As you may know, I am a huge fan of
Match Game, the hilarious and charming TV game show that was massively popular in the 1970s. I even run a site devoted entirely to the show here:
www.matchgameomeedy.itgo.com. I'm also a big fan of its boisterous, talented, and superb host: the venerable Gene Rayburn. December 22, 2013 marks 96 years since the day Rayburn was born. He died of congestive heart failure on November 29, 1999. TV Guide, Time Magazine, the Game Show Network, and various other publications have rightly identified Rayburn as one of the greatest game show hosts of all time. Indeed, Rayburn was a humorous, witty, playful, and enthusiastic host whose amusing interactions with contestants and - literally drunk - celebrities drove the show's outstanding success. Rayburn devoted over two decades of his life to using these talents for the sake of
Match Game. From 1962 to 1969, he hosted the NBC original black and white version of the show. From 1973 to 1982, he hosted the CBS and syndicated daytime versions that were the most popular incarnations of the show. In the mid-1970s, in no small part thanks to Rayburn's silly antics, the show became the most popular program in the history of daytime television - a record that has since been eclipsed. From 1983 to 1984, Rayburn hosted the Match Game segment of the ill-fated
Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour. For his role as host of
Match Game, Rayburn was nominated for the Emmys several times and shortly before his death, he won a lifetime achievement award in the television industry in 1998.
However, unlike game show hosts like Regis Philbin, Bob Barker, and Allen Ludden, among others, Rayburn does not have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. This is a great Hollywood injustice because one person who does have a star on the Walk of Fame is Ryan Seacrest. Though Seacrest has his share of talents, he only received this star after just
two years hosting
American Idol in 2004. Rayburn hosted versions of the one-time
most popular show in daytime TV history for which he earned a
lifetime achievement award and still has no star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Gene Rayburn deserves a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame because he is an inspiration to aspiring TV game show hosts and celebrities to this day. His hosting skills are unquestionable and the popularity of
Match Game in GSN reruns in the last several years indicates even young people today are cognizant of his sterling legacy in Hollywood. If you believe Gene Rayburn deserves a star, as I do, let's get the word out there and see if we can gather enough support online to make this happen. If you have any suggestions for how to spread the word, let me know!
I agree. He is very deserving.
ReplyDeleteI disagree respectfully. Gene was a host not a star although he was introduced as "The Star Of Match Game" He was indeed well know, recognized and liked. Don't sully the honor by replacing stardom with longevity.
ReplyDelete