Before They Were Stars...They Were Game Show Contestants
Apr 2, 2017 21:03:14 GMT -5
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Post by stevearino on Apr 2, 2017 21:03:14 GMT -5
Before They Were Stars...They Were Game Show Contestants
As many of you fellow Game Show fans are aware (and trust me, I am one of you), a number of ordinary citizens who were game show contestants went on to greater fame, whether it be in Showbiz, or as a Professional Athlete, or other areas of fame otherwise noted.
That being said, here's a partial list of future celebrities who got their career starts as ordinary game show contestants.
1. Dr. Joyce Brothers -- Who better than to start off with this famous Psychologist (who died in 2013 at age 85). In the mid-1950s, before the Quiz Show Scandal caused its cancellation, Dr. Joyce was an ordinary contestant on the '50s game show "The $64,000 Question," with questions asked about her area of expertise at the time: Boxing. Flash forward to 1958: The Quiz Show Scandal infamously caused the cancellation of "The $64,000 Question" as well as other game shows e.g. "Twenty-One" and "Dotto" due to claims of being rigged (not sure about the other two cases, but in the case of "Twenty-One," the rigged claims turned out to be true, causing ITS cancellation by NBC, remaining off the air until the year 2000, when Maury Povich succeeded show creator Jack Barry as host, making his game-show host debut). In the meantime, Joyce found greater fame as an advice columnist and psychologist in addition to being a celebrity player on other game shows including the original "Hollywood Squares."
2. Candy Bergen -- In 1958, 30 years before finding greater fame in her own right as TV's "Murphy Brown," Candy Bergen, then age 12, appeared as a contestant on the hit '50s prime-time game show "You Bet Your Life," hosted by Groucho Marx, whose own young daughter, Melinda, competed against Candy in the episode.
3. John Ritter -- In 1966, a recent graduate of Hollywood High School named John Ritter was a contestant--and winning bachelor--on "The Dating Game." 10 years later, in 1977, John found eternal fame on the hit '70s sitcom "Three's Company," where he spent 7 years portraying Jack Tripper. But it was while on his comeback vehicle--the hit Disney sitcom "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter," then airing Tuesday nights at 8 P.M. ET / PT on the Disney-owned ABC Television Network (also the original network home of "Three's Company") that John's life and career met a tragic end: on the afternoon of September 11, 2003, John Ritter, age 54, was on the set of his new sitcom when he fell very ill with what he initially thought was food poisoning; instead, it turned out to be much worse: at 8 P.M. ET / 5 .P.M. PT that night, John was rushed to the local Hospital--Providence St. Joe's Medical Center--in Burbank, California (coincidentally where he had been born the younger of 2 sons to Cowboy movie star/singer Tex Ritter) where he was immediately rushed into the OR. At 1 A.M. ET / 10 A.M. PT on Friday, September 12, 2003, John Ritter, age 54, died; his cause of death was ruled as a Dissection of the Aorta. John's tragic, early passing occurred on his widow Amy Yasbeck's 41st Birthday, 5 days before his own 55th Birthday on September 17, and 6 days shy of his 4th wedding anniversary to Amy; in addition, John's youngest daughter, Stella, had turned 5 on September 11, 2003, eventually growing up without a father. In addition to Stella and Amy, John was survived by his 3 grown children--including oldest son Jason (now a rising actor in his own right)--from his 1st marriage to Nancy Morgan, which ended in divorce in 1996, 6 years after John and Amy first met on the set of the first "Problem Child" movie in 1990--causing John's 1st marriage to be over.
4. Bob Saget -- Like John Ritter before him, Bob Saget was also a winning bachelor on "The Dating Game," where he appeared as a contestant in 1979, several years before finding greater fame as a stand-up comic, an actor (on the hit '80s sitcom "Full House" and its current spin-off "Fuller House") and a game-show host ("America's Funniest Home Videos" and "1 vs. 100"). In 2008, at the end of its 18th combined season (10 in its original 1989-1999 run and 17 in its current revival run hosted by Alfonso Ribeiro), "America's Funniest Home Videos" surpassed long-time champ "What's My Line?" (airing for 17 years on CBS from February 2, 1950 - September 3, 1967, consisting of 876 Broadcasts) as network TV's longest-running Prime-Time Game Show--and also is the longest-running entertainment series in the history of ABC.
5. Jenny Jones -- Years before finding greater fame as a TV talk-show host, Jenny Jones appeared at least twice on the hit CBS TV game show "Press Your Luck" as an ordinary contestant.
6. Mel Harris -- In 1985, 2 years before finding greater fame as an actress on "Thirtysomething," Mel Harris (under her then-married name of Mel Kennerly) was an ordinary contestant on an early episode of "The $100,000 Pyramid" hosted by Dick Clark, with Johnny Gilbert as announcer. Mel eventually returned to the "Pyramid" in 1991 as a celebrity guest for a week's worth of shows, this time with John Davidson taking over for Dick Clark as host.
7. David Graf -- Before finding fame as an actor, the late David Graf appeared as an ordinary contestant on the daytime "$10,000 Pyramid" hosted by Dick Clark. He eventually returned to the "Pyramid" many times--as a celebrity guest--after finding greater fame as an actor.
8. Kirstie Alley -- Before finding greater fame as Shelley Long's successor on the hit '80s sitcom "Cheers," Kirstie Alley, then a struggling actor working as an interior designer, appeared as an ordinary contestant on the hit '70s game shows "Match Game" & "Password Plus," winning in both of her game show appearances.
