# TV History folks I gotta question about TV Hosts **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 22, 2016, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-history-folks-i-gotta-question-about-tv-hosts/766557 "2016-09-22T03:48:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2016, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-history-folks-i-gotta-question-about-tv-hosts/766557/1 "2016-09-22T03:48:15Z")
Ok, first off, I don’t mean the kind of Hosts like Oprah or Ellen or even the Game Show Hosts like Bob Barker or Charles Darwin. I’m currently watching “Penn and Tellers Fool Us.” and they have had a Host on there since the beginning, I believe? Anyways when I caught it Jonathan Ross was the Host and now it is Alyson Hannigan. Their only purpose seems to be to announce the Stars, P&T, and then do some frivolity with the guest magicians. I get the Oprahs and I get the Bob Barkers. What I was wondering was what was the etymology, origin, specification (I can’t think of the proper word for this and Google is being dumb.) of this type of role in the entertainment industry? Is it just “A Thing”? ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2016, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-history-folks-i-gotta-question-about-tv-hosts/766557/2 "2016-09-22T04:05:29Z")
It dates back to the early days of TV (Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Ed Sullivan), and vaudeville before that. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2016, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-history-folks-i-gotta-question-about-tv-hosts/766557/3 "2016-09-22T04:07:04Z")
well there used to (and still might)be a difference between an emcee and a host …the difference being that an emcee just announced every thing off stage like on a game show the host would actually be on stage and have conversation with guests ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2016, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-history-folks-i-gotta-question-about-tv-hosts/766557/4 "2016-09-22T05:06:05Z")
The original _ **SNL** _ made it a point to have a guest host when it debuted in October 1975. The first one was George Carlin. Lorne Michaels likened it to having a “different cover on his magazine every week.” ---
**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:** [September 22, 2016, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-history-folks-i-gotta-question-about-tv-hosts/766557/5 "2016-09-22T11:27:56Z")
The concept predate TV by quite some time. 19th Century English music halls had a “compere” to introduce acts and joke as they got ready. I think it was also used in US vaudeville and burlesque as the Master of Ceremonies (MC). Radio had an announcer to fill the role, and often acts were introduced by the star (host) of the show. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2016, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-history-folks-i-gotta-question-about-tv-hosts/766557/6 "2016-09-22T12:38:58Z")
The minstrel show featured an _interlocutor_–who introduced the various parts of the evening’s entertainment. Not so much a singer, dancer or jokester, he’s been described as["a dignified, if pompous, straight man.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minstrel_show)" Ed Sullivan certainly never appeared in blackface–but was definitely the classic “straight man” host. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2016, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-history-folks-i-gotta-question-about-tv-hosts/766557/7 "2016-09-22T16:06:28Z")
Sounds like he’s talking about somebody like Don Pardo on SNL?. In radio they call that type of person an announcer, I guess you could use the same name for the TV job. JAX FM has something more like what your talking about. They claim that he’s not an actual DJ, but to me he’s just a prerecorded version of a DJ. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2016, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-history-folks-i-gotta-question-about-tv-hosts/766557/8 "2016-09-22T17:16:13Z")
I don’t think like Don Pardo. Like Ryan Seacrest on American Idol or Tom Bergeron on Dancing with the Stars. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2016, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-history-folks-i-gotta-question-about-tv-hosts/766557/9 "2016-09-22T17:28:01Z")
Old radio shows had hosts who were basically staff announcers who read the credits, and some of them (Don Wilson, Harlow Wilcox, many others) were often written or ad-libbed into the body of a variety show, and became household names as well known as the stars of the shows. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2016, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-history-folks-i-gotta-question-about-tv-hosts/766557/10 "2016-09-22T17:53:57Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > What I was wondering was what was the etymology, origin, specification (I can’t think of the proper word for this and Google is being dumb.) of this type of role in the entertainment industry? In many cases they serve as a through-line structure, whereas the separate acts would be just that - separate. As mentioned above, they serve as a transitional “button” to tie scenes together. And most importantly, they often are directly addressing the viewers - they act as an audience surrogate to provide viewers an avenue into the entertainment. Think of America’s Got Talent, the panel and the acts address each other, while Nick Cannon addresses the audience. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2016, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-history-folks-i-gotta-question-about-tv-hosts/766557/11 "2016-09-22T21:13:35Z")
Also Penn and Teller’s hosts can take part in the magic acts (both Jonathan and Alyson have done this several times.) ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2016, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-history-folks-i-gotta-question-about-tv-hosts/766557/12 "2016-09-23T02:18:17Z")
Thank you everybody with your wonderful knowledge. What you all said in a similar fashion is what I was kind of thinking. That they are kind of, in different forms, the “Act between The Act.” type of thing depending on the eras and media types. I Googled fubar’ed this and couldn’t find anything to sort of corroborate what my brain was trying to think of. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2016, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-history-folks-i-gotta-question-about-tv-hosts/766557/13 "2016-09-23T13:33:49Z")
The host plays another important role on that particular show because they act as the referee between Penn and Teller and the guest magicians. Whether true or not, Rossy [haven’t seen AH in action, but would happily watch her read the newspaper] makes it seem more of a fair contest than if Penn and Teller were running the show. I have seen him challenging them on some of their calls, which only adds to the sense its a genuine contest. . Its format is competitive, so he acts as a referee / honest broker to reinforce the idea that there is no behind the scenes shenanigans ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2016, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-history-folks-i-gotta-question-about-tv-hosts/766557/14 "2016-09-24T19:09:34Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > to introduce acts and joke as they got ready. I think this is a key aspect. When you have a series of different acts performing one after another, there needs to be time for each act to set up/take down their props/equipment. You don’t want “dead air”, or an audience just sitting there waiting for the next act, so the host fills the time between acts. Obviously, for television that setup time can, and will be, edited out, and viewers only see the host speaking to them in short intervals. But you can be fairly sure that in the actual studio, as the episode is being shot, the host is probably doing much more to keep the studio audience entertained and involved. ---
**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:** [September 24, 2016, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-history-folks-i-gotta-question-about-tv-hosts/766557/15 "2016-09-24T21:18:20Z")
Even today, talk shows often have a comedian come on during commercial breaks to joke with the audience and keep them into the show when it comes back. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2016, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-history-folks-i-gotta-question-about-tv-hosts/766557/16 "2016-09-24T22:50:10Z")
Remember that most early radio (and later, TV) light entertainment shows were mostly modifications of the stars’ stage act, and having the host/straight man was something the artistes needed to bounce their act off, especially if there was no live audience.