The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
Since the first TV game show—the BBC's "Spelling Bee"—aired in 1938, these programs have captivated audiences. Game shows' popularity grew along with television ownership, which increased exponentially in the 1940s and '50s from just a few thousand homes in 1947 to roughly 50% of homes by 1955.
One of the first U.S. hits, "What's My Line?", debuted in 1950. In the '60s, programs like "The Match Game" and "Password" appeared, each entertaining audiences for over 20 years. Then came some shows with serious staying power: "The Price is Right" has been on air for 60-plus years, "Jeopardy!" for more than half a century, and "Wheel of Fortune" for over 45.
Over the decades, the charismatic hosts of these series have also kept many viewers tuned in. Those like Bob Barker have become pop culture icons, but other, less recognizable names played key roles in game show history. Take Arlene Francis, the first woman to host a TV game show in 1949, or "Musical Chairs" lead Adam Wade, distinguished as TV's first Black game show host in 1975.
To celebrate these and other famed game show hosts, Stacker looked at YouGov data on TV personalities as of the third quarter of 2024 to determine the top 20 game show hosts of all time. Hosts were ranked by a sum of the percentage of survey respondents who recognized them and the percentage who had a positive opinion of them, with ties broken by the latter. To qualify, the personalities had to host for at least two seasons.
Keep reading to learn more about the best hosts in the business, and see which personal favorites didn't make the cut. (Sorry, Peter Tomarken: You entertained "Press Your Luck" viewers during the '80s but didn't reach the top 20.)
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- Have heard of: 70%
- Have a positive opinion of: 46%
- Total: 116%
Bob Eubanks' decadeslong résumé includes everything from concert promoter for the Beatles to keynote speaking at corporate America's biggest events; however, he is best known for quizzing newly married duos on one of TV's most popular game shows. Debuting in 1966, "The Newlywed Game" put lovebirds to the test to find out who knew their partner best.
Although the show went off the air after eight years, the concept was resurrected in 1977 and later rebranded as "The New Newlywed Game" in 1984. Eubanks returned as host for each run, eventually earning the Los Angeles Area Governors Award for his work in 2005.
- Have heard of: 73%
- Have a positive opinion of: 44%
- Total: 117%
The third of six "Family Feud" hosts across the show's nearly 40-year run, Louie Anderson kicked off the latest reboot of the popular game show in 1999. The show has a simple but entertaining premise: two families face off to guess the top five answers to various interesting, often hilarious, survey questions. As a stand-up comedian, Anderson was a natural fit to host for three years, bringing humor and a touch of compassion and sincerity to the show.
- Have heard of: 74%
- Have a positive opinion of: 45%
- Total: 119%
"I've Got a Secret" played on innate human curiosity to create a winning game show formula: Four panelists—a mixture of celebrities and everyday citizens—took turns questioning a celebrity contestant to guess their big secret. In 1964, original host Garry Moore passed the baton to Steve Allen, who reprised his role in 1972 when the show returned to television in syndication.
First known as creator of "The Tonight Show" in 1953, Allen had a diverse career, writing 5,000 songs and more than 50 books. However, even decades later, his sharp intellect and wit earned him a spot as one of TV's most memorable game show hosts.
- Have heard of: 75%
- Have a positive opinion of: 45%
- Total: 120%
Long before becoming a hard-hitting journalist on "60 Minutes," Mike Wallace got his start on TV hosting game shows like "The Big Surprise." The show ran from 1955 to 1957, with Wallace stepping in to take the reins from original host Jack Barry.
Playing off the success of "The $64,000 Question," "The Big Surprise" offered a top prize of $100,000 to contestants who could correctly answer difficult trivia questions. Unfortunately, the show was part of the 1950s quiz show scandal, in which a congressional investigation discovered several game shows had fixed results.
- Have heard of: 83%
- Have a positive opinion of: 39%
- Total: 122%
Before finding true love of her own with actor-musician Donnie Wahlberg, Jenny McCarthy helped young singles play the field on the mid-'90s dating show "Singled Out." It wasn't an easy gig to land, though.
McCarthy reports that she had to disguise herself for the audition because MTV rejected her 17 times for being a Playboy Bunny. The effort paid off: Cohosting alongside Chris Hardwick launched McCarthy's career as a pop culture icon—first as an MTV personality, then as the star of movies like the 2005 rom-com "Dirty Love."
