Tonight, Pat Sajak hosts his final episode of “Wheel Of Fortune”. His farewell remarks have been all over Facebook today but I’m trying to avoid them….I want to see the final episode in its entirety. Pat Sajak’s dry humor will be sorely missed…he was a perfect match for this game. And yet, there was a time when people were wondering, “Who’s this no-name? Where did Chuck Woolery go?”
There have been a lot of transitions in long-standing broadcasting franchises…some with success, some not so much. I thought it might be fun to explore some of those replacements and see how they add up in comparison.
I’ve Got A Secret
The Original: Garry Moore
The Replacement: Steve Allen
The Difference: -59%
Garry Moore, who I’ve written about before on ye olde blog, is one of the all-time great emcees. And “I’ve Got A Secret”, a panel show that aired on CBS from 1952 ro 1967, was an ideal showcase for Moore’s talents. Each week a variety of guests would come on, whisper their secret to Garry, and see if the panel could guess it. The secrets ranged from “I Saw The Assassination Of Abraham Lincoln” to “Bing Crosby Is My Brother” to “I Collected 40 Insects For A School Project And My Baby Brother Ate Them All.”
Sometimes Garry would be a participant in demonstrating a more visual secret. Sometimes the contestant’s secret was “I came to the show drunk”:
In 1964, after twelve years of hearing secrets from civilians and celebrities alike, Moore retired from “Secret” and his own weekly comedy-variety series. “I’ve Got A Secret” continued with new host Steve Allen for its final three seasons. Allen is an undisputed genius–songwriter, author, inventor of the late-night talk show, and wearer of bad toupees. But he was not exactly a great match for “Secret”. Whereas Garry Moore always made the contestants the stars, Steve Allen seemed more concerned with dropping in a funny line–whether or not it was an appropriate time to do so. Allen also lacked chemistry with the show’s panel regulars, and in general seemed slightly seperated from the game.
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Original: Johnny
The Replacement: Jay Leno
The Difference: -100%
Johnny Carson, in his later years as “Tonight Show” host, worried a great deal about whether it was time for him to step down. He had told friends for years how disappointing it was to see comedy icons like Jack Benny and Bob Hope place themselves in the public eye past their prime. (In Hope’s case, decades past.) And he certainly did not intend to make that same mistake. One wonders how many more years Johnny would have sat behind the desk if talent agent/supervillian Helen Kushnick hadn’t planted a story in the papers about NBC wanting Leno to take over.
But that’s what happened. Johnny saw the writing on the wall, announced his retirement, and we got Jay Leno. Obviously, Leno had lots of fans…I am not one of them. I’d have prefered to see David Letterman take that mantle. I tried watching Leno in those early years…”The Tonight Show” at the time being the only 11:30pm talk show. It was just painfully awkward. He obviously got better but Letterman’s CBS series became my 11:30 show of choice.
“The Price Is Right”
The Original: Bob Barker (well, actually Bill Cullen but let’s not start pulling threads)
The Replacement: Drew Carey
The Difference: -35%
I enjoy Drew’s hosting style on “The Price Is Right.” It’s evolved over the years, and I think he’s as good an emcee as you can ask for. He has a great sense of humor…he’s got great chemistry with announcer George Gray and the prize models (male and female now, in case you havem’t watched in a while)…and he seems genuinely happy when contestants win their pricing games. I also like that Drew has added a daily reminder to viewers about the importance of mental health. And yes, he still reminds us all to help control the pet population, have your pet spayed or neutered.
Of course, there are things I miss from ol’ Bob. I liked the way Bob would give attention to unusual milestones (“Roger, has that ever happened before?”). I liked Bob’s second-to-none ability to draw out a reveal. And I liked the “Bob-isms”. “Once you hit stop on the Range Finder we can’t start it again for another 37 hours.” “She almost spinned herself right into ‘The Young and the Restless’!” And so on.
