lived live-action game show version on Creator/{{ABC}} featured Paul Reubens as Troy Stevens, a parody of a normal Game Show Host.
52	* Marc Summers of Nickelodeon's ''Series/{{Double Dare\|1986}}'', ''[[Series/WhatWouldYouDoNickelodeon What Would You Do?]]''. Ironic, in that Summers has obsessive-compulsive disorder, yet hosted shows that reveled in getting everyone messy.
53	* Dick Clark of the various ''Series/{{Pyramid}}'' shows, ''Series/TheChallengers'' and ''Series/{{Scattergories}}''.
54	** Donny Osmond and Mike Richards of the former series' latter two revivals. Richards is also executive producer on ''The Price is Right'' and ''Let's Make a Deal''.
55	* Jim Lange of ''Series/TheDatingGame'', ''Series/BullseyeUS'', ''Series/NameThatTune'' and ''Series/TheOneMillionChanceOfALifetime''.
56	* Tom Kennedy of ''You Don't Say!'', ''Series/SplitSecond1972'', ''Name That Tune'', and ''Series/BodyLanguage''.
57	** His brother, Jack Narz, of ''Series/NowYouSeeIt'' and the syndicated runs of ''Series/BeatTheClock'' (he also served as the announcer of Monty Hall's version) and ''{{Series/Concentration}}''.
58	* Howie Mandel on ''Series/DealOrNoDeal''.
59	* Lynne Thigpen on ''Series/WhereInTheWorldIsCarmenSandiego'' and its successor series, ''Series/WhereInTimeIsCarmenSandiego'', though she wasn't the quizmaster.
60	* Creator/JackBarry on ''Series/TwentyOne'', ''Series/TheJokersWild'' and the 1976/77 syndicated run of ''Break the Bank''.
61	* Allen Ludden on ''General Electric College Bowl'' and ''Series/{{Password}}''.
62	* Jeff Probst of ''[[Series/{{Jeopardy}} Rock & Roll Jeopardy!]]'' and ''Series/{{Survivor}}''.
63	* Creator/JoeRogan of ''Series/FearFactor''.
64	** Some traditional game show fans can get a little testy if you call the latter two (or similar programs) game shows.
65	* JD Roth of ''Series/FunHouse1988'' (hosted at age 19, making him the youngest game show host) and Series/{{Endurance}}
66	* John Daly of ''Series/WhatsMyLine''.
67	* Geoff Edwards of ''[[Series/TreasureHuntUS (The New) Treasure Hunt]]'', ''Series/{{Starcade}}'', ''Series/PlayThePercentages'' and ''[[Series/ChainReaction The New Chain Reaction]]''.
68	* Art James of ''The Who, What or Where Game'', ''Series/BlankCheck'', ''Series/TheMagnificentMarbleMachine'', ''Series/CatchPhrase'' (the original US version), and ''[[Series/SuperPayCards Pay Cards!]]''. Oh, and ''[[Film/{{Mallrats}} Truth or Date]]'', despite the contestants' personal issues being dragged into it.
69	* Jim Perry of the 1978-81 iteration of ''Card Sharks'' and the 1983-89 American run of ''Series/SaleOfTheCentury''.
70	* Phil Keoghan of ''Series/TheAmazingRace''.
71	* Silvio Santos --the founder and owner of television network Creator/{{SBT}}--has been Brazil's most iconic example of a game show host since the 1960's. He can be best described as a mixture of Bill Cullen with the appearance of Dennis James and the agelessness of Dick Clark; you name it, he's probably been involved with it, ever since about 1961, and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRoC3tyTHAs this montage]] shows just '''40''' of them. He was also known for the style of microphone he used until the mid-2010's.
72	* Bill Rafferty of the late-1980s editions of ''Card Sharks'' and ''Blockbusters'', and the original US version of ''Every Second Counts''.
73	* Jordi Hurtado and Juanjo Cardenal (who also doubles as TheAnnouncer) have become incredibly popular in Spain after 15 years in ''Saber y Ganar''.
74	* Creator/GrouchoMarx for ''Series/YouBetYourLife''.
75	* Kiyoshi Kodama, the original host of ''Series/PanelQuizAttack25''.
76	** Followed by Yasuyuki Urakawa and Shosuke Tanihara.
77	* Richard Whiteley hosted the British show ''Series/{{Countdown}}'' for a whopping 23 years (1982-2005) right up until his death. His was the first face to be seen on Creator/Channel4, as Countdown was the first programme to be shown on that channel.
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79	!!Fictional Game Show Hosts:
80	* Guy Smiley[[note]][[StageName real name Bernie Leiderkranz]][[/note]], a {{Muppet}} performed by Creator/JimHenson on ''Series/SesameStreet''. Others included Sonny Friendly and Pat Playjacks.
