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Game Show Host: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
[[File:
{{quote|''"Hi gang! Pop Quiz here! We ask several historical questions to our players, then act flabbergasted at their overwhelming ignorance!"''
The visible front end of any [[Game Show]]. 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.
Game Show Hosts are [[Acceptable Targets|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 [[Honest John's Dealership|used car salesman]]. For whatever reason, fictional game show hosts are often presented as smarmy, obnoxious, untrustworthy opportunists who seem to revel in the misfortune of contestants (a [[Dead Unicorn Trope]] of course). Also, since quiz show hosts know, by necessity, the answer to each question, they tend to come off as condescending — perhaps unintentionally, but nonetheless. They also tend to be almost [[Always Male|exclusively male]]; women on a game show's staff are more likely to be [[Lovely Assistant
There has been a recent (not new) trend, at least for high-profile American programs, to cast has-been D-listers as Game Show Hosts.
* [[Bill Cullen]], the original host of ''[[The Price Is Right]]'', ''[[Blockbusters]]'', and many other shows.
* Bob Barker of ''[[Truth or Consequences]]'' and ''The Price Is Right'', probably the most famous game show host in history.
* A close second might be Alex Trebek of ''[[Jeopardy
* [[Bruce Forsyth]], the British host who gives a new meaning to the term "Brucie Bonus".
* Gene Rayburn of ''[[Match Game]]''.
** Ross Shafer and Michael Burger of both 1990s revivals.
* Richard Dawson, from the original ''[[
** Also the late Ray Combs from the 1980s revival of same.
*** Not to mention Louie Anderson, Richard Karn, John O'Hurley, Al Roker, and Steve Harvey.
* Chuck Woolery, original host of ''[[Wheel of Fortune]]'' and ''[[Love Connection]]''; also ''[[Scrabble (TV series)|Scrabble]]'', ''[[The Dating Game]]'' and ''[[Lingo]]''.
* Pat Sajak of ''Wheel of Fortune''.
* Monty Hall of ''[[Let's Make a Deal]]''.
* Wink Martindale of ''[[Tic
* Bob Eubanks of ''[[The Newlywed Game]]'' and the 1980s version of ''[[Card Sharks]]''.
* Bert Convy of ''[[Tattletales]]'' and ''[[Password|Super Password]]''.
* Peter Tomarken of ''[[Press Your Luck]]''.
** Todd Newton of its revival, ''[[Whammy (TV series)|Whammy]]'', and ''Hollywood Showdown''.
* Peter Marshall, original host of ''[[The Hollywood Squares]]''.
** Also John Davidson, Jon "Bowzer" Bauman, and Tom Bergeron for the various revivals. Although if you consider "notable" to mean "good", only Marshall and Bergeron qualify.
* Regis Philbin of ''[[Who Wants to Be
* Drew Carey of ''The Price Is Right'', ''Power of Ten'', and ''[[Whose Line Is It Anyway?]]''.
* Anne Robinson of ''[[The Weakest Link]]'' became so popular in Britain that she migrated to the United States to host the Americanized version.
** The syndicated version would be hosted by George Gray. Yes, the same guy who is now [[The Announcer]] on ''[[T Pi R]]''.
* Brit host Chris Tarrant has hosted at least 16 different game shows, but is most associated with ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?''
* Speechwriter/actor Ben Stein of ''[[Win Ben
* The ''Buzz!'' series of party video games features Jason Donovan as a stereotypical Game Show Host.
* The various sarcastic voice-over hosts of the ''[[You Don't Know Jack]]'' series, most notably Cookie.
** The short-lived live-action game show version on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] featured Paul Reubens as Troy Stevens, a parody of a normal Game Show Host.
* Marc Summers of Nickelodeon's ''[[Double Dare (1986 TV Show)||Double Dare]]''. Ironic, in that Summers has obsessive-compulsive disorder, yet hosted a show that reveled in getting everyone messy.
* Dick Clark of the various ''[[Pyramid]]'' shows.
** Donny Osmond of the most recent revival.
* Jim Lange of ''The Dating Game'', ''[[Bullseye
* Tom Kennedy of ''You Don't Say!'', ''[[Split Second (TV series)|Split Second]]'', ''Name That Tune'', and ''[[Body Language (TV series)|Body Language]]''.
* His brother, Jack Narz, of ''[[Now You See It]]'' and the syndicated ''[[Concentration]]''.
* Howie Mandel on ''[[Deal or No Deal]]''.
* Lynne Thigpen on ''[[Where in
* [[Jack Barry]] on ''[[
* Allen Ludden on ''General Electric College Bowl'' and ''[[Password]]''.
* Jeff Probst of ''[[Jeopardy!|Rock & Roll Jeopardy!]]'' and ''[[Survivor]]''.
* [[Joe Rogan]] of ''[[Fear Factor]]''.
** Some traditional game show fans can get a little testy if you call the latter two (or similar programs) game shows.
* John Daly of ''[[What's My Line
* Geoff Edwards of ''[[Treasure Hunt US|(The New) Treasure Hunt]]'' and ''[[Starcade]]''.
* Art James of ''The Who, What or Where Game'', ''[[Blank Check (TV series)|Blank Check]]'', ''[[The Magnificent Marble Machine]]'', and ''[[Super Pay Cards|Pay Cards!]]''
* Jim Perry of the 1978-81 iteration of ''Card Sharks'' and 1983-89 American ''[[Sale of the Century]]''.
* Phil Keoghan of ''[[The Amazing Race]]''.
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* Bill Rafferty of the late-1980s editions of ''Card Sharks'' and ''Blockbusters''.
* Guy Smiley, a [[Muppet]] performed by [[Jim Henson]] on ''[[
* Damon Killian, host of ''[[The Running Man (
* Mike Terry, host and play-by-play announcer of ''The Prize of Peril'' in [https://web.archive.org/web/20051224121656/http://arthurwendover.com/arthurs/sheckley/prizep10.html the short story of the same name] by Robert Sheckley (written in 1958).
* Mr. Wink, the host of the Japanese game show in ''[[The Simpsons]]'' episode "Thirty Minutes over Tokyo", voiced by [[George Takei]].
* In one episode of ''[[
* The webcomic ''[[Pibgorn]]'' features a demon who takes the name and appearance of a game show host named Tom Torquemada.
* Chip Ramsey, the [[Hollywood Cyborg]] host of ''[[Lexi-Cross]]'', a 1991 computer game by Interplay.
* The [[Super Mario Bros.|Mario]] series has a few of these, including Chuck Quizmo in ''[[Paper Mario (
* Gruntilda plays the part of one in the game show–like sections of ''[[Banjo-Kazooie]]'' and ''[[Banjo-Tooie]]'', respectively Grunty's Furnace Fun and the Tower of Tragedy.
* In the opening scene of ''[[Once Upon a Mattress]]'', the Wizard tests Princess No. 12 in quiz show fashion.
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Game Show Tropes]]
[[Category:
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