Known for movies
Short Info
Died | March 5, 2014, Saint John's Health Center, Santa Monica, California, United States |
Mark | Thick curly, gray hair. |
Fact | Was friends with: Chuck Barris, Gavin MacLeod, Michele Lee, Dick Clark, Gary Owens, Bob Barker, Bob Goen, Bill Cullen, Wink Martindale, Bob Eubanks, Alex Trebek, Bob Stewart, Jack Barry, Jim Lange, Jim Perry, Chuck Woolery, Meredith MacRae, Pat Sajak, Pat Finn, Richard Dawson, Tom Kennedy, Ralph Edwards and Monty Hall. |
Geoff Edwards (born February 13, 1931) is a retired American television game show host and radio personality. He is best known for hosting the game shows Jackpot! and Treasure Hunt.
Early Life
Edwards was born in New York City, the son of a British father and an American mother. His father died when he was two years old, and he was raised by his mother in Queens, New York. He attended the High School of Music & Art in Manhattan.
Career
Edwards began his career as a radio disc jockey in New York City. In the early 1960s, he moved to Los Angeles, where he hosted a late-night music show called The Swingin’ Soiree. He also hosted a local morning show on KHJ-AM.
In 1973, Edwards began hosting the game show Jackpot!, which aired on ABC. The show was cancelled after one season, but was revived by NBC in 1974. It aired on NBC until 1975.
In 1977, Edwards began hosting the game show Treasure Hunt, which aired on ABC. The show was cancelled after one season, but was revived by syndication in 1979. It aired in syndication until 1982.
Edwards has also hosted several other game shows, including The New Treasure Hunt ( syndicated, 1983-1984), The $128,000 Question ( syndicated, 1988), and The New $25,000 Pyramid ( syndicated, 1991-1992).
In addition to his game show hosting duties, Edwards has also appeared as an actor on several television shows, including The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, and Hart to Hart.
Personal Life
Edwards has been married three times. His first marriage was to actress Connie Stevens, with whom he had two daughters: Tricia and Joely. His second marriage was to actress Dixie Carter, with whom he had one daughter: Mary Dixie. His third marriage was to actress Linda Gray, with whom he had one son: Jeffery.
Edwards has three grandchildren.
Physical Characteristics
Edwards is 6 feet tall and weighs 170 pounds. He has blue eyes and gray hair.
General Info
Full Name | Geoff Edwards |
Died | March 5, 2014, Saint John's Health Center, Santa Monica, California, United States |
Profession | Actor, Game Show Host |
Nationality | American |
Family
Children | Chess Edwards |
Accomplishments
Nominations | Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host |
TV Shows | The Big Spin, Jackpot, Starcade, Treasure Hunt, Play the Percentages, Shoot for the Stars, Let's Make a Deal, Chain Reaction, Fun & Fortune, $50,000 a Minute, Hollywood's Talking, Cop Out |
Social profile links
Marks
# | Marks / Signs |
---|---|
1 | Thick curly, gray hair. |
2 | His catchphrase - "Right, you are!" |
Quotes
# | Quote |
---|---|
1 | [upon returning to New York to resume his musical career, when he became a successful musician] I went to the Union Hall in New York, and a guy named Phil Urso, who was a very famous - at that time-tenor player... great guy, played with Woody Herman, standing there with a little drizzle coming down... and he says, 'Hey, man...You know where I can get a gig?' And I thought, 'You know, maybe this isn't what I want to pursue.' |
2 | One day, when I was with William-Morris, I got a call, and they said, 'Monty Hall is sick. Can you do Let's Make a Deal?' Now you have to understand that I had never done a major television game... (Let's Make a Deal) is the hardest game show there is to do. I don't know why they asked me. So I said, 'Okay.' I practiced at home, I had the script, I had my kids being contestants. I went and I did the show. The first one went pretty well. The second one; I had a lady, and...what happens on Let's Make a Deal is, no matter what you say, the people on the floor are going to do it. So I said, 'Do you want this or that?' She said, 'That.' I said, 'Well, let's take a look at that!' And I take a look at the floor manager, who went 'Aaaaah!' What I had done was I left myself in a place where I had given away the end of the deal. So I said, 'Well, I'll tell you what you can have. You can have that, or you can have what's in my pocket.' And what was in my pocket was an empty hand sweating. Monty got well really fast. |
