Yep, Brian Wilson's daughter got the gig.

So, this may set a few firsts:

1) First game show host with multiple #1 singles to her credit (Wilson Phillips had three #1s in all).
2) First host to undergo gastric bypass surgery.
3) First game show host to appear nude in a Playboy spread. (We've had lots of models and assistants, of course, plus at least one host who disrobed for Cosmopolitan and another for Playgirl.)

And, of course, her dad's real cool.

Good for her, but I know we're going to hear the hue and cry of the oldliners who will be invariably pissed off that Bob Eubanks isn't going to do it.

Another possible first -- Carnie Wilson is five months pregnant with her third child. Is she the first pregnant woman to host a "traditional" game show in the U.S. (eliminating the likes of Alison Sweeney, who was preggers during the last two Biggest Loser tournaments)?

Curious to see how Wilson does as an emcee. She does have talk show hosting experience and is known for being an enthusiastic and talkative interview subject, but that doesn't mean squat when it comes to hosting game shows.

James

I worked with Carnie on an informercial she hosted...she was the host, I was acne before case #2.

I mean, I was the audience warm up guy.

She was, tremendously nice, sharp, self depreciating, and funny....cusses like a sailor and is better looking in person than what you see in photos.

I actually think she'll be a good host...this is up her alley. If Davies' lets her roam free from the cue cards (I'm looking at you Dylan Lane), this might be fun.

We're not counting Al Roker, there?

How many hosts even have one? I can come up with four who each have a single #1 single, but I bet I'm missing some.

And yeah, she's the second host to have gastric bypass. That we know of.

Eh. I've watched her host on GSN Live and she wasn't that appealing to me, but I won't judge until I see her here. I'm looking forward to it.

Donny Osmond had one on his own and one with his brothers. Some more with one: Merv Griffin, Vicki Lawrence and maybe Danny Bonaduce if you are generous. Of course, Bill Anderson had a bunch on the country chart.

Honestly, it took me until "country chart" to realize you were talking about hits and not gastric bypass.

/self-facepalm

Daphnee Duplaix beat her to it just barely (Playboy Channel's Show Us Your Wits)...

It's an interesting choice- she'll probably do well at it...

For some reason didn't think of Osmond, so there's our second host with multiple #1's. I didn't have Merv either, and yeah, counting Boanduce is very generous. I've still got three others with #1 hits on the popular music charts. Anybody?

Joey Fatone -- believe *NSYNC had at least one #1 single in the U.S.

JD

JUST one, best as I can tell, which surprised me. I thought for sure that was going to be another multiple-winner Curt forgot, and I was wrong.

Two more (at least). One more or less "modern" and the other really, really not. Neither are particularly famous for their game show hosting.

It's bothering me that I can't get the "modern" one, but Kay Kyser would qualify for the "really, really not," no?

Perhaps, but I think he's fairly well known for hosting the Kollege of Musical Knowledge. The other guy who hosted the TV version, however, is not known for his game show emceeing. Whaddya think, Michi-Matt?

Ding!

The "modern" one is tough. We've rarely talked about his show here.

Can you give us a decade?

Good point. I'm right for the wrong reason. Michi-Matt was thinking of the other guy (Tennessee Ernie Ford--is that your identity?), but Kyser qualifies as well as a host who had multiple #1 hits.

Still troubling me that the "modern" one isn't coming to me, considering that this topic combines two of my major interests yet I'm flunking.

Reason #314 of "why Doug never has been and never will be on a game show."

Meat Loaf.

Oooh...good one! I never would've guessed that in a million years. Have we EVER discussed his show?

Indeed.

Sometimes being a cable subscriber has its disadvantages.

/Unless you were watching for about 30 seconds in Tucson on Sunday.

Winner.

And yes, I was thinking about Tennessee Ernie Ford as the "classic" one, completely forgetting that the better-known Kollege host had plenty of "number one hits" before the Hot 100 was established in the late fifties. He probably counts.

Keep in mind that there are plenty of ways to "count" this sort of thing. Depending on how you're measuring things (which is to say, which list you're using) the game show host with the most number one albums is probably Jeff Foxworthy.

Sorry guys...I'm still in the dark. What exactly is his show? I did a quick check of wikipedia, but I can't figure out which of his TV appearances would qualify as a game. Obviously I've never seen it or heard of it...

It's called Rock and a Hard Place, and it only airs on DirecTV (Channel 101 I believe). From IMDb:

See, I would've called it "Two Out of Three"

Wow...I wouldn't mind seeing an episode of that...too bad I don't have DirecTV.

What about Vicki Lawrence?

You may be happier just imagining it to be better than it really is.

Are you really satisfied with the mental takeaway from your viewers being "not bad?" :)

Jimmy Owen mentioned her earlier:

I think "The Night The Lights Went Out" was Vicki's only Top 40 single. (EDIT: Her other two songs, "He Did With Me" and "The Other Woman," peaked at #75 and #81, respectively.)

Everybody's right here, Donny did make it to #1 alone ("Go Away Little Girl") and with the other guys ("One Bad Apple"). I should have specified pop charts, though.

And I complete forgot about Al Roker. I don't watch enough of the Playboy channel to have seen Daphne Duplaix.

