• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

"Press Your Luck" host has died

T

tanim_95

Peter Tomarken, best known as the host of the 80's game show "Press Your Luck", and his wife, Kathleen, were killed in a plane crash. Click here for an article on this sad story.

Peter Tomarken was one of my favorite hosts, and "Press Your Luck" remains one of my all-time favorite game shows.

R.I.P. Peter and Kathleen.

(My apologies if the "Classic TV" forum isn't the appropriate place to post this message - I chose it since "Press Your Luck" is a classic game show.)<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by tanim_95 on 03/14/06 02:33 AM.</FONT></P>
 
Re: Former "Press Your Luck" host has died

> Peter Tomarken, best known as the host of the 80's game show
> "Press Your Luck", and his wife, Kathleen, were killed in a
> plane crash.

Oh, man, I'm so sorry to hear this :( I also enjoyed him and Press Your Luck very much.

What a loss. Condolences to their friends and families.
 
I am very shocked and devastated over this news; I can remember back when I first watched "Press Your Luck" as a child. PYL was (and still is) one of my favorite game shows in the world, and Peter was IMO an underrated legend in the game show world alongside Barker, Trebek, Sajak, and Cullen. Allow me to pay tribute to this great man with these words:

Thank you Peter, for helping us press our luck. Big bucks and no whammies forever. Amen.
 
> Peter Tomarken, best known as the host of the 80's game show
> "Press Your Luck", and his wife, Kathleen, were killed in a
> plane crash. Click here for an article on this sad story.
>
> Peter Tomarken was one of my favorite hosts, and "Press Your
> Luck" remains one of my all-time favorite game shows.
>
> R.I.P. Peter and Kathleen.
>
> (My apologies if the "Classic TV" forum isn't the
> appropriate place to post this message - I chose it since
> "Press Your Luck" is a classic game show.)
>

So sad. Wasn't Tomarken a soap actor too?

ixnay
 
Re: Former "Press Your Luck" host has died

> > Peter Tomarken, best known as the host of the 80's game
> show
> > "Press Your Luck", and his wife, Kathleen, were killed in
> a
> > plane crash.
>
> Oh, man, I'm so sorry to hear this :( I also enjoyed him and
> Press Your Luck very much.
>
> What a loss. Condolences to their friends and families.
>
Indeed. He was arguably the best game show host of the 1980's

with quite arguably the best game show of the 1980's

R.I.P. indeed
 
Re: Former "Press Your Luck" host has died

> > > Peter Tomarken, best known as the host of the 80's game
> > show
> > > "Press Your Luck", and his wife, Kathleen, were killed
> in
> > a
> > > plane crash.
> >
> > Oh, man, I'm so sorry to hear this :( I also enjoyed him
> and
> > Press Your Luck very much.
> >
> > What a loss. Condolences to their friends and families.
> >
> Indeed. He was arguably the best game show host of the
> 1980's
>
> with quite arguably the best game show of the 1980's
>
> R.I.P. indeed
>

Peter has a great presence in Press Your Luck. It was one of my favorites back when I was watching it over the summer and sometimes in college. We will miss him greatly.

On another side note, there was one other detail sources failed to mention. Before they named the Game Show Network with just three letters, he launched a segment either before, during and after an airing of a classic game show where contestants call in and win prizes in a game called Decades. At least for Tomarken, there was life after Press Your Luck. He's in a class all by himself and he'll be sorely missed among the fans of "Big bucks, no whammies!"

Rest in peace, O master of the board. <P ID="signature">______________
MRS Ventures: Wasted broadcast radio technology since 1993.</P>
 
While I was bit too young to watch "Press Your Luck" in its original airing, the summer of 1992 all I did was vegetate in front of USA's weekday afternoon game show block (of which "Press Your Luck" was a staple) and drink iced tea out of a McDonald's "Batman Returns" promo cup. Ah, memories.

Peter Tomarken was a legend. Some may think otherwise but in a total reversal of the superficial and phony on-air personalities we're faced with today, he projected an affable, witty, cool, and personable demeanor without a bit of pretension. He was simply marvelous. The world has lost a great television personality and a wonderful part of television history.

R.I.P. Peter and Kathleen Tomarken. <P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by FilmCritic3000 on 03/14/06 09:22 PM.</FONT></P>
 
> (My apologies if the "Classic TV" forum isn't the
> appropriate place to post this message - I chose it since
> "Press Your Luck" is a classic game show.)

It is very appropriate. Much more so than the duplicative thread in National TV which also included a verbatim cut-and-paste of the AP story, complete with the copyright notice the poster was violating ...

I loved Press Your Luck and was sorry it went off the air before I had a chance to try out to be a contestant. (I don't know, though, if my heart could have stood the strain.)

GSN still manages to rerun it at 12:30pm ET weekdays, so Peter will live on in reruns ...<P ID="signature">______________


</P>
 
> Big bucks and no whammies forever. Amen.

That whammy better not be laughing its fool head off over this.<P ID="signature">______________


</P>
 
Re: Former "Press Your Luck" host has died

I remember "Decades". Interesting concept of contestants answering questions with a touch tone phone. I also remember "Super Decades", which I think he hosted as well as someone who took over for him. "Wipeout" was another good Tomarken show, "Paranoia" really didn't get a chance but I like the concept, but "Press Your Luck" is what I lived for in the mid 80s/early 90s on USA (well...that and Parker Lewis Can't Lose and American Gladiators)

Bringing him in for the Ed v. Janie v. Dr. Larsen's brother episode was the best thing GSN has ever done, in fact, they should have fired Todd Newton on the spot!

Hopefully, Peter and Doc Larsen have the ol' Press Your Luck gameboard up and running in the skies! R.I.P. Pete.
 
Re: Former "Press Your Luck" host has died

> I remember "Decades". Interesting concept of contestants
> answering questions with a touch tone phone. I also remember
> "Super Decades", which I think he hosted as well as someone
> who took over for him. "Wipeout" was another good Tomarken
> show, "Paranoia" really didn't get a chance but I like the
> concept, but "Press Your Luck" is what I lived for in the
> mid 80s/early 90s on USA (well...that and Parker Lewis Can't
> Lose and American Gladiators)
>
> Bringing him in for the Ed v. Janie v. Dr. Larsen's brother
> episode was the best thing GSN has ever done, in fact, they
> should have fired Todd Newton on the spot!
>
> Hopefully, Peter and Doc Larsen have the ol' Press Your Luck
> gameboard up and running in the skies! R.I.P. Pete.
>
And don't forget Rod Roddy, Press Your Luck's announcer; I hope
he's there, too.

Marianne Curan, I believe, took over as host of "Super Decades."

I STILL don't understand how TV Guide left Press Your Luck off
its list of the 50 greatest game shows a few years ago.
 
> > Big bucks and no whammies forever. Amen.
>
> That whammy better not be laughing its fool head off over
> this.

It's not the Whammy I'm worried about.

The good Mr. Tomarken has arrived upstairs, joining announcer Rod Roddy and ... the late great Michael Larsen.

I smell trouble. :)
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom