Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a compère or host. The variety format made its way from the Victorian era stage in Britain and America to radio and then television. Variety shows were a staple of English language television from the late 1940s into the 1980s.
Kathryn Lee Gifford is a French-born American television presenter, singer, songwriter, actress and author. From 1985 to 2000, she and Regis Philbin hosted the talk show Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee. Gifford is also known for her 11-year run with Hoda Kotb, on the fourth hour of NBC's Today show (2008–2019). She has received 11 Daytime Emmy nominations and won her first Daytime Emmy in 2010 as part of the Today team.
Carnie Wilson is an American singer and television personality. She is the daughter of Brian Wilson and in 1989 co-founded the pop music trio Wilson Phillips with her younger sister Wendy. From 1995 onwards, she has also been a host or guest star on a variety of television shows.
On Your Marc, Get Set, GO!
Robert Leland Eubanks is an American disc jockey, television personality and game show host, best known for hosting the game show The Newlywed Game on and off since 1966. He also hosted the successful revamp version of Card Sharks from 1986 to 1989. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his radio DJ work in 2000. It is in front of Grauman's Egyptian Theatre, where he worked during the first years of his broadcasting career. In 2005, he received a lifetime achievement Emmy Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
Whammy! is an American television game show that aired new episodes on Game Show Network (GSN) from April 15, 2002, to December 5, 2003. The series was produced by Fremantle North America, in association with GSN. The main goal of the game is to earn as much money and prizes as possible through collecting spins by answering trivia questions correctly, then using those spins on a gameboard to win various prizes and cash amounts while attempting to avoid the show's eponymous character, the "Whammy." Contestants who do land on a Whammy lose all their prizes accumulated to that point; four Whammies eliminates a contestant from the game. The program is an updated version of Press Your Luck, which originally aired on CBS from September 19, 1983, to September 26, 1986. The series was taped at Tribune Studios and was hosted by Todd Newton, with Gary Kroeger announcing. The show aired in reruns on GSN until 2017, and came back on May 11, 2020, up until October 1, 2021.
Winston Conrad "Wink" Martindale is an American disc jockey, radio personality, game show host, and television producer. In his six-decade career, he is best known for hosting Gambit from 1972 to 1976, Tic-Tac-Dough from 1978 to 1985, High Rollers from 1987 to 1988, and Debt from 1996 to 1998.
Geoffrey Bruce Owen Edwards was an American television actor, game show host, and radio personality. Starting in the early 2000s, he was also a writer and broadcaster on the subject of travel.
James Todd Newton is an American entertainment reporter, game show host, and author.
Robert Kuehl Goen is an American game show emcee and television personality, best known for his work on Entertainment Tonight between 1993 and 2004 and as the fourth and final host of the daytime Wheel of Fortune from 1989 to 1991.
Arthel Helena Neville is an American journalist, television personality, and weekend anchor for Fox News, based in Manhattan alongside co-anchor Eric Shawn.
Patricia Deutsch Ross, known as Patti Deutsch, was an American actress and comedian who was well known as a recurring panelist on the 1970s game shows Match Game and Tattletales.
PlayMania was a live interactive game show on GSN, hosted by Mel Peachey, Shandi Finnessey, Jessica York, Angelle Tymon, and Jeff Thisted. The two-hour program featured interactive games that the viewers could play to win cash prizes. On February 20, 2007, the show was replaced with two separate programs, quiznation and 100 Winners which were collectively known as the PlayMania Block.
Frank DeCaro is an American writer, performer and talk radio host. He is best known for his work on The Daily Show, where he appeared as a contributor from 1996 to 2003. Starting in 2004 until 2016 he was the host of The Frank DeCaro Show, a live daily radio show with producer/co-host Doria Biddle, for SIRIUS XM OutQ 106. In April 2019 his book, Drag: Combing Through the Big Wigs of Show Business, about the history of drag queens was released by Rizzoli Libri.
Samantha Harris is an American television presenter, model, and entertainment reporter and actress, known as the co-host of seasons two through nine of Dancing with the Stars with Tom Bergeron. From 2010–12, she was a correspondent at Entertainment Tonight. In September 2015, she returned to the program as a co-anchor for the weekend edition.
The MLB Network is an American television sports channel dedicated to baseball. It is primarily owned by Major League Baseball, with TNT Sports, Comcast's NBC Sports Group, Charter Communications, and Cox Communications having minority ownership.
GSN Live is an American live interactive show on Game Show Network that premiered on February 25, 2008, at noon ET and officially ended its 3-year run on July 29, 2011. The last "live" edition aired May 13, 2011. It lasted three hours in between regular GSN programming and featured games that viewers played to win prizes over the phone, highlights from Classic game shows, interviews, behind-the-scenes views of GSN, and celebrity appearances. It was formerly hosted in two shifts. The first shift, from Noon to 3:00 p.m. ET was hosted by Heidi Bohay. Fred Roggin hosted the 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET segment. Kelly Packard co-hosted from September 15 to November 28, 2008, and Roggin co-hosted the 3 hours with rotating guest hosts until Debra Skelton was chosen to replace Packard on May 26, 2009, the same day the current set was introduced and when it was hosted by three people. Fred Roggin left GSN Live on July 2, 2009, Alfonso Ribeiro left GSN Live on August 11, 2009, Debra Skelton left GSN Live in January 2010, and Heidi Bohay left the show in April 2010, making Bob Guiney currently the sole host. The show was executive produced by Burt Dubrow until March 6, 2009, and is currently produced by John Berkson, Gary Green, and Laura Slobin. The sound mixer was Mike Dooley. Budget cuts implemented by the new GSN executive regime are causing the almost weekly dismissals of production staff members from the show. Due to these cuts the show was cut from six hours to three hours and now runs from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET. The staff was cut by 7 effective December 30, 2009, leaving the future of the show in question.
Game Show Network Radio is an American interactive internet radio game show that originally aired live on GSN.com from August 18, 2008, to November 13, 2009, hosted by husband and wife team Bob Goen and Marianne Curan. Other co-hosts filled in when one of them was unavailable. The four-hour program featured interactive games that listeners played to win cash and other prizes. The show aired from 1–5 P.M. Eastern every Monday through Friday afternoon.
Regis Francis Xavier Philbin was an American television presenter, talk show host, game show host, comedian, actor, and singer. Once called "the hardest working man in show business", he held the Guinness World Record for the most hours spent on US television.
That's the Question is an American television game show hosted by Bob Goen based on the original game show of the same name that is aired in The Netherlands. It premiered on Game Show Network October 2, 2006, airing for two seasons.
