Who wants to be a game show host? You must be famous these days
NEW YORK (AP) — When producers of “Wheel of Fortune” named Ryan Seacrest — arguably the most ubiquitous man on entertainment television — as his next host this week, it surprised virtually no one.
The idea that Sony Pictures Television would appoint a relative unknown as the figurehead of one of its most valuable properties was far-fetched. But that wasn’t always the case for a television genre that stars celebrities as release “Danger!” host Alex Trebek, Bob Barker of “The Price is Right” and current “Wheel of Fortune” emcee Pat Sajak.
Of Sajak’s approaching retirement, after the show’s next season, it’s the end of an era: game shows are now the home of the already famous.
Why is Pat Sajak the last of his kind?
In 1984, a much younger Sajak was pictured on the cover of TV Guide alongside Wink Martindale, Monty Hall, Bill Cullen, Jack Barry and Barker.
Each of the other men was best known as TV game show hosts.
Now, Sajak too. He has a handful of other credits on his resume, including disc jockey (many of his ilk also got their start on radio) and television weatherman. But he was 35 years old when he started hosting “Wheel of Fortune” and will be 77 when he leaves next year. He will forever be known for being on stage behind the wheel, with Vanna White at the board.
“He’s kind of the last of the old school,” says Adam Nedeff, author and researcher for the National Archive of Game Show History at the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York.
Game shows were once shown live or recorded with hardly any interruptions, so the skill of an experienced broadcaster accustomed to those conditions was appreciated, Nedeff said. Dick Clark would need it when shooting 10 episodes of “The 10,000 Pyramid” in one day.
Trebek also had a strong television hosting pedigree, largely in Canada, before becoming the host of “Jeopardy!”
Where is the pipeline now?
Game shows were once a mainstay of daytime television broadcasts, the land of the unhip, but are much less common these days. The Game Show Network and Buzzr exist on cable for enthusiasts, but are heavy on reruns of the classics.
And, let’s face it, who’s actually watching?
To generate interest in game shows these days, producers are looking for a name. That makes actors, comics or other celebrities attractive to host these shows (some of which have been canceled anyway) – people like Drew Carey (“The Price Is Right”), Howie Mandel (“Deal or No Deal”), Meredith Vieira (” Who Wants to be a Millionaire?”), Wayne Brady (“Let’s Make a Deal”), Steve Harvey (“Family Feud”), Alec Baldwin (“Match Game”), Michael Strahan (“The $100,000 Pyramid”) and Mayim Bialik (“Danger!”). Ken Jennings wasn’t an actor, but… any fan of “Jeopardy!” knew who he was.
“We have a generation of stars who grew up watching game shows,” Nedeff said. “We’ve just reached a point where no one is ashamed of hosting a game show.”
No one thinks a game show is cheap anymore.
And why would they?
Serious. Trebek would record two days worth of two week shows. There are only 52 weeks in the year, and that’s not counting the show’s holiday periods, for a paycheck most of us couldn’t imagine.
Carey replaced Barker in “The Price is Right” in 2007. Soon many viewers will know him as a game show host rather than an actor and comedian, if they didn’t already know.
Why would he leave?
Such relatively easy money is why a job like “Wheel of Fortune” is coveted; Whoopi Goldberg openly campaigned for the job. And it’s behind the request Jamie Foxx surprised his management with in the 2010s.
“Years ago I told my agent, I said, ‘Man, you should get a game show,'” Foxx told The Associated Press in 2019. He succeeded with “Beat Shazam” on the Fox network. Foxx got a payday and Fox got a bankable star to lure viewers into a new game.
Several game shows now air in prime time. Even when networks offer a big check to a star like Foxx, it’s nothing like paying for the writers, directors, and actors of a scripted series (to remind you, said writers are now on strike).
Oddly enough, Seacrest’s career path resembles some of the old hosts. Legendary game show impresario Merv Griffin even offered him a job hosting a quiz game show for kids when Seacrest was just 23, Nedeff said. Seacrest has experience as a disc jockey, talk show host, concertmaster on New Year’s Eve and as the regular host of “American Idol,” once television’s biggest sensation.
Unlike many game show hosts of yesteryear, he is already a celebrity in his own right. “Wheel of Fortune” is an empire that Sony must protect: not only a television show, but also video games, a casino game, a live show and an online merchandise store, complete with a “Wheel” umbrella and silver carrying case.
It’s highly unlikely that Seacrest will screw that up.
The 48-year-old’s reward is a job he can definitely count on for as long as he wants to do it.
