Peter Marshall (game show host)

Peter Marshall (born Ralph Pierre LaCock on March 30, circa 1930, in Huntington, West Virginia, USA) is an actor, singer and television personality. Although he has almost fifty television, movie and Broadway credits, he is best known as the original host of The Hollywood Squares from 1966 to 1981. His stage name, Marshall, came from the name of the college in his home town (Marshall College became Marshall University in 1961).

Related Topics:
March 30 - 1930 - Huntington, West Virginia - USA - Actor - Singer - Television - Movie - Broadway - The Hollywood Squares - 1966 - 1981 - Marshall University - 1961

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Marshall came from a show business family, moving to New York City at the age of 12 after his father's death to be with his mother, an aspiring costume designer and later the president of the Motion Picture Mothers. His sister, Joanne Dru, was an actress who made a number of westerns in the 1950s. His son, Pete LaCock, became a professional baseball player.

Related Topics:
New York City - Costume designer - Joanne Dru - Westerns

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Marshall started his career at 15 as a singer with big bands. In the 1950s, Marshall earned his living as part of a comedy act with Tommy Noonan, and they appeared in night clubs and on television variety shows. Although Marshall occasionally worked in film and television, he could not find regular work in the industry until his friend Morey Amsterdam recommended him to Bert Parks to host the game show The Hollywood Squares in 1966. The show had a long run on daytime TV and in syndication, making Marshall as familiar to viewers as the celebrities who appeared on the show. The easy-going and unflappable Marshall was a perfect foil for the wicked wit of such panelists as Amsterdam and his Dick Van Dyke Show castmate Rose Marie, Paul Lynde, Jan Murray, and Wally Cox. The Hollywood Squares was cancelled by NBC in 1980, but daily production continued for syndication extended the Marshall version's life into 1981.

Related Topics:
Big bands - Night clubs - Variety shows - Morey Amsterdam - Bert Parks - 1966 - Syndication - Dick Van Dyke Show - Rose Marie - Paul Lynde - Jan Murray - Wally Cox - NBC - 1980

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After the demise of Squares, Marshall continued to work on the game shows All Star Blitz, Yahtzee, and 3rd Degree. However, none of these met with the success of the original Squares. He stayed in television and movies playing character parts. His last film credit was the 1993 film Sista Dansen (The Last Dance), but he continued to work in television after that. He wrote a book about his experience, Backstage with the Original Hollywood Square.

Related Topics:
Yahtzee - 1993

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In the quarter century since Marshall hosted the original Hollywood Squares, the program has refused to leave the public consciousness. Two attempts to revive it in the 1980s (the first, a short-lived version hosted by Jon "Bowzer" Bauman from Sha-Na-Na; the second, a better-received edition emceed by John Davidson), met with mixed results, but a parody version in In Living Color hosted by Marshall showed a glimpse of the magic displayed in the original (since then, another attempt at reviving the game show, this time emceed by Tom Bergeron, reflected the success rate of the Davidson edition). Despite the various different versions between 1980 and 2004, The Hollywood Squares remains most strongly identified with Marshall.

Related Topics:
Sha-Na-Na - John Davidson - In Living Color - Tom Bergeron - The Hollywood Squares

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In 2002, Marshall came back to the show as a panelist during a Game Show Greats week on the Bergeron version, even hosting it for one day.

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As of 2000, Marshall was back on the travelling circuit, this time as a singer with big bands. His website actively promotes his CDs. He is currently married to his third wife, Laurie Stewart, and has four children and two stepchildren from his previous marriages.

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For 2006, Peter Marshall plans to make a movie version of Backstage With The Original Hollywood Square. Yet another revival of The Hollywood Squares -- this time with Marshall back in the host's chair -- is on the drawing boards. If this edition does make it to the airwaves, Marshall would become the second oldest active game show host on television (behind Bob Barker, who is somewhat older than Marshall).

Related Topics:
2006 - Bob Barker

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