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By Will Dunham
– Peter Marshall, the cheery actor, singer and nightclub comic who grew to become one among America’s best-known sport present hosts on the long-running program “The Hollywood Squares” from 1966 to 1981, died on Thursday. He was 98.
Marshall, who hosted greater than 5,000 episodes of “The Hollywood Squares” and gained 5 Emmy Awards, died of kidney failure at his Encino house within the Los Angeles space, in keeping with a press release from his household.
The present featured 9 movie star friends – seated contained in the squares of an enormous tic-tac-toe board – answering questions, usually with double entendre meanings and written with the intent of eliciting humorous responses. Two contestants then judged the accuracy of the responses in an effort to win the sport.
Marshall’s job was to be the straight man and arrange the celebrities for the punch line. Actor Paul Lynde, recognized for his snarky persona and for making thinly veiled sexual and homosexual references, was the present’s hottest movie star, making over 700 appearances.
Marshall’s inquiries to Lynde usually led to outrageous solutions, such because the time he requested, “It’s thought-about in unhealthy style to debate two topics at nudist camps. One is politics. What’s the different?” Lynde answered, “Tape measures.”
Marshall wrote in his 2002 memoir that he signed on as host to spite comic Dan Rowan, who was additionally within the working for the job and who he detested over his shunning of comedian Tommy Noonan when Noonan was hospitalized with terminal mind most cancers. Noonan had labored for years as Marshall’s comedy accomplice.
“They have been in search of somebody who may play straight man to 9 celebrities,” Marshall wrote in “Backstage with the Unique Hollywood Sq..” “My background was in musical comedy however I had additionally been a part of the profitable comedy crew of Noonan and Marshall. I used to be the Dean Martin – simply not nearly as good – to Tommy Noonan’s Jerry Lewis.
“So I flew house to L.A. to screw Dan Rowan out of a job, and that is how I started my 16-year journey on ‘The Hollywood Squares,'” he wrote.
Rowan went on to co-host the groundbreaking sketch comedy TV present “Rowan & Martin’s Giggle-In” from 1967 to 1973.
Rose Marie, Wally Cox and Charley Weaver have been among the many different regulars together with Lynde on “The Hollywood Squares.”
Many big-name stars additionally made appearances, together with Burt Reynolds, George C. Scott, Groucho Marx, Sammy Davis Jr., Ginger Rogers, Cher, Mel Brooks, and sports activities stars George Foreman and Mark Spitz.
Born Ralph Pierre LaCock on March 30, 1926, in Huntington, West Virginia, his father died when he was 10 and two years later his mom moved the household to New York, the place his sister, Joanne Dru, acquired work as a mannequin and actress.
Her movie profession caught fireplace. She starred reverse John Wayne in director John Ford’s Western “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon” , the political drama “All of the King’s Males” and quite a few different films. Later she appeared a number of instances as a star visitor on “The Hollywood Squares.”
Marshall labored as a singer in massive bands as a young person then joined Noonan in a comedy crew that labored nightclubs and made appearances on TV exhibits like “The Ed Sullivan Present.” He starred in movies together with “The Rookie” and warfare drama “The Cavern” however put his film profession on maintain for “The Hollywood Squares.”
Marshall was married 3 times. He’s survived by his spouse of 35 years, Laurie, and three kids, together with Pete LaCock who performed Main League Baseball participant for 9 seasons with the Chicago Cubs and Kansas Metropolis Royals. He was the grandfather of 12 and great-grandfather of 9.
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