Ralph Pierre LaCock, better known by his stage name Peter Marshall, is an American television and radio personality, singer, and actor.
He was initially a collaborator with his In Law Relative Tommy Noonan, with occasional work with Morey Ansterdam. They had worked for Dan Rowan and Dick Martin (the latter eventually becoming Game Show Host also) ... However, they got along poorly with Marshall and Noonan. Also Noonan was terminally ill.
And then close to the time that Tommy Noonan died, Rowan was going to take over from Bert Parks, a famous game show host at the time. If Rowan ended up getting the job, it would have meant that both Rowan & Martin could have been game show hosts. Peter Marshall accepted the opportunity, and was delighted to hinder Rowan's career and this is how and why:
The Hollywood Squares was produced by Merrill Heatter & Bob Quigley, and distrubuted by Rhodes, and Orion. It ended up being immensely popular and their longest running title. This is unique for a game show that was not only not produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman, but to also compete with Goodson Todman's Match Game. And it is also unique that it is a game show that was around as early as the 1960s without a major change in format. The N.B.C. Network kept it on the air from 1965 - 1980 ( with Marshall's first episode in 1966 ) in both day time and prime time. The prime time version was 1968 only. There was also a weekly syndicated verison from 1971 - 1980, and daily syndication 1980 - 1981. It ended up being the highlight of Marshall's career. The Hollywood Squares exploded in popularity which resulted in an unusual accomplishment for game shows at the time, particularly for one not made by Goodson Todman. Many fans had made home recordings of the episodes. And despite being a mostly N.B.C. Daytime show, many sources insist that the daytime episodes beginning in 1971, around the same time a syndicated version started, were preserved. However, since Game Shows on television are typically owned the entire time or recently acquired by either Fremantle or Sony, it is extremely rare for any surviving Heatter Quigley game shows to be reran.
Peter Marshall did not find any other hosting jobs nearly as significant as The Hollywood Squares, and never permanently hosted The Hollywood Squares ever again. He was on Fantasy which ended its run right before his former game show was brought back as The Match Game Hollywood Squares Hour. However, he was not invited to host.
There are a number of possabilities why he did not get to host it. One reason might have to do with the popularity of the Bowzer character of Jon Bauman, and another being that this was largely a Mark Godson package with license to use Hollywood Squares. They might not have wanted to write a lengthy hosting contract with a veteran of The Hollywood Squares either. Gene Rayburn, nearly a decade older than Peter Marshall, made sure to keep his true age a secret. Not long after, he ended up suffering the same fate as Peter Marshall: He was expected to host a ludicrous revival of Break The Bank, where he can be seen running around not unlike Supermarket Sweep with the contestants. Later, when Match Game was revived, Bert Convy, and later the host of Love Me Love Me Not Ross Shafer became the new hosts of Match Game instead.
The final game show of significance that Peter Marshall hosted is All Star Blitz, another Heatter Quigley title where you have to select a celebrity to assist you.
Other game shows that Peter Marshall was involved in were made by production companies that had financial difficulties. Bert Convy's production company for example because Bert Convy was dying, and Reel To Reel is one of the infamous game shows that were unable to pay the winning contestants nor the production staff.
Since then, Peter Marshall has been involved in Hollywood Squares specials in one way or another.
