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Iconic Game Show Host Dies

Oct 2, 2017  •  Post A Comment

One of the giants of the world of TV game shows has died, with the sad news surfacing over the weekend that Monty Hall is dead at 96.

USA Today reports that Hall died Saturday of heart failure.

Hall had a number of TV jobs, but is most closely identified with his long run on “Let’s Make a Deal,” which he hosted from 1963 to 1986.

“Hall, who took his stage name from ‘Halparin,’ was born in Winnipeg in 1921 and graduated from the University of Manitoba,” USA Today notes. “He worked as an entertainer and sportscaster in Toronto before heading south to New York in 1955 to host the NBC radio show ‘Monitor.’ His next gig, CBS’ TV game show ‘Video Village,’ led him to Los Angeles, where he would create ‘Deal’ with Stefan Hatos.

“Together, they turned bartering and kitsch into a TV franchise that has seen four hosts and three networks. ‘Deal,’ which aired on NBC, ABC and in syndication, returned to network television in 2009 on CBS with host Wayne Brady (‘Whose Line Is It Anyway?’).”

The report notes that Hall also became known for the academic exercise the “Monty Hall problem.” USA Today notes that the exercise “ponders this question: If one of three doors conceals a car, and one of those doors is eliminated as a possibility, should you switch your initial choice to the one you didn’t pick? (Yes, the host said, but only if all contestants have the same option to switch doors.)”

Following his exit as host of “Let’s Make a Deal,” Hall focused on philanthropy, reportedly raising as much as $1 billion for charity during his lifetime.

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