1 of 1- mace
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Top Game Show Announcers
On another thread, someone posted Bill Brioux's list of his top five game show hosts of all time. Just as important IMO are the voices who introduced the contestants and described those fabulous prizes which could be yours if the price is right or you pick the correct door behind Carol Merrill [who is now 83' My top five would be Don Pardo, Jay Stewart, Gene Wood, Johnny Olsen and Johnny Gilbert. Runnerups would include Kenny Williams, Bud Collyer and Rod Roddy who could give Don Cherry some competition when it comes to choice of wardrobe. Sadly, other than Johnny Gilbert, the majority of those voices are now silent.
- Doug Thompson
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Re: Top Game Show Announcers
Of all those voices, I only ever worked with Don Pardo on two presentations. I flew toNew York and met him at the studio. He was wonderful to work with and that voice. OMG.
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- haydenmatthews14
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Re: Top Game Show Announcers
The Game Show announcers that I grew up in my time were Rod Roddy from The Price is Right. Burton Richardson from Family Feud until 2010. He was also on The Price is Right in for Rod Roddy who was on leave during his treatment for cancer until he died in October 2003. Shadoe Stevens who announced Hollywood Squares in the 1980’s and he was a star in that version. He was also an announcer on the Tom Bergeron version from 1998 until 2002. Charlie O’Donnell who did Wheel of Fortune from the 1980’s until his death in 2010. Rich Fields who was the announcer on The Price is Right from 2004 until his dismissal in 2010. He was a weather person as well though I can’t remember what station he worked at. Johnny Glbert who today is still announcing Jeopardy. Before doing Jeopardy he did other game shows such as: The Jokers Wild, The $100,000 Pyramid with Dick Clark and others. Overall those are the game show announcers that I grew up in my time.
- RadioActive
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Re: Top Game Show Announcers
Rich Fields, which sounds like praise for some fertile soil, worked primarily for KCBS-TV in L.A. He's since left broadcasting and his current job is as a motivational speaker.
Johnny Gilbert is a major marvel, still working as an announcer on Wheel of Fortune at the amazing age of 95 - and counting. He was born in July 1928, which means if he returns for the next season as expected, he'll have turned 96.
- Glen Warren
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Re: Top Game Show Announcers
My personal favs were Johnny Olson... he just seemed so smooth, with perfect control of his voice, and just knew the right moment to banter with Bob Barker or Gene Rayburn.. I mentioned this once before, but something that you can see in TPIR clips on YouTube is that Olsen never used (or needed) a Pop filter on his microphone at his announcer pod.
He was also the announcer for the Match Game revival starting in 1973 and the 80s run of Tattle Tales.
Really, he was probably the defacto announcer for the majority of the Goodson * Todman gameshows, having started in New York with the G T shows "What's My Line" and "To Tell the Truth" among others
Olsen was also the announcer for Jackie Gleason's later run of his Miami based variety show on CBS "The Jackie Gleason Show" (late 60s to 70).
I also really got a kick out of Rod Roddy who first did the announcer reads for the sitcom "Soap" and later became Olsen's replacement of TPIR. Roddy was originally a radio host and disc jockey in Dallas and later in Buffalo on WKBW AM during the 60s. Roddy was also the announcer for "Press Your Luck" in the 80s
In addition to being the show announcers, both Olson and Roddy also did the audience warm ups prior to the shows being recorded...
- ckg927
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Re: Top Game Show Announcers
haydenmatthews14 wrote:
The Game Show announcers that I grew up in my time were Rod Roddy from The Price is Right. Burton Richardson from Family Feud until 2010. He was also on The Price is Right in for Rod Roddy who was on leave during his treatment for cancer until he died in October 2003. Shadoe Stevens who announced Hollywood Squares in the 1980’s and he was a star in that version. He was also an announcer on the Tom Bergeron version from 1998 until 2002. Charlie O’Donnell who did Wheel of Fortune from the 1980’s until his death in 2010. Rich Fields who was the announcer on The Price is Right from 2004 until his dismissal in 2010. He was a weather person as well though I can’t remember what station he worked at. Johnny Glbert who today is still announcing Jeopardy. Before doing Jeopardy he did other game shows such as: The Jokers Wild, The $100,000 Pyramid with Dick Clark and others. Overall those are the game show announcers that I grew up in my time.
Rich was a meteorologist for KCBS/KCAL in Los Angeles in the 2010s. His most recent post was at WTSP-TV in Tampa but he left that job in 2023 to become a motivational speaker.
- Hansa
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Re: Top Game Show Announcers
Bill Cullen was a class act. Few people realized that he was a polio survivor and therefore walked with leg braces which restricted his mobility (he would usually be shown already at the podium or the camera). This would lead to Mel Brooks' most embarrassing moment
Last edited by Hansa (June 11, 2024 6:57 pm)