3 | I love comedy in television, but the goofy comedy of running into a tree, and falling down is not necessarily my favorite, but I came across a show on Showtime, and it's called 'Episodes.' It is just so funny, so well-liked, and so well-written, it's just amazing, and the story of it is, these two writers in London, and they have a hit show over there, 'Well, there's some kind of party, or something!,' and the network guy said, 'I want your show or my network, I woke up this morning,' I said, 'I need it on my network,' Well, they just walked in LA to put their show on. One of the stars of the show was the Headmaster of the Boys School, and they guided in English, a little beard, but they said, we want him to read for us, he reads and he said, 'Very, very good,' and then, they call these two people up [who are now in LA], and they said, 'We found a big star who wants to do your show ... Matt LeBlanc, the guy who played Joey on 'Friends'. |
4 | [on his all-time favorite game show] It was Play The Percentages, and we had six circular thing-set, when we went to do the bonus round, somebody pressed the button and the spinning thing came out of the stage set Play The Percentages or something, and one day, we're on the set, and the guy pressed the button and the thing didn't come up and starting pulling the whole stage up, behind it, so, we didn't do that anymore, but that was kind of weird. |
Facts
# | Fact |
---|---|
1 | Lifelong friends of: Wink Martindale and Bill Cullen. |
2 | He wasn't a fan of preschool graduations, commercialized holidays or even his own birthday. |
3 | The worst pilot he had ever hosted was "Bride & Groom," which was shot in 100 degree weather. |
4 | At age 32, Edwards moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1963, to continue pursing his career as a radio disc jockey and an actor. |
5 | Prior to his retirement, his final hosting job was the morning host of KSUR in 2003. |
6 | When Chuck Barris made his first (and only) on-camera appearance on The New Treasure Hunt (1973), he threw a pie in Edwards's face. |
7 | Edwards said that during the run of Play the Percentages (1980), the percent sign went out of control when it came up one time and tried to take the rest of the set down with it. It wasn't used beyond the first couple of weeks of the run because of that. Though the bonus round changed a couple of time over the six month run, as did the main game format. |
8 | Had commuted from his house in Los Angeles to New York City every other weekend to host Jackpot (1974) for 1 year. He also did the same when he hosted Shoot for the Stars (1977), which would be the final game show that was taped in New York City. |
9 | Had commuted from his home in Los Angeles to Sacramento, every weekend to host the California Lottery's The Big Spin (1985). |
10 | Was the author of 'Going All The Way, The Good, The Bad, the Weird of a World Cruise,' which foreworded by Gavin MacLeod. |
11 | Replaced Mark Richards as the second host of Starcade (1982). |
12 | Was idolized by: Bob Goen, Pat Finn, Graham Elwood, Todd Newton and Matt Ottinger. |
13 | Was one of the handful of emcees to use a marble-top microphone like: Bob Barker, Gene Rayburn and Bill Cullen. |
14 | Edwards's game show The New Treasure Hunt (1973) was based on Let's Make a Deal (1963) a popular game shows that was similar in concept. Coincidentally, Edwards hosted both Treasure Hunt and Let's Make a Deal (1984), within a decade of each other. |
15 | His birthplace, Westfield, New Jersey, is 13 miles South of Newark, New Jersey. |
16 | Had commuted from his home in Los Angeles to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, every other weekend to host Chain Reaction (1980), for the USA Network. |
17 | Had hosted the pilot of Fun & Fortune, the lottery game show in Missouri (before Rick Tamblyn became the permanent host). |
18 | Before he was a game show host, he was also invited to be a part of the The Bobby Darin Show (1973), where he met Bobby Darin. |
