Monty Hall

Monty Hall, born August 25, 1921 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, as Maurice Halprin, is a Canadian-born actor, singer and sportscaster, but is best known for being the MC of popular American television game shows. He was the host of the long-running game show Let's Make a Deal from 1963 to 1986 and for a limited run in 1990.

Related Topics:
August 25 - 1921 - Winnipeg, Manitoba - Canadian - Actor - Singer - Sportscaster - MC - American - Television - Game show - Let's Make a Deal - 1963 - 1986 - 1990

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Hall hosted several shows during the 1950s and early 1960s before finding his niche making deals and as a producer. Among his early efforts was as part-time host (along with Jack Narz) of a short-lived but unique game show called Video Village, which ran during the summer of 1960 on CBS. Contestants played on a giant game board consisting of three sections: Money Street, Bridge Street and Magic Mile. Players advanced with the roll of softball-sized dice. The farther they got along the board, the better the prizes were. A spinoff called Video Village Junior, featuring youngsters, was hosted by Hall and ran during the 1961-1962 regular television season.

Related Topics:
1950s - 1960s - Jack Narz - 1960 - CBS - 1961 - 1962

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Hall received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on August 24, 1973. On May 1988 the Government of Canada bestowed on him the prestigious Order of Canada for his humanitarian work in Canada and other nations of the world.

Related Topics:
Hollywood Walk of Fame - August 24 - 1973 - 1988 - Order of Canada - Humanitarian - Nation

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Because of his work on Let's Make a Deal, Hall's name is used in a popular probability puzzle known as the Monty Hall problem. Hall himself gave a pretty good explanation of the solution to that problem, and why the solution did not apply to the case of the actual show, in an interview with New York Times reporter John Tierney in 1991. Because Hall had control over the way the game progressed, he played on the psychology of the contestant.

Related Topics:
Let's Make a Deal - Probability - Monty Hall problem - New York Times - John Tierney - 1991

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Hall received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Manitoba, where he majored in biology and zoology as a pre-med student.

Related Topics:
Bachelor of Science - Degree - University of Manitoba - Biology - Zoology - Pre-med

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He has been married for many years to his wife, Marilyn, and has a daughter, actress Joanna Gleason.

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