A while ago, TBS announced Andy Richter would be hosting an update of the classic game show "Pyramid."
Richter joins a long list of celebrity game show hosts and is taking the reins of "Pyramid" from heavy hitters Dick Clark and Donny Osmond before him.
Even before that, Richard Dawson gained fame on the show "Hogan’s Heroes" and later as a panelist on "Match Game" before becoming the original host of "Family Feud." Dawson’s name will be forever associated with "Family Feud," as his habit of kissing women on the show has become famous.
After Dawson, success for other hosts was hard to come by. He was followed by Ray Combs and comedian Louie Anderson. Richard Karn (Al from "Home Improvement") got the ratings back up and the ball rolling again on the show and was eventually replaced by John O’Hurley (Mr. Peterman from "Seinfeld"). "Feud" is currently hosted by stand up comedian Steve Harvey and is still one of the most popular shows on daytime television.
"The Price is Right" is one of the most successful and definitive game shows of all time. Bob Barker was the host of the show from 1972 until 2006 when he announced his retirement.
Comedian Drew Carey was tapped as the new host in 2007 and had some big, iconic shoes (and tiny microphone) to fill. Met with a mixed reception at first, Carey has powered through and kept all the classic elements of the "Price is Right" in tact, including Barker’s closing line “help control the pet population – have your pets spayed or neutered.”
The game show saw a second golden age beginning in 1999 with the premier of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" The show was a huge success for ABC and wouldn’t have been half as popular without long time television personality Regis Phibin uttering the show’s famous catch phrase “is that your final answer?”
Thanks to Regis and "Millionaire," there have been thousands of new game shows cropping up in the last ten years with several of them featuring celebrity hosts. Shows like "Deal or No Deal" with veteran comedian Howie Mandel and "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" with redneck comedian Jeff Foxworthy have been standing on the shoulders of game show giants and have definitely made their own mark.