Republican Game Show Hosts (AND Some Liberal Game Show Hosts Too)

[bengay]

Thanks to a VERY Interesting 2010 article, yours truly has learned that MANY of America's Favorite Game Show Hosts VOTE Republican.

Among the MANY Republican Game Show Hosts include the following:

1. Chuck Woolery -- On Mike Huckabee's now-canceled FOX News Talk Show, Chuck Woolery PUBLICLY Came Out as a Republican, joking "I'll never work in this town again." Chuck made his Game Show Host debut as the original host of the network "Wheel of Fortune," where he hosted for 6 years from its NBC debut on January 6, 1975 til he left the show on December 25, 1981; the following Monday, December 28, 1981, Pat Sajak took over as host--and is STILL hosting the show TODAY, nearly 35 years later. 2 years after Sajak became host, "Wheel of Fortune" launched a nighttime syndicated version in September 1983, NOW in its 33rd season; though NBC canceled the network "Wheel" in 1989 due to poor ratings after Sajak left the network (but not syndicated) "Wheel" for his FLOP of a late-night talk show, CBS picked it up with Bob Goen as network "Wheel" host, where it aired for another 18 months until its CBS cancellation, with NBC airing the remaining episodes until September 20, 1991, after which it was cancelled again. The syndicated "Wheel" continues to Spin in Syndication, thank God.

2. Pat Sajak -- Until recently, Pat Sajak has kept quiet about his Republican Politics, but has privately donated to Republican Candidates his entire career, first as a local Nashville weatherman and now as "Wheel of Fortune" host.

3. Alex Trebek -- The answer is: THIS "Jeopardy!" host is a Republican. The question: Who is Alex Trebek? Born in Sudbury, Canada, George Alexander Trebek has been "Jeopardy!" host since September 10, 1984. In his private life, Alex has donated to MANY Republican Causes and Candidates.

4. Dick Clark -- The World's Oldest Teenager, Richard Wagstaff Clark was a Registered Republican. In addition to hosting the original "Pyramid" Game Shows, Dick Clark also hosted and created "The Challengers," a short-lived 1990 game show distributed by Walt Disney Television. Dick didn't create "Pyramid," however; that honor went to Bob Stewart. Dick also hosted, for Mark Goodson Bill Todman Productions, the short-lived "Missing Links."

5. Drew Carey -- Before succeeding Bob Barker as "Price Is Right" host after Bob's retirement, Drew Carey was and is a successful stand-up comedian who had his own self-titled ABC/Warner Bros. Television sitcom. In recent years, Drew has admitted to being a registered Republican--though he describes himself politically as a Libertarian.

6. Ben Stein -- NOT Surprisingly, Ben Stein VOTES Republican, having served as Speechwriter to President Richard Milhaus Nixon before entering the Showbiz Industry, eventually hosting the Comedy Central/Disney game show "Win Ben Stein's Money."

7. Jeff Foxworthy -- In 2012, after years of Silence on Politics, stand-up comedian Jeff Foxworthy came out as a Republican, supporting Mitt Romney for President in the 2012 election.

8. Wink Martindale -- Another I'm not surprised about, considering his Southern roots. Originally from Jackson, Tennessee, Winston Conrad Martindale was given the nickname "Wink" by a boyhood pal (NO, not Elvis Aron Presley, his teenage pal). After beginning his career as a Radio DJ, Wink became host of no less than 20 different game shows, becoming 2nd only to Bill Cullen as the Game Show Host with the Most, with Bill hosting 24 shows.

And now, to be fair, here's a Partial List of Game Show Hosts who VOTE Democrat.

1. Monty Hall -- Born Monte Halperin in Winnipeg, Canada, Monty Hall is a Proud Democrat, as is his daughter, Joanne (known professionally as Joanna Gleason), a successful actress since the late 1970s. Since becoming a Naturalized U.S. Citizen like fellow Canadian Alex Trebek, Monty has become known as "America's Big Dealer," hosting and creating his signature game show "Let's Make A Deal," as well as creating the game show "Split Second" (ORIGINALLY hosted by Jim Narz, professionally known as Tom Kennedy), hosting the show upon its 1986 revival that lasted I believe 6 months.

2. Marc Summers -- The original host of Nickelodeon's "Double Dare," Marc Summers is outspoken about his Democratic Liberalism to his friends.

3. Bert Convy -- Bert Convy, God Bless Him, hosted a number of game shows in addition to being an actor and musician. Bert co-created with Burt Reynolds under the banner Burt & Bert Productions the game show "Win, Lose or Draw" for Disney. Bert Convy was a life-long Democrat. He was visiting his ill mother at a local Los Angeles hospital when he collapsed in April 1990 and was subsequently diagnosed with Brain Cancer; he died at age 57 in 1991.