19 | The theme from Edwards' show, Play the Percentages (1980), was later reused on another Barry & Enright game show, Juvenile Jury (1983). |
20 | Was employed with Bob Stewart Productions from 1974 to 1977, and again from 1986 to 1991. |
21 | 60 Minutes (1968) profiled Edwards's show, The New Treasure Hunt (1973), in an "expose" segment during its run after a contestant fainted during the show, and he actually lost a few potential gigs as a result of a magazine article about him titled "The World's Cruelest Emcee.". |
22 | The theme from Edwards' show Hollywood's Talking (1973) was later used for another Barry & Enright game show, Hollywood Connection (1977),. |
23 | Prior to his retirement from hosting game shows, Edwards hosted a weekly travel segment on Mark Carbonaro's radio show on KION in Salinas, California, in 2001-2004, and again from 2007-2009. |
24 | He met fellow game show host Jim Lange, while working in the Chuck Barris Studios, in Los Angeles, California, prior to becoming a game show host in 1972. The other host in the same studio was Bob Eubanks. |
25 | He was known to be a very private person. |
26 | Geoff Edwards passed away on March 5, 2014, just one month after his 83rd Birthday. |
27 | Upon his retirement and before his death, he resided in Playa Del Rey, California. |
28 | It was his replacement hip surgery that led to his pneumonia that ultimately took this life. |
29 | Edwards and Meredith MacRae emceed a publicly unnamed, Bob Stewart produced, game show pilot for ABC which did not sell. |
30 | An avid radio listener, he became a broadcaster with the help of his idol Gene Rayburn. |
31 | When he began hosting game shows, it was his choice to never wear a tie, he favored jeans over suits. |
32 | He was physically healthy and active until contracting the pneumonia which caused his death at age 83. |
33 | Geoff Edwards died on March 5, 2014, just one week after friend and fellow game show host Jim Lange died. |
34 | Missed out on being hired for the hosting job of The New Tic Tac Dough (1978) to friend and fellow game show host Wink Martindale. |
35 | Survived by his wife, Michael Feffer, and stepsons Justin and Jason Feffer. Survivors also include his ex-wife, Suzanne, and their children Todd, Shawn and Chess, and nine grandchildren. |
36 | Hosted his own travel website and travel podcasts with his wife, Michael Feffer. |
37 | Edwards was once ranked fifth behind Bill Cullen, Tom Kennedy, Wink Martindale and Alex Trebek, in the number of game shows hosted at 8, with Bob Eubanks sharing that record. However, by the end of his career, he had hosted ten different game shows himself. |
38 | During the run of The New Treasure Hunt (1973), without any cue cards, Edwards had to memorize something like sixty skits and perform them, depending on which box was selected. |
39 | Worked with Meredith MacRae on an episode of Petticoat Junction (1963) and on Mid-Morning L.A. (1978) when he replaced Bob Hilton, who used to work with Edwards on Play the Percentages (1980). |
40 | Years before Peter Tomarken's death, for a short time, Edwards rotated hosting duties with Tomarken, Bob Eubanks, and Charlie Chase on "The $25,000 Game Show," a traveling game show owned and produced by Eubanks. |
41 | Prior to being a successful game show host, he also worked at KMPC Radio in Los Angeles, California. |
42 | He hosted Chain Reaction (1980) and Jackpot (1989) at the same time in 1989. |
43 | Just days before Bobby Darin's death, Edwards visited him in the hospital. |
44 | Attended Duke University. |
45 | Before he was a successful game show host, while in college, he was a drummer in a jazz band and played clubs on weekends. |
46 | His hobbies were: traveling, writing, listening to music and tennis. |
47 | At a very young age, he was a drummer, playing with a band during his summer vacations. |
48 | First met Chuck Barris when he hosted a pilot for a game show that did not sell. |
49 | When the third incarnation of Jackpot (1989) returned to the United States, producer Bob Stewart hired Edwards back, replacing Mike Darrow. |
50 | After he hosted The Big Spin (1985), over the period from late 1985 through to the end of the 1995 season, he retired from hosting game shows at age 63. |