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- Have heard of: 82%
- Have a positive opinion of: 41%
- Total: 123%
Carson Daly has a long list of TV hosting gigs under his belt. He hit it big on MTV's "Total Request Live" in 1998, hosted his own late-night show "Last Call with Carson Daly" in 2002, then transitioned to the morning show "Today" in 2013. In 2022, Daly teamed up with pal Blake Shelton to launch "Barmageddon," a USA Network game show described as "adult spring break fun in Nashville."
Its concept—which the duo came up with while filming "The Voice"—is simple and fun: Two celebrities go head-to-head in a series of five bar games, with the winner snagging a prize for an Internet-famous guest of their choice.
- Have heard of: 87%
- Have a positive opinion of: 40%
- Total: 127%
For decades, audiences have adored actor-turned-TV host Kelly Ripa. Her career started in 1990 on the long-running soap opera "All My Children," where Ripa met her husband, Mark Consuelos, then replaced Kathie Lee Gifford as Regis Philbin's "Live" cohost in 2001.
Although she continues to helm the popular talk show more than 20 years later, Ripa also took on a new role as host of "Generation Gap" in 2022. This pop culture quiz show features family members of all ages, as they work together to answer trivia questions spanning multiple generations
- Have heard of: 79%
- Have a positive opinion of: 49%
- Total: 128%
Following a 15-year professional football career, Michael Strahan pivoted to television. While he remains connected with the sport by serving as an NFL commentator, Strahan branched out to work alongside Kelly Ripa for four years on "Live with Kelly and Michael" before joining "Good Morning America" in 2016.
Becoming part of the ABC Network family also presented the opportunity to host a reboot of the classic game show "The $100,000 Pyramid," which began in 1973 as "The $10,000 Pyramid," hosted by Dick Clark. Since 2016, Strahan has carried on the show's tradition by bringing pairs of contestants and celebrities together to win money by guessing mystery words and phrases.
- Have heard of: 82%
- Have a positive opinion of: 51%
- Total: 133%
Between 1999 and 2009, Regis Philbin hosted an astounding 400 episodes of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" The show allowed contestants to take home $1 million if they could correctly answer 15 multiple-choice trivia questions.
What began as a two-weeklong special television event became so popular that ABC quickly decided to make "Millionaire" a regular series. Philbin's enthusiasm for the premise and his friendly banter with contestants were key ingredients in the show's success.
- Have heard of: 80%
- Have a positive opinion of: 53%
- Total: 133%
Also known for making audiences laugh on the improv series "Whose Line Is It Anyway?", Wayne Brady tried out the game show-hosting business on "Don't Forget the Lyrics!" starting in 2007. This singing competition, where contestants could win up to $1 million by finishing the lyrics to 10 different songs, was a natural fit for Brady thanks to his background in musical theater. In 2009, Brady hit his stride in the game show world when original host Monty Hall asked him to head the reboot of "Let's Make a Deal."
Since then, Brady has successfully wheeled and dealed with a lively bunch of costume-wearing contestants and even earned a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host in 2018.
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- Have heard of: 82%
- Have a positive opinion of: 54%
- Total: 136%
One of American television's earliest game shows, "Who Do You Trust?" premiered in 1956 and tested pairs of contestants—at first only married couples, under the original title, "Do You Trust Your Wife?"—to see which one was trustworthy enough to correctly answer four questions for prize money.
After the show's first year, Ed McMahon replaced original cohost Bill Nemmo, beginning a long working relationship with the show's other host, Johnny Carson. In 1962, McMahon followed Carson to the "The Tonight Show" and spent 30 years by Carson's side. McMahon also went on to host the popular 1980s talent competition "Star Search," famous for showcasing up-and-coming stars like Alanis Morisette, Rosie O'Donnell, and Britney Spears.
- Have heard of: 82%
- Have a positive opinion of: 57%
- Total: 139%
After a start in radio, Dick Clark caught his big television break hosting "American Bandstand" in 1957 and became the face of a fast-paced new game show in 1973. The show started with the title "The $10,000 Pyramid"; however, the prize money has steadily increased over the years to $100,000. Clark stuck around for the series' multiple iterations through 1988, while celebrity guests like Levar Burton, Michael J. Fox, and Betty White provided clues to help contestants guess certain words and phrases.
- Have heard of: 87%
- Have a positive opinion of: 54%
- Total: 141%
Jeff Foxworthy first became famous for poking fun at his Southern heritage in the 1991 TV comedy special "You Might Be a Redneck…", but he also went on to have a successful career as a game show host. Starting in 2007, Foxworthy asked adult contestants surprisingly difficult questions from elementary school textbooks on the family-friendly quiz show "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?"