[Zoneboy]

The original host of Wheel of Fortune was actor Edd Byrnes, not Chuck Woolery.

[Vahan]

Gene Rayburn was also a Liberal Democrat. One of his charities he donated to was Planned Parenthood.

[scrapple]

Isn't it a shame that in Hollywood they actually have to keep it under wraps that they are Republican. I used to be a Democrat many years ago, until I realized that being "liberal" actually meant shutting the other side up.

[Vahan]

Originally Posted by scrapple

until I realized that being "liberal" actually meant shutting the other side up.

Because as we all know, right-wingers are never capable of doing the same thing.

[JSP]

Game Shows are something Conservative audiences are more likely to want to see than Liberal. Game shows are supposed to be good escapist apolitical fun. Something lighthearted. Liberals usually seem to want something controversial and darker.

[Edward216]

I completely agree with you on that JSP.

Ed.

[Babalu]

I don't think it's a coincidence that long-time hosts on successful game shows - people that aren't looking for their next job - are secure enough to publicly support Republicans. Most people in show business or TV news know that if they are branded as right wing enemies by liberals they may never work again.

[megamanj2004]

Another Republican hosts: Former To Tell the Truth and Family Feud host John O'Hurley. He once admitted that he never brags about being a Republican or something and Bob Barker too.

Another Democrat host to add: Tom Bergeron and even Betty White, host of the short-lived, Emmy-nominated Just Men! too.

I was a bit surprised that Dick Clark was a Republican.

Wink was also a George W. Bush supporter I think too.

It's easy to see Monty Hall as a Democrat considering that him and Betty White are heavily involved in charities and very charitable and generous people.

[megamanj2004]

It also seems that Marv Griffin, host of Goodson-Todman's Play Your Hunch and creator of Wheel and J! had been spinning out Republicans considering that he might be one himself too.

[JSP]

Originally Posted by megamanj2004

Another Republican hosts: Former To Tell the Truth and Family Feud host John O'Hurley. He once admitted that he never brags about being a Republican or something and Bob Barker too.

Another Democrat host to add: Tom Bergeron and even Betty White, host of the short-lived, Emmy-nominated Just Men! too.

I was a bit surprised that Dick Clark was a Republican.

Wink was also a George W. Bush supporter I think too.

It's easy to see Monty Hall as a Democrat considering that him and Betty White are heavily involved in charities and very charitable and generous people.

I always thought Allen Ludden was a bit stuffy and conservative. The fact that he could get a classy lady like Betty White to fall in love with him makes me think there's hope for the rest of us stuffy conservative guys, lol.

[biffbronson]

The late Wally Bruner, host of What's My Line, I think was a Democrat -- if I remember correctly, his wife Natalie ran for office.

Some in this thread seem to think that you can't be conservative and still be "very charitable and generous people." My former neighbor was a staunch Democrat, yet was the least charitable person I've known. So it works both ways...!

[JSP]

Originally Posted by biffbronson

The late Wally Bruner, host of What's My Line, I think was a Democrat -- if I remember correctly, his wife Natalie ran for office.

Some in this thread seem to think that you can't be conservative and still be "very charitable and generous people." My former neighbor was a staunch Democrat, yet was the least charitable person I've known. So it works both ways...!

Yeah, the biggest mistake people often make is judging whether or not a person is "good" or "bad" based on the political views they profess to believe in.

[Babalu]

Originally Posted by biffbronson

The late Wally Bruner, host of What's My Line, I think was a Democrat -- if I remember correctly, his wife Natalie ran for office.

Some in this thread seem to think that you can't be conservative and still be "very charitable and generous people." My former neighbor was a staunch Democrat, yet was the least charitable person I've known. So it works both ways...!

Republicans historically give much more to charity than Democrats. This is nothing new.

Here's a chart that shows only one of the top 20 charitable states voted for Obama in the last election and only one of the bottom ten voted for Romney.


https://philanthropy.com/article/How...pareHow/152501

[SitcomsOffline]

Originally Posted by biffbronson

The late Wally Bruner, host of What's My Line, I think was a Democrat -- if I remember correctly, his wife Natalie ran for office.

Some in this thread seem to think that you can't be conservative and still be "very charitable and generous people." My former neighbor was a staunch Democrat, yet was the least charitable person I've known. So it works both ways...!

It's purely a philosophical difference.

I'm also a liberal (albeit Independent) and I don't give to charities because statistics show that so very little of your money (in some cases, only pennies) go towards the intended cause, whereas the rest is spent on bloated administrative costs.

Also, I can't hold the people accountable who run the charities the same way I can government officials (who I elect), so I'd rather pay higher taxes in order to help the less fortunate.

But I can understand the other side of the argument too.