Longtime “The Hollywood Squares” host Peter Marshall passes away at age 98
He asked questions on what was for a long time the most watched game show on television, playing straight man to a variety of celebrities.
As the longstanding host of “The Hollywood Squares,” one of the most watched game shows on television for years, Peter Marshall elicited sarcastic rejoinders from stars like Burt Reynolds, Mel Brooks, Joan Rivers, and Paul Lynde. He passed away on Thursday at his Encino, California, home. He was ninety-eight.
Laurie Marshall, his 35-year wife, stated that renal insufficiency was the reason.
From 1966 until 1981, Mr. Marshall, an authoritative baritone actor, singer, and comedian, presented “The Hollywood Squares.” He won four Daytime Emmy Awards for the show.
“The Hollywood Squares” was a version on tic-tac-toe played by two participants on a set that included a grid of nine squares rising above the stage, with a celebrity guest seated in each. The show packed star guests and risqué comedy into a daytime game show.
A competitor would select a square, Mr. Marshall would pose a question to the star within, and the star would typically reply with a quip—a “zinger,” as the show called it—before providing a thoughtful response. The competitor would then inform Mr. Marshall if they believed the star had provided the correct response, and if they did, they would have won the square. The game was won by the first competitor to finish a line; cash and awards were awarded to the first player to win two games.
For the majority of the show’s duration, comedian Paul Lynde inhabited the center square, which was designated for the funniest celebrity.
Cliff Arquette, as Charley Weaver, Wally Cox, and Rose Marie were regulars on the show. Actors Gene Hackman and Gloria Swanson, comedians Andy Kaufman and Redd Foxx, baseball players Mickey Mantle and Henry Aaron, and singers Dolly Parton and Alice Cooper were among the guests.
Some of the finalists went on to become celebrities, as Mr. Marshall mentioned in his memoir “Backstage With the Original Hollywood Square” (co-written with Adrienne Armstrong, 2002). A young Kentucky single mother named Naomi Judd made an appearance on “Squares” prior to joining her daughter Wynonna in a country music duet.
Another competitor was running back O.J. Simpson of the University of Southern California, who had just won the Heisman Trophy. He was the only one to make a celebrity appearance on the show later on.
Peter Marshall portrayed a serious role to his humorous co-stars. He remembered that Bob Quigley and Merrill Heatter, the show’s producers, had told him that they were seeking for a complete nonentity when they were looking for a host. I said, ‘Look no further,’ and they extended an invitation for me to audition.
Peter Marshall insisted that, unlike in the 1950s quiz show scandals, participants and celebrities were never given access to the answers beforehand. He did acknowledge, though, that jokes, or at least the general idea of them, were prepared for the less funny celebs and that questions were customized to meet the expertise or comedic sensibility of a specific star.
Cast members had a drunken supper in between tapings, which helped to create a more carefree vibe on the set. One evening, a week’s worth of shows were recorded. Mr. Marshall was able to work in Las Vegas and participate in summertime touring musical productions of “The Music Man” and “Guys and Dolls” because to the shortened schedule.
A CD featuring many of the funniest jokes from the event was included with Mr. Marshall’s autobiography. An example of a typical exchange was this:
“I fly for that reason alone,” Mr. Lynde retorted.
And still another, with Joan Rivers and Mr. Marshall:
“Is your man’s love of animals a good sign?” he enquired.
Not excessively, she retorted.
“The Hollywood Squares” enjoyed immense popularity in the late 1960s and early 1970s, with its episodes being syndicated in prime time for almost the whole decade.
However, when NBC moved the show to a daytime slot in 1976, the show’s ratings suffered. In 1980, after four transfers in as many years, NBC canceled the show to make way for “The David Letterman Show,” an experimental daytime program.
Daytime viewers disliked Mr. Letterman’s show, and it was quickly discontinued. Although Mr. Marshall left NBC, he hosted the syndicated show “Hollywood Squares” for a year before it was taken off the air.
Born in Clarksburg, West Virginia, on March 30, 1926, he was raised in Wheeling until the death of his father, Ralph LaCock, a pharmacist, when he was ten years old.