If anyone else here can think of any other examples, please include them in response. Thanks in advance.
As many of you fellow Game Show fans are aware (and trust me, I am one of you), a number of ordinary citizens who were game show contestants went on to greater fame, whether it be in Showbiz, or as a Professional Athlete, or other areas of fame otherwise noted.
That being said, here's a partial list of future celebrities who got their career starts as ordinary game show contestants.
1. Dr. Joyce Brothers -- Who better than to start off with this famous Psychologist (who died in 2013 at age 85). In the mid-1950s, before the Quiz Show Scandal caused its cancellation, Dr. Joyce was an ordinary contestant on the '50s game show "The $64,000 Question," with questions asked about her area of expertise at the time: Boxing. Flash forward to 1958: The Quiz Show Scandal infamously caused the cancellation of "The $64,000 Question" as well as other game shows e.g. "Twenty-One" and "Dotto" due to claims of being rigged (not sure about the other two cases, but in the case of "Twenty-One," the rigged claims turned out to be true, causing ITS cancellation by NBC, remaining off the air until the year 2000, when Maury Povich succeeded show creator Jack Barry as host, making his game-show host debut). In the meantime, Joyce found greater fame as an advice columnist and psychologist in addition to being a celebrity player on other game shows including the original "Hollywood Squares."
2. Candy Bergen -- In 1958, 30 years before finding greater fame in her own right as TV's "Murphy Brown," Candy Bergen, then age 12, appeared as a contestant on the hit '50s prime-time game show "You Bet Your Life," hosted by Groucho Marx, whose own young daughter, Melinda, competed against Candy in the episode.
3. John Ritter -- In 1966, a recent graduate of Hollywood High School named John Ritter was a contestant--and winning bachelor--on "The Dating Game." 10 years later, in 1977, John found eternal fame on the hit '70s sitcom "Three's Company," where he spent 7 years portraying Jack Tripper. But it was while on his comeback vehicle--the hit Disney sitcom "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter," then airing Tuesday nights at 8 P.M. ET / PT on the Disney-owned ABC Television Network (also the original network home of "Three's Company") that John's life and career met a tragic end: on the afternoon of September 11, 2003, John Ritter, age 54, was on the set of his new sitcom when he fell very ill with what he initially thought was food poisoning; instead, it turned out to be much worse: at 8 P.M. ET / 5 .P.M. PT that night, John was rushed to the local Hospital--Providence St. Joe's Medical Center--in Burbank, California (coincidentally where he had been born the younger of 2 sons to Cowboy movie star/singer Tex Ritter) where he was immediately rushed into the OR. At 1 A.M. ET / 10 A.M. PT on Friday, September 12, 2003, John Ritter, age 54, died; his cause of death was ruled as a Dissection of the Aorta. John's tragic, early passing occurred on his widow Amy Yasbeck's 41st Birthday, 5 days before his own 55th Birthday on September 17, and 6 days shy of his 4th wedding anniversary to Amy; in addition, John's youngest daughter, Stella, had turned 5 on September 11, 2003, eventually growing up without a father. In addition to Stella and Amy, John was survived by his 3 grown children--including oldest son Jason (now a rising actor in his own right)--from his 1st marriage to Nancy Morgan, which ended in divorce in 1996, 6 years after John and Amy first met on the set of the first "Problem Child" movie in 1990--causing John's 1st marriage to be over.
4. Bob Saget -- Like John Ritter before him, Bob Saget was also a winning bachelor on "The Dating Game," where he appeared as a contestant in 1979, several years before finding greater fame as a stand-up comic, an actor (on the hit '80s sitcom "Full House" and its current spin-off "Fuller House") and a game-show host ("America's Funniest Home Videos" and "1 vs. 100"). In 2008, at the end of its 18th combined season (10 in its original 1989-1999 run and 17 in its current revival run hosted by Alfonso Ribeiro), "America's Funniest Home Videos" surpassed long-time champ "What's My Line?" (airing for 17 years on CBS from February 2, 1950 - September 3, 1967, consisting of 876 Broadcasts) as network TV's longest-running Prime-Time Game Show--and also is the longest-running entertainment series in the history of ABC.
5. Jenny Jones -- Years before finding greater fame as a TV talk-show host, Jenny Jones appeared at least twice on the hit CBS TV game show "Press Your Luck" as an ordinary contestant.
6. Mel Harris -- In 1985, 2 years before finding greater fame as an actress on "Thirtysomething," Mel Harris (under her then-married name of Mel Kennerly) was an ordinary contestant on an early episode of "The $100,000 Pyramid" hosted by Dick Clark, with Johnny Gilbert as announcer. Mel eventually returned to the "Pyramid" in 1991 as a celebrity guest for a week's worth of shows, this time with John Davidson taking over for Dick Clark as host.
7. David Graf -- Before finding fame as an actor, the late David Graf appeared as an ordinary contestant on the daytime "$10,000 Pyramid" hosted by Dick Clark. He eventually returned to the "Pyramid" many times--as a celebrity guest--after finding greater fame as an actor.
8. Kirstie Alley -- Before finding greater fame as Shelley Long's successor on the hit '80s sitcom "Cheers," Kirstie Alley, then a struggling actor working as an interior designer, appeared as an ordinary contestant on the hit '70s game shows "Match Game" & "Password Plus," winning in both of her game show appearances.
If anyone else here can think of any other examples, please include them in response. Thanks in advance.