51 | Over his career, he hosted ten game shows. |
52 | Worked with game show announcer Johnny Jacobs on both Hollywood's Talking (1973) and The New Treasure Hunt (1973). |
53 | He guest-starred on the last episode of Trapper John, M.D.: Elusive Butterfly (1986), which was broadcast on September 4, 1986, where he played the host of a lottery game show. |
54 | Replaced Chuck Woolery, as the second host of The Big Spin (1985), while the show was still in its first year of production, and stayed with the show for ten seasons, through his announced retirement at the end of the show's eleventh season in 1995. |
55 | (November 24, 1963) While being a radio news reporter, he found himself involved in the year's biggest story not long after he arrived, being dispatched to Dallas to cover the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. While covering the story, he was present when Jack Ruby shot Lee Harvey Oswald, and in fact, was interviewed by NBC's national correspondent, Tom Pettit, for NBC's coverage of the incident. |
56 | Before he was a successful game show host, he did everything from being a radio announcer, to radio news reporter, to local TV talk show host, to local television news anchor, to being an actor. |
57 | Geoff once substituted for Bill Cullen for two weeks on Chain Reaction (1980), because Cullen was filling in for an ailing Allen Ludden on Password Plus (1979). When "Chain Reaction" returned to USA, Edwards himself replaced Blake Emmons for the second week, because the shows had been filming in Montreal. |
58 | At age 18, he graduated from Westfield High School in Westfield, New Jersey, in 1949. |
59 | Before he was a successful game show host, while in college, he was a radio announcer for a station in Albany, New York, continuing for a few years after graduating, then moving to California by 1956. |
60 | Best known by the public as the host of The New Treasure Hunt (1973) and Chain Reaction (1980). |
61 | He was Chuck Barris' first choice to be host of The New Treasure Hunt (1973), where he hosted for the show's entire run, from 1973-1977. Previously he had hosted two short-lived game shows, Cop Out! (1972), which lasted less than one month, and Hollywood's Talking (1973), which lasted for only three months. |
62 | Before he was a successful game show host, he was a radio disc jockey at KFMB-AM in San Diego, California, hosting an evening show alone, and co-hosting the drive time "Don Ross/Geoff Edwards Show". |
63 | Was friends with: Chuck Barris, Gavin MacLeod, Michele Lee, Dick Clark, Gary Owens, Bob Barker, Bob Goen, Bill Cullen, Wink Martindale, Bob Eubanks, Alex Trebek, Bob Stewart, Jack Barry, Jim Lange, Jim Perry, Chuck Woolery, Meredith MacRae, Pat Sajak, Pat Finn, Richard Dawson, Tom Kennedy, Ralph Edwards and Monty Hall. |
64 | The first game show he hosted was 'Lucky Partners,' a pilot produced by Bob Barker, which did not sell. |
65 | Edwards was one of four game show hosts to have emceed a game show in the United States and another in Canada at the same time. The other three were Howie Mandel, Alex Trebek and Jim Perry. Mandel and Trebek are native Canadians, and Perry, although born in New Jersey USA, had legal residency status in Canada, due to his family living in Toronto for most of the 1970s, and maintaining a home in Toronto, even after moving back to the USA. Because of no legal ties to Canada, Edwards was the only one required, by the Canadian Government, to have a Canadian co-host. |
66 | Filled-in, over one full week of five episodes, for Monty Hall on Let's Make a Deal (1984), due to Hall's suffering from laryngitis. However, this was not five actual days of work, due to game shows typically filming multiple episodes in one day. |
67 | Co-hosted a weekly radio travel show called 'The Touring Company,' with his wife Michael Feffer, and journalists Paul & Elizabeth Lasley. |
68 | His favorite game show was the short lived Play the Percentages (1980). Geoff got the job as its host, without auditioning, because of his friendship with producer and show owner Jack Barry of Jack Barry-Dan Enright Productions. |
