Michael T. Mondak speaks: 40 til 40 day 2

This is the second of 40 entries in the 40 til 40 series as part of the countdown to my 40th birthday on July 10.  Every entry is about anything and everything relevant to the number 40.

In my last entry I posted about a former Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender who wore number 40 on the 1991 Penguins team that won the Stanley Cup, the first of five in franchise history.  His name was Frank Pietrangelo and he made what is known in Pittsburgh sports lore simply as "The Save".

Today's entry concentrates on what our favorite game show hosts were doing when they were 40 years old.

In 1963, a then-40-year-old Bob Barker was in full swing as the host of Truth or Consequences.

A then-40-year-old Jack Barry in 1958 was terminated from his hosting and producing roles for Twenty-One and Tic Tac Dough over the big money quiz show scandals.

It was 1969 and a then-40-year-old Dick Clark was in full swing hosting American Bandstand on ABC.  The $10,000 Pyramid was still four years away.

In 1948, a then-40-year-old named Bud Collyer was hosting the radio version of Break the Bank for ABC radio and the television version of Winner Take All for CBS.

Sadly, this week in 1996, Ray Combs, the former host of Family Feud, died after hanging himself in the psych ward of the Glendale Adventist Medical Center at the age of 40.

In 1973, a then-40-year-old named Bert Convy was starring in the NBC sitcom The Swoop Sisters.  Tattletales was not too far away.

In 1960, Pittsburgh native Bill Cullen, then age 40, was the host of the original version of The Price is Right.  He was also seen on the panel on I've Got a Secret.  Less than two years earlier, the former color analyst for the Pittsburgh Steelers had rejected an offer to purchase a stake in the rival Cleveland Browns.

In 1954, then-40-year-old John Charles Daly was in full swing in year number four as the moderator of What's My Line?

When Richard Dawson was 40 years old, he went from being on the cast of Laugh-In to serving on the panel of Match Game.  Family Feud was still three years away.

In 1971, Geoff Edwards was the morning drive host for KMPC-AM radio in Los Angeles.

It was 1978 and a then-40-year-old Bob Eubanks was the host of a syndicated version of The Newlywed Game.  He was also co-host of the Tournament of Roses Parade alongside Stephanie Edwards.

The answer is:  When this man was 40 years old in 1964, he had just begun a long run as the host of Jeopardy!  Correct response:  Who was Art Fleming?

A then-40-year-old Monty Hall in 1961 was hosting Video Village on CBS along with a Saturday morning children's version called Junior Video Village.  Let's Make a Deal was still two years away.

In 1969, a then-40-year-old Art James was due to begin a three-year run as host of The Who, What or Where Game following the cancellation of Pay Cards!!

In 1957, Dennis James, then 40 years old and married to the former Micki Crawford from New Castle, Pennsylvania, was ending a short stint as host of Club 60 but remained as announcer on Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour.

When Tom Kennedy was 40 years old in 1967, he was going full speed as host of his best-known game show, You Don't Say!

In 1972, a then-40-year-old Jim Lange was chugging along as the host of The Dating Game.

The year was 1957 and a then-40-year-old named Allen Ludden was serving as the program director for CBS radio.  It would be two more years before he became the host of The G.E. College Bowl and four more years before he became known as Mr. Password.

Hal March, then 40 years old in 1960 was appearing on Broadway in the play Two for the Seesaw.

It was 1967 and Peter Marshall was 40 years old.  He had just recently begun his long stint as The Master of The Hollywood Squares.

Wink Martindale celebrated his 40th birthday in December 1973 while serving as the host of CBS' daytime game show Gambit.  Tic Tac Dough was still five years away.

In 1955 a then-40-year-old Garry Moore was pulling double duty on CBS primetime as the host of his own show as well as I've Got a Secret.

By 1962 a then-40-year-old named Jack Narz was the host of Seven Keys, which was seen on KTLA TV in Los Angeles.

Bert Parks celebrated his 40th birthday on the penultimate day of 1954 and would soon begin his long association with the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City,

In 1983, Jim Peck was 40 years old and serving as a regular substitute host for Jack Barry on The Joker's Wild.

In 1973, a then-40-year-old Jim Perry was hosting Headline Hunters for CTV in Canada and also served as the host of the Miss Canada Pageant.  Definition was one year away, Card Sharks was five years away, and ten years before Sale of the Century.

It was 1971 and a then-40-year-old Regis Philbin was host of two successful talk shows on KHJ-TV in Los Angeles.  It would be another 12 years before he returned home to New York City and another 28 years before Who Wants to be a Millionaire? became a phenomenon.

Just prior to Christmas in 1957, Gene Rayburn celebrated his 40th birthday just before becoming host of Dough Re Mi on NBC.  Match Game was still five years away.

In 1986, Pat Sajak was in full swing pulling double duty as host of Wheel of Fortune on both NBC daytime and in nighttime syndication.

On Pearl Harbor Day in 1982, Peter Tomarken, who celebrated his 40th birthday, was about to become the host of his first ever game show, Hit Man for NBC.  Press Your Luck would soon follow.

By the time Alex Trebek celebrated his 40th birthday in July 1980, he had become unemployed for the first time in his life following the cancellation of High Rollers about one month earlier.  Jeopardy! was still four years away.

In 1981, Chuck Woolery turned 40 years old and was still hosting Wheel of Fortune for NBC.  He would leave the show by the end of that year.  Love Connection was still two years away and three years away from hosting a television version of the board game Scrabble.