81	* Damon Killian, host of ''Film/TheRunningMan'' in the 1987 film, played by Richard Dawson! (In the [[Literature/TheRunningMan original Stephen King book]], his name is Dan Killian and he's the producer rather than the host. In the movie, he's the show's host and creator.)
82	* Mike Terry, host and play-by-play announcer of ''The Prize of Peril'' in [[http://arthurwendover.com/arthurs/sheckley/prizep10.html the short story of the same name]] by Robert Sheckley (written in 1958).
83	* Mr. Wink, the host of the Japanese game show in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "Thirty Minutes over Tokyo", voiced by Creator/GeorgeTakei.
84	* In one episode of ''Series/RedDwarf'', an American game show host named "Bing Baxter" supplies the voice for Lister's Confidence-made-flesh. Which show Mr. Baxter hosted is never revealed. (Ironically, the part was played by Craig Ferguson, who later hosted ''Series/CelebrityNameGame'')
85	* The webcomic ''Webcomic/{{Pibgorn}}'' features a demon who takes the name and appearance of a game show host named Tom Torquemada.
86	* Chip Ramsey, the HollywoodCyborg host of ''VideoGame/LexiCross''.
87	* The unnamed host of ''VideoGame/SmashTV'' who is also the BigBad, since he is the last boss you battle.
88	* Swanky Kong from the ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry'' series is a game show host in ''[=DKC2=]'' and ''[=DKC3=]''. In the former, he hosts a quiz named "Swanky's Bonus Bonanza", were you can win extra lives by answering the given questions correctly. In the latter, he hosts "Swanky's Sideshow", a throwing game were you compete against Cranky Kong. If you beat him, you will win bananas and Bear Coins.
89	* The [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]] series has a few of these, including Chuck Quizmo in ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' and Game Guy in ''VideoGame/MarioParty3''.
90	* Gruntilda plays the part of one in the game show–like sections of ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie'' and ''VideoGame/BanjoTooie'', respectively Grunty's Furnace Fun and the Tower of Tragedy.
91	* Mettaton, the robotic TV personality in ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}''. His debut scene is a quiz show, and he zaps you if you answer incorrectly. Also played with, as Mettaton has ''multiple'' TV shows in the underground.
92	* In the opening scene of ''Theatre/OnceUponAMattress'', the Wizard tests Princess No. 12 in quiz show fashion.
93	* The many hosts of the ''VideoGame/YouDontKnowJack'' games, including [[EnsembleDarkhorse fan favorite]] Cookie Masterson.
94	* In ''WesternAnimation/Shrek1'', the magic mirror presents Lord Farquaad with his potential princess mates using the format of ''Series/TheDatingGame''.
95	* The unnamed host of "Numberwang", the {{Calvinball}}-esque game show featured on ''Series/ThatMitchellAndWebbLook''.
96	* Bert Schnick in ''Film/ShockTreatment''.
97	* Professor Genki, host of "[[DeadlyGame Professor Genki's Super Ethical Reality Climax]]" in ''Videogame/SaintsRowTheThird'' and ''Videogame/SaintsRowIV'', though he rarely takes a direct role in the game shows.
98	* ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'' has Chris, who is a sadistic gamemaster who loves thinking up new challenges to torture the contestants with that serves as a main recurring antagonist of the series.
99	* [[BigBad Monokuma]] of ''Franchise/DanganRonpa'' acts a lot like one, snarking and making jokes at the expense of the participants in his DeadlyGame, making all the announcements, explaining the rules, [[EjectTheLoser ejecting]] a participant who has lost (to die), and other things, [[spoiler:and [[TrumanShowPlot as later revealed]] he ''is'' one [[ImmoralRealityShow as the game is being televised]]]].
100	* The unnamed host in the "Brain Squeezers" episode of ''Series/{{Victorious}}''. Notably doesn't tell the contestants about the rules of the game beforehand, so they're caught off guard when objects get dropped on them after getting questions wrong.
101	* Former karate teacher Kuni hosts the game show "Wheel of Fish" in ''Film/{{UHF}}'', where he offers the contestant a box instead of the grand prize.
102	-->'''Kuni:''' Inside the box is... (the box is shown as empty) NOTHING! ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! STUPID, YOU'RE SO STUPID!
103	-->'''Audience:''' STUPID! STUPID! STUPID! STUPID! STUPID! STUPID! STUPID! STUPID! STUPID!
104	* Hades takes this role in ''Film/ShredderOrpheus'' when Orpheus arrives at his TV station to rescue Eurydice, framing his quest as a game show where he can win big or lose it all. The first time around it's like the myth, while the second is a DeadlyGame where Orpheus's life is at risk.

Context Main / GameShowHost