“American Top 40”
The Original: Casey Kasem
The Replacement: Shadoe Stevens
The Difference: -468%
I’m going to be honest with you, and this is not the first time I’ve expressed this thought: There are a lot of weasels, untrustables and ne’er-do-wells in the radio business. I’ve been very, very lucky to avoid about 95% of that. But there’s a lot of it out there. Take our radio pal , the king of the countdown, Casey Kasem. In 1970 Casey, with Tom Rounds and Don Bustany, created a little show called “American Top 40.” (It’s heard from coast to coast and around the world each week on great radio stations like KCOW in Alliance Nebraska.)
As the years rolled by AT40 got bigger and bigger and bigger….at some point the show, which was produced by Watermark Inc, was sold off to ABC Radio. ABC made even more money off the show by demanding that AT40 affiliate stations also carry an ABC News product (and of course the commericials within). This resulted in a huge flip-flop of affiliate stations….for a while Casey was reading an usually large number of “We’d like to welcome a new station” announcements.
Then, in 1988, Casey Kasem asked for more money. Seems sensible, right? He was the host of the number-one rated syndicated music radio program in the known galaxy. But ABC made Casey an offer he could easily refuse. So Casey went across the street (metaphorically speaking) to Westwood One. And ABC, in their infinite wisdom, hired the announcer of “Hollywood Squares” to be AT40’s new host.
Shadoe Stevens fought a losing battle for seven years as “Casey’s Top 40” inhaled mass quantities of former AT40 affiliates. Eventually, through sales and swaps and such, Casey Kasem was able to use the “American Top 40” name for his weekly countdown series again.
Incidentally….
To learn more about Casey Kasem and “American Top 40” the Library of Wenty recommends these books:
“American Top 40: The 80’s”
by Pete Battistini
These and many other interesting books are waiting for you at your local library or book store! Visit them! And they’ll be happy to help you Read More About It!®
Where was I… oh! Yes, Casey hosted “American Top 40”, in various formulas for different station formats, until his retirement in 2004. Casey’s replacement this time was….Ryan Seacrest. Which brings us to..
Wheel Of Fortune
The Original: Pat Sajak
The Replacement: Ryan Seacrest
The Difference: TBA
As I said at the top of this thing, Pat Sajak and “Wheel of Fortune” were a match made in heaven. The game itself is so simple that you want someone with a good sense of humor; a sense of timing; a genuine desire to support the contestants even while ocassionally poking gentle fun at them. This was Pat Sajak’s skillset, and he made the absolute most out of it. A lot of game show hosts over the years have said “I’m sorry you didn’t win” or some such and not really managed to meet any threshold of sincerity. Pat always had a genuine kind word for losing contestants, and was especially good at consoling contestants when they did something really stupid. It helped, I’m sure, that Pat Sajak saw a LOT of stupidity over 41 years.
What has really irritated me in the last couple of years is the snarky news articles about some supposedly horrible thing Pat Sajak said to a contestant. There really is some truth to the concept that people are much more easily offended than they once were. Pat’s schtick, from 1981 to present, is a heaping helping of the Midwestern Razz®. Or, if you prefer, the kind of remarks your wisenheimer uncle might make. The contestants never seem to be the least bit offended by Pat’s quips…it’s just the clickbait writers that are desperately looking for a story idea no matter how trifling.
I have a feeling Ryan Seacrest will not have these problems. Ryan is friendly like Pat, a veteran broadcaster like Pat, a former game show host like Pat, a familiar face like Pat. You know what concerns me? WIll Seacrest be FUNNY like Pat? Again, “Wheel Of Fortune” is a very simple game….Sajak’s humor has been an essential element. My Facebook friend Randy West (I reviewed his excellent book here) reports that Ryan Seacrest has already taped some episodes and is doing a fine job. I look forward to seeing what he brings to the wheel.
It will be nice to have Vanna still on the show. These host changes are traumatic! Anything that retains the feeling of tradition is good.