Side tangent: which models/hostesses have posed for Playboy? I've got the following, and I'm sure this isn't complete:

Janice Pennington
Dian Parkinson
Heather Kozar
Elaine Stewart
Anne Pennington
Vanna White
K.C. Winkler
Teri Harrison
Cindy Margolis
Gena Lee Nolin
Nikki Ziering
Julie Lynn Cialini
Vicky McCarty (Iovine)

What about Jenny McCarthy? Wasn't she a hostess on "Singled Out"?

Yes she was. We can also put Carmen Electra in this list, as she was the hostess of "Singled Out" after Jenny left.

When I saw "Vicki Lawrence and Momma: A One-Woman Show" a few years back, she did a medley of her hit. Her words, not mine.

It'll be interesting to see how Carnie Wilson does on The Newlywed Game for GSN. I'm surprised no one's mentioned that the show now has a premiere date. It's April 6. The only other question is where will they slot this. I hope it's not that cotton pickin' 6:30 PM ET slot now occupied by Bingo America. That conflicts with the national news on the major networks. As long as she doesn't look anything like that photo in the Yahoo! link, I'm fine with that. If Davies doesn't "force" her to the cue cards, she'll be just fine.

Maybe because the article already did?




1. It's only a conflict for you. I usually don't watch the national news on the major networks, and I don't think it would have any worse effect than the other shows that air at 6:30 PM on the other 539 channels out there.

2. Her photo? Wow.

I'm embargoed until tomorrow so I can't give massive details, but I was cleared for a bit. The original host was supposed to be Kathy Najimi but she dropped out at the last minute. Carnie had one day to prep and had a really bad cold, and she knocked it out of the park from the start. I was a bit skeptical when I heard her name Tuesday, but she stunned me, fantastic choice.

Regarding Danny Bonaduce: I'd have to say probably not. The entry for the Partridge Family in Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles says, "recordings by David Cassidy and his stepmother Shirley Jones," with no mention of any other cast members.

According to a thread on the GSN boards, The New NG will air at 6 pm EST, which means the early airing of Donnymid moves to another time or goes bye-bye. We'll find out soon enough.

Which still has it in the line of fire of the quad of M*A*S*H episodes on The Hallmark Channel.
I'm trying very hard to keep an open mind about this (helping matters is the fact that I've been a Carnie Wilson fan for many years and found her early 1990s talk show very entertaining) and hope the show is successful. But the old school can't let go of the past within me still wishes that Bob Eubanks had gotten the nod. I wonder if his name was even mentioned in preliminary conversations other than to say, "Eubanks is too old so he's out".

And, no, I'm neither hueing, crying nor pissed.

Eh. I don't think it's so much about Eubanks himself, as about his ability to host the show; we all know Jim Lange couldn't make the show work when he had the chance. I'm not saying Eubanks' ability to make the contestants say silly or outrageous things is particularly unique, but it's a necessary talent toward making the show work.

I also don't think GSN particularly wants a 71-year-old Eubanks, who hasn't been seen on TV regularly in 10 years, taking over. (Of course, I think of Carnie Wilson as being "young," and she's now 40. Well, she's younger than me, and probably thinner, too.)

Many said a few months back when that Paul Rodriguez ep was posted to YouTube that a few said only Bob Eubanks can host the show right. I'm willing to give Carnie a chance to prove that wrong before passing any judgement.

Y'know, I love Bugs Bunny as much as the next guy. But one day in my late teens I stopped and thought about what the phrase "cotton pickin'" meant. I probably wouldn't use it in everyday conversation, if at all.

\Unless, of course, a cable channel is thinking about putting the newest revival of The Newlywed Game in a poor timeslot and moving Bingo America.

Is it safe to consider that Carnie will do better than Paul Rodriguez?
Gary Kroeger was certainly better than Paul Rodriguez.
Upon reflection, Gary was not a bad host. And I think he's sensational as an announcer.

I agree with both. The problem with NG96 (just like its sister show) was that it strayed too far from the original format, trying to be different for a 90s audience (which was apparently the trend in the mid-90s). Ironically, I remember reading an interview at the time with Brian Grazer, who produced DG's first season. He said that they changed the format because what was done in the 60s and 70s wouldn't work nowadays.

You see how that turned out...

Since the shows didn't last even when they *did* get returned to their original formats...was he wrong?

I was going off the logic that they were able to get two more seasons out of the original formats. However, the ratings still sucked, so point taken. :-)

Those renewals for the 1998-99 season for the tandem were practically at the last minute, weren't they?

Sounds about right. One of the Internet sites that gave ratings (wasn't Beverly's) said that the two shows were on the fence going into summer 1998. I remember being surprised that 1) the two were renewed, and 2) NG came back completely overhauled, with a jazzed up theme song, and a new set that looked like it was recycled from The Arsenio Hall Show.

IIRC, the 1999-2000 season offered reruns of the previous season. It got banished to overnights in this market.

At least The Newlywed Game worked better in its original format. Gary Kroeger hosted A Newlywed Game, so I have no idea how well he'd do if he'd gotten the original format. (In fairness, I haven't seen many episodes of the Kroeger version.)

I'm of the opinion that the third year renewal was primarily so GSN could have a little more "contemporary" programming, and Dating Game was just so they could fill the hour. Has Chuck's DG ever been seen in reruns at all?