# Is "game show host" a good gig? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 30, 2016, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-game-show-host-a-good-gig/753475 "2016-04-30T01:34:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2016, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-game-show-host-a-good-gig/753475/1 "2016-04-30T01:34:11Z")
Alec Baldwin is apparently the host of the new [Match Game](https://www.yahoo.com/tv/match-game-revival-ordered-abc-140823746.html). I was always under the impression that this sort of job signaled the “swirling in the bowl” stage of an entertainer’s career and I really thought Baldwin had some years left in him as a TV leading man. OTOH, Drew Carey, Elayne Boosler and Stephen Fry all had similar positions. Is “game show host” a coveted and respected gig in Hollywood? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2016, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-game-show-host-a-good-gig/753475/2 "2016-04-30T01:39:14Z")
It’s a lot of money for not a lot of work. They usually shoot a week’s worth of shows in a single day and you can do an entire season in a few months. An actor like Baldwin could arrange things to do a movie in his time off. Maybe not respected, but very well paid. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2016, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-game-show-host-a-good-gig/753475/3 "2016-04-30T01:40:16Z")
I think there’s a “decent pay and easy hours” component to it. I wouldn’t think Baldwin would want to go this way either but on a game show he can just be charming and engaging. He wouldn’t have to memorize lines or blocking or whatnot. Don’t they knock out a week’s worth of eps in a day? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2016, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-game-show-host-a-good-gig/753475/4 "2016-04-30T01:52:58Z")
Pretty much. Work 3 months (Mon.-Thurs.), not have to memorize anything, act anything but charming, and no location work, and cash a multi-million dollar paycheck. Do a movie during the 9 month hiatus. Plus the fact that Baldwin is quite schooled in improve, so he seems like a good “match.” A quick read of the link in the OP shows that it’s only a 10 episode thing. They can bat that out over a weekend. ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2016, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-game-show-host-a-good-gig/753475/5 "2016-04-30T02:04:24Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > Don’t they knock out a week’s worth of eps in a day? Yeah, he probably would spend as much time changing clothes and having his hair and makeup refreshed in between episodes as actually doing the show ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2016, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-game-show-host-a-good-gig/753475/6 "2016-04-30T02:15:23Z")
He’s 58 and Hollywood isn’t too kind to actors that old (and is especially tough on actresses that old). He’s about the same age as Groucho Marx was when he got the “You Bet Your Life” quiz show tailored around him engaging in repartee with contestants. A step down but as the Roman Emperor Vespasian said money doesn’t smell bad. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2016, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-game-show-host-a-good-gig/753475/7 "2016-04-30T02:24:10Z")
It’s not the money, since Baldwin says [he’s donating his salary](http://www.eonline.com/ca/news/760555/abc-revives-match-game-with-alec-baldwin) to (his own) charity. And, considering that there will be[only 10 episodes](https://www.yahoo.com/tv/match-game-revival-ordered-abc-140823746.html), it’s not a big demand on his time, either. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2016, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-game-show-host-a-good-gig/753475/8 "2016-04-30T02:29:23Z")
Any steady gig is a good gig. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2016, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-game-show-host-a-good-gig/753475/9 "2016-04-30T04:05:02Z")
About a year ago, Baldwin told an interviewer that he dreaded the prospect of getting stuck on a police drama, that he hated the idea of “being in that alley with a flashlight.” Maybe his brother Daniel had stories about **Homicide: Life on the Streets** or something (Plus, Alec was on **L&O: SVU** once last year), but that sounds a million times better to me than “Paul Lynde for the Secret Square.” (Or whatever the **Match Game** equivalent is.) One day you’re socializing with Scorsese and Nicholson at the Four Season, then suddenly you’re waiting for a Denny’s booth with Chuck Barris and Dr. Joyce Brothers. Can’t be good. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2016, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-game-show-host-a-good-gig/753475/10 "2016-04-30T04:43:42Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > He’s 58 and Hollywood isn’t too kind to actors that old (and is especially tough on actresses that old). 😕 He’s apparently starring in the upcoming comedy _Drunk Parents_ with Salma Hayek, indie drama _Blind_ with Demi Moore, and science-fiction thriller _Andron_ where he plays the evil mastermind. Whatever Baldwin’s reasons may be for hosting a game show, I doubt that “aging out of opportunities for work in feature films” is one of them. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2016, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-game-show-host-a-good-gig/753475/11 "2016-04-30T05:06:18Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > About a year ago, Baldwin told an interviewer that he dreaded the prospect of getting stuck on a police drama, that he hated the idea of “being in that alley with a flashlight.” That’s a shame, that would really suit him. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2016, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-game-show-host-a-good-gig/753475/12 "2016-04-30T08:33:50Z")
Bradley Walsh hosts the quiz program ‘The Chase’. He’s also appeared in 8 seasons of the ‘Law and Order’ UK version as one of the lead detectives and on a soap opera (Coronation Street.) I think he’s a talented guy who is doing well! ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2016, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-game-show-host-a-good-gig/753475/13 "2016-04-30T11:08:26Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > He’s 58 and Hollywood isn’t too kind to actors that old … I’m not too sure about that. I recall my old Theater Arts teacher back in uni telling us he would laugh each time his friends would say something like: “I’ll try acting for 10 years or so, then move on to something else if it doesn’t pan out.” He claimed the vast majority of parts went to older actors and that there was less call than you’d think for young bucks, those roles being very limited in number. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2016, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-game-show-host-a-good-gig/753475/14 "2016-04-30T12:44:08Z")
I hope he has more opportunity for comedy, whatever the venue. His appearance on Comedians in Cars was easily the funniest episode of them all. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2016, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-game-show-host-a-good-gig/753475/15 "2016-04-30T16:41:24Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > 😕 He’s apparently starring in the upcoming comedy _Drunk Parents_ with Salma Hayek, indie drama _Blind_ with Demi Moore, and science-fiction thriller _Andron_ where he plays the evil mastermind. > > Whatever Baldwin’s reasons may be for hosting a game show, I doubt that “aging out of opportunities for work in feature films” is one of them. Yeah, I agree. And so does Harrison Ford! ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2016, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-game-show-host-a-good-gig/753475/16 "2016-04-30T20:41:43Z")
It’s a nice gig if you can make a go of it. Not as good as voice-actor on the Simpsons, but still. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2016, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-game-show-host-a-good-gig/753475/17 "2016-05-01T02:40:15Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > Is “game show host” a coveted and respected gig in Hollywood? I’m not sure if the gigs are coveted and/or respected, but who’s the last person you ever heard of who quit their job as a game show host? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2016, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-game-show-host-a-good-gig/753475/18 "2016-05-01T02:55:55Z")
Haven’t seen Art Fleming around in a while… ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2016, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-game-show-host-a-good-gig/753475/19 "2016-05-01T03:04:07Z")
I’ve seen some Art Flemings lately and, unlike Trebek, I haven’t wanted to punch him in the face. Back in the mid-70s I loved getting high to watch Match Game. I suspect that was the only way it was enjoyable, but I welcome a Baldwin reboot. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2016, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-game-show-host-a-good-gig/753475/20 "2016-05-01T03:06:09Z")
Oh, and regarding the OP, voice actors seem to have easier gigs, but game shows look like a licence to print money. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-game-show-host-a-good-gig/753475.md?page=2)