Though Foxworthy has occasionally reprised his "5th Grader" hosting role, he shifted to a different type of trivia for three seasons on the Game Show Network original series "The American Bible Challenge," where contestants answered Bible-based questions to win money for charity. The show's 2012 premiere broke network records, bringing in 1.7 million viewers.
- Have heard of: 89%
- Have a positive opinion of: 55%
- Total: 144%
Although "Wheel of Fortune" debuted in 1975 as a daytime program hosted by Chuck Woolery, Pat Sajak helped bring the series to fame after taking over as host in 1981. He and cohost Vanna White went on to helm the nighttime version in 1983.
With more than three decades of experience telling contestants to spin the wheel, buy a vowel, or solve the puzzle, Sajak set the Guinness World Record for "longest career as a game show host for the same show" in 2019. After 41 seasons, Sajak retired in June 2024, and Ryan Seacrest assumed the cohost role alongside White.
- Have heard of: 95%
- Have a positive opinion of: 53%
- Total: 148%
Following the success of his fan-favorite lip sync and dance battle segments on "The Tonight Show," "Saturday Night Live" alum Jimmy Fallon jumped into the role of game show host on "That's My Jam" in 2021. The premise: Four celebrities split into two teams for music, dance, and trivia competitions, and the winners earn a generous sum for charity.
With pairings like Ariana Grande and Blake Shelton teaming up to face Kelly Clarkson and John Legend, it's no surprise the show was nominated for Outstanding Game Show at the 2023 Emmy Awards.
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- Have heard of: 89%
- Have a positive opinion of: 59%
- Total: 148%
Drew Carey got his foot in the showbiz door doing standup in the mid-1980s, but his comedy career really took off a decade later with "The Drew Carey Show." The sitcom ran from 1995 to 2004, during which time Carey also hit it big as host and producer of the hilarious improv series "Whose Line Is It Anyway?"
In July 2007, Carey achieved a new career milestone when he took over Bob Barker's hosting duties on the longest-running game show in TV history, "The Price is Right." Although Carey initially turned down the offer to host, he now continues the 60-plus-year tradition of inviting eager contestants to "Come on down" and play a variety of games focused on the cost of consumer goods.
- Have heard of: 88%
- Have a positive opinion of: 61%
- Total: 149%
Although Drew Carey has done a remarkable job hosting "The Price is Right," no one will ever truly replace Bob Barker. He got his start with a radio show in 1950, then made the jump to television to host the game show "Truth or Consequences" in 1956.
"The Price is Right" originally ran from 1956 to 1965, but Barker didn't come on board until the show was rebooted in 1972, eventually picking up 19 Emmy Awards during his 35-year tenure. Starting in May 2024, reruns of Barker's episodes air daily on the game show network Buzzr.
- Have heard of: 94%
- Have a positive opinion of: 56%
- Total: 150%
Years before "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" made him America's longest-running late-night talk show host, Kimmel scored his first major television role as a co-host of "Win Ben Stein's Money." This Comedy Central game show was exactly what it sounds like—a quiz show where contestants competed, against each other and commentator Ben Stein, to win Stein's money.
Kimmel was the only person who auditioned for the show. Stein says the team saw him first and immediately knew he was the right choice for the role. Stein was spot on—the duo's comedic chemistry earned the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Game Show Host in 1999.
- Have heard of: 95%
- Have a positive opinion of: 60%
- Total: 155%
Since 1976, six different "Family Feud" hosts have entertained audiences by pitting two families against each other to see who can guess the top five answers to survey questions. With his bright smile and sharp sense of humor, Steve Harvey arguably became the most memorable of these hosts when he took the reins in 2010.
Though Harvey revealed in 2018 that he initially turned down the hosting role, he finally accepted the job on the condition of taking his own approach—bantering with contestants and saying out loud what many viewers are probably thinking. Nearly 15 years into Harvey's hosting run, this approach continues to generate viral clips and make audiences laugh out loud at each episode.
- Have heard of: 91%
- Have a positive opinion of: 65%
- Total: 156%
Alex Trebek started out as a radio and TV news correspondent, then built his résumé hosting a number of game shows, including NBC's "Wizard of Odds" in 1973. Just over a decade later, Lucille Ball recommended Trebek for the job that would define his career—host of the quiz show "Jeopardy!"
Although the series originally ran from 1964 to 1979, "Jeopardy!" took off after returning in 1984 with Trebek in the driver's seat. Trebek passed away in 2020 after hosting over 8,200 episodes of "Jeopardy!" across 37 seasons.
Story editing by Cu Fleshman. Copy editing by Paris Close. Photo selection by Clarese Moller.You may also like: The most popular host from 15 hit shows
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