Monty Hall

Monty Hall
Monty Hall in the 1970s
Born	Monte Halparin[1] (1921-08-25) August 25, 1921 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Occupation	Game show host, actor, producer, singer, sportscaster
Years active	1953–present
Spouse(s)	Marilyn Plottel (m. September 28,1947-present; 3 children)[1]

Monte Halparin, OC, OM (born August 25, 1921), better known by the stage name Monty Hall, is a Canadian-born MC, producer, actor, singer and sportscaster, best known as host of the television game show Let's Make a Deal.^[1]

Early life

The handprints of Hall in front of Hollywood Hills Amphitheater at Walt Disney World's Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park.

Hall was born Monte Halparin in Winnipeg to Orthodox Jewish parents, Rose (née Rusen) and Maurice Harvey Halparin^[2] who owned a slaughterhouse.^[3] He was raised in Winnipeg's north end,^[4] where he attended Lord Selkirk School (Elmwood, Winnipeg), and, later St. John's High School.^[5] Hall graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Manitoba, where he majored in chemistry and zoology.

Career

Hall started his career in Winnipeg in radio, moving to Toronto in 1946. Early in his career, Hall hosted game shows such as Bingo at Home on WABD-TV and guest-hosted more established game shows such as Strike It Rich on CBS.^{[citation needed]} He was the host/performer of two local New York City TV film shows for children: Cowboy Theater for WRCA (Channel 4) in 1956 and Fun In the Morning for WNEW (Ch. 5) in the early 1960s. From 1956–60, along with NBC Radio newsman, Morgan Beatty, Hall co-hosted the Saturday night segment of the NBC Radio Network weekend program Monitor from 8 p.m. until midnight (EST).^[6] At least one recording of Hall on Monitor is known to exist. ^{[citation needed]} He hosted the first show of his own, Keep Talking, in 1958. ^{[citation needed]}

Hall was a radio analyst for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League during the 1959–60 season.^[7] He succeeded Jack Narz as host of a game show called Video Village, which ran from 1960 to 1962 on CBS. From 1961 to 1962, Hall also hosted its spinoff, Video Village Junior, which featured children. After moving to Southern California, Hall was the host of the game show Let's Make a Deal, which he developed and produced with partner Stefan Hatos. Let's Make a Deal aired on NBC daytime from December 30, 1963, to December 27, 1968, and on ABC daytime from December 30, 1968 until July 9, 1976, along with two prime time runs. It aired in syndication from 1971–77, from 1980–81, from 1984–86, and again on NBC briefly from 1990–91, replacing Bob Hilton, who had been dismissed. He was producer or executive producer of the show through most of its runs. During the show's initial run, Hall became well known alongside model Carol Merrill and announcer Jay Stewart. ^{[citation needed]}

Besides Let's Make a Deal, the game show Split Second, which originally ran on ABC from 1972-75 with Tom Kennedy as host, and again in syndication in 1987 with Hall hosting that version, was the only other successful program from Hatos-Hall Productions. Other game shows from Hatos's and Hall's production company included Chain Letter in 1966; a revival of the venerable 1950s-era panel quiz, Masquerade Party in 1974; 3 For the Money in 1975; It's Anybody's Guess in 1977, which reunited Let's Make a Deal announcer Jay Stewart with Hall, who also hosted the show, and the Canadian-based The Joke's on Us in 1983. Hall filled in as guest host on several daytime game shows while Let's Make a Deal was on NBC, most notably What's This Song? and PDQ.

In 1979, Hall hosted the only game show since Video Village which he did not produce, Goodson-Todman's All-New Beat the Clock. He appeared as himself on "The Promise Ring" episode of That '70s Show in 2001. He played the host of a beauty pageant who schemed to become "the world's most powerful game show host" in the Disney animated series American Dragon: Jake Long. He appeared on GSN Live on March 14, 2008, and hosted a game of Let's Make a Deal for Good Morning America on August 18, 2008, as part of Game Show Reunion week. He appeared with his wife on The Newlywed Game hosted by Bob Eubanks on May 18, 2010. ^{[citation needed]}

In summer 2009, CBS announced that it was reviving Let's Make a Deal on its daytime schedule. The show premiered on October 5, 2009, with Wayne Brady as host. Hall is credited as "Creative Consultant," and as co-creator of the format (with Stefan Hatos). Hatos/Hall Productions is credited as co-production company (with FremantleMedia).^[8] During the week of March 22, 2010, Hall hosted several segments of the "Deal" alongside Brady. He, along with Carol Merrill, made a second appearance on the CBS version on March 1, 2013, as part of the 50th anniversary celebration. On October 2, 2013, Hall made a third appearance on the show holding his Emmy (a video montage followed). ^{[citation needed]}

Honors

Hall's star on Canada's Walk of Fame.

Hall received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on August 24, 1973, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs, California, Walk of Stars in 2000,^[9] and in 2002, he was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.^[10]

Hall thus became one of only two game show hosts on both Hollywood's and Canada's Walks of Fame, the other being Alex Trebek. In May 1988, the Government of Canada bestowed on him the prestigious Order of Canada for his humanitarian work in Canada and other nations of the world. For many years, he has been associated with Variety, the Children's Charity, helping to raise millions of dollars through their telethons and other related fund-raisers. ^{[citation needed]}

He was the recipient of the 2005 Ralph Edwards Service Award from Game Show Congress, in recognition of all the work the emcee-producer has done for charity through the years. On October 13, 2007, Hall was one of the first inductees into the American TV Game Show Hall of Fame in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hall received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2013 Daytime Emmy Awards.^[11]

Personal life

Hall married Marilyn Plottel (born May 17, 1927) on September 28, 1947, a distant cousin; the two were introduced by a mutual cousin, Norman Shnier, the previous year.^[1] They have three children: Joanne (aka actress Joanna Gleason); Sharon Hall Kessler, head of television at Alcon Entertainment; and Richard Hall, a television producer.

Monty Hall problem

Because of his work on Let's Make a Deal, Hall's name is used in a probability puzzle known as the "Monty Hall problem", which examines the counter-intuitive effect of switching one's choice of doors, one of which hides a prize, if "Monty" reveals an unwanted item behind a door the player did not choose. Hall himself gave an explanation of the solution to that problem in an interview with The New York Times reporter John Tierney in 1991.^[12] In the article, Hall pointed out that because he had control over the way the game progressed, playing on the psychology of the contestant, the theoretical solution did not apply to the show's actual gameplay. ^{[citation needed]}

The puzzle was mentioned in an episode of the first season of the television drama NUMB3RS, in the 2008 movie 21, and in the novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. A detailed explanation and rationale for the solution to this problem is presented in the book The World's 200 Hardest Brainteasers by Gary Gruber.^[13] In 2011, it was showcased on an episode of the show MythBusters.

References

External links

• Monty Hall at the Internet Movie Database
• Monty's Bio at letsmakeadeal.com
• CBC Digital Archives profile of Monty Hall (1970)