Michael T. Mondak speaks about things you never knew about game show personalities

There are some of you game show fans out there that never knew about game show personalities.

So without further ado, here they are.

According to Vicki McCarty Iovine, Wheel of Fortune letter activator Vanna White was one of the first game show personalities to embrace the role of computers in daily society as early as 1989.

Mark Goodson tried and failed to convince Bob Barker to host Beat the Clock for syndication in 1969 because Bob was hosting Truth or Consequences in syndication which prevented him from hosting Beat the Clock.

Also, Bob Barker was not the original choice to host The New Price is Right in 1972 until CBS picked up the show for its daytime schedule.  Dennis James was the original choice as host.  When Barker was hired to host on CBS daytime, James was hired for the syndicated nighttime edition.

According to Richard Dawson's son Gary, William Shatner was the original choice to host Family Feud in 1976 until Richard Dawson's agent intervened by ordering Mark Goodson to give Dawson a shot as per a clause in his contract lest Dawson refuse to speak on Match Game 76 or Match Game PM until he was called to reveal his answers.

Dick Clark and Bill Cullen were equally good Pyramid players as they were hosts.

Maury Povich, who hosted Twenty-One in 2000, is one of the best non-athlete celebrity golfers.

Merv Griffin, who created both Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!, had a number one hit in the 1950s with the novelty song "I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts".

Long before Deal or No Deal, Howie Mandel was expelled from high school for impersonating a school official to have a new addition added on to his school.

Bob Eubanks met his current wife Debbie when they worked together on Powerball: The Game Show.

Pat Finn was hired to host The Joker's Wild in 1990 on a suggestion from Vanna White after Finn was passed over for the hosting duties on daytime Wheel of Fortune.

Peter Marshall and Jim Perry played straight men to Tommy Noonan and Sid Caesar respectively before becoming known as hosts of Hollywood Squares and Sale of the Century respectively.

Despite the fact that Charlie O'Donnell, who had previously announced on The Joker's Wild in the early 1980s, was the announcer for the 2006 Joker's Wild pilot, the show failed to sell.

There have been five Whose Line is it Anyway? stars who have hosted game shows:  Drew Carey (The Price is Right, 2007-present), Wayne Brady (Let's Make a Deal, 2009-present), Brad Sherwood (The Dating Game, 1996-1997), Greg Proops (Vs., 1998), and Colin Mochrie (Are You Smarter Than a Canadian Fifth Grader?, 2008).  Only Brady has won an Emmy for Outstanding Game Show host.

Until next time, help in the fight against childhood cancers by contributing to the Four Diamonds Fund.  And please take care of yourself and each other.

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