69 | Because his wedding ceremony took place on his birthday, he and his wife, Michael Feffer, celebrated both his birthday, and their wedding anniversary, every February 13 for forty-one years, from 1973 until he died in March 2014. |
70 | He met fellow game show host, Wink Martindale, when they were both working at KMPC Radio in Los Angeles, California, prior to Edwards becoming a successful game show host in 1971. Also among the staff at that station were Gary Owens, Dick Whittinghill, Robert W. Morgan and Sonny Melendrez. |
71 | In 2009, he received the Ralph Edwards Award for Service to Broadcasting at the Game Show Congress Convention in Los Angeles, California. |
72 | He was in the Air Force for a short time during the Korean War. |
73 | Father of Todd Edwards, Chess Edwards & Shawn Edwards, none of whom went into the entertainment business. |
74 | When he replaced Mark Richards, as host of video arcade game show, Starcade (1982), in September 1983, Geoff had not yet played video games. Unlike Richards, he grew to love video games, continuing to play them until he died. His favorites, back in the day, were "Sinistar;" Le Bagnard (1982); Hamburger (1982); Super Burger Time (1990); and Change Lanes (1983). He had a difficult time with Donkey Kong Jr. (1982) and Pengo (1982). |
75 | On February 13, 2013, he and his wife, Michael Feffer, celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary. They tied the knot on February 13, 1973, Geoff's forty-second birthday. |
76 | He was offered the job of hosting the original Family Feud (1976), before Richard Dawson was hired, but had to decline because of his commitment to Bob Stewart Productions and NBC. |
Movies
Actor
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
Drive | 1997 | Game Show Host | |
Small Wonder | 1988 | TV Series | Guy Dwyer |
Trapper John, M.D. | 1986 | TV Series | TV Lottery Host |
The Outlaws | 1984 | TV Movie | Roger Demarest |
Double Trouble | 1984 | TV Series | The Host |
The Paper Chase | 1983 | TV Series | Jeffers |
Madame's Place | 1982 | TV Series | Biff Willis |
Treasure Hunt | 1981 | TV Series | Host (1981-1982) |
Diff'rent Strokes | 1980 | TV Series | TV Reporter |
Police Woman | 1978 | TV Series | |
Three on a Date | 1978 | TV Movie | Emcee |
The New Treasure Hunt | 1973 | TV Series | Host (1973-1977) |
The Bobby Darin Show | 1973 | TV Series | Cast Member |
WUSA | 1970 | Irving - Disc Jockey | |
The Comic | 1969 | Late Night Movie Host (uncredited) | |
How We Feel About Sound | 1969 | Short | Narrator (voice) |
Petticoat Junction | 1968 | TV Series | Jeff Powers |
Good Morning, World | 1967 | TV Series | Patrolman Nichols |
I Dream of Jeannie | 1967 | TV Series | Bank Teller |
That Girl | 1966 | TV Series | T.V. Announcer |
Soundtrack
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
Petticoat Junction | 1968 | TV Series performer - 1 episode |
Self
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
Sliders | 1995 | TV Series | Himself |
Jackpot | 1989 | TV Series | Host (1989-1990) |
$50,000 a Minute | 1985 | TV Movie | Himself - Host |
The Big Spin | 1985 | TV Series | Himself - Host (1985-1995) |
Let's Make a Deal | 1984 | TV Series | Sub-Host (1984) |
Starcade | 1983-1984 | TV Series | Himself - Host |
Chain Reaction | 1980 | TV Series | Host (1986-1991) |
Play the Percentages | 1980 | TV Series | Host (1980) |
The $10,000 Pyramid | 1975-1978 | TV Series | Himself |
Shoot for the Stars | 1977 | TV Series | Host (Jan. 3-Sep. 30, 1977) |
Dinah! | 1974-1976 | TV Series | Himself |
Celebrity Sweepstakes | 1974-1975 | TV Series | Himself |
Jackpot | 1974 | TV Series | Host (1974-1975) |
The Bobby Darin Show | 1973 | TV Series | Himself |
Hollywood's Talking | 1973 | TV Series | Host (Mar. 26-Jun. 22, 1973) |
Dean Martin Presents: The Bobby Darin Amusement Co. | 1972 | TV Series | Himself |
Cop Out! | 1972 | TV Movie | Himself - Host |
Dream Girl of '67 | 1967 | TV Series | Himself - Bachelor Judge |
Archive Footage
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
A Mime's Life | 2009 | Himself | |
Faux Pause | 1998 | TV Series | Himself |
Awards
Nominated Awards
Year | Award | Ceremony | Nomination | Movie |
---|---|---|---|---|
1976 | Daytime Emmy | Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Host or Hostess - Game or Audience Participation Show | Jackpot (1974) |
Source: IMDb, Wikipedia