Monty Hall

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Maurice "Monty Hall" Halperin, O.C., B.Sc., LL.D (born on August 25, 1921 in Winnipeg, Manitoba) is a Canadian-born actor, singer and sportscaster, best known as the host of the long-running television game show Let's Make a Deal.

[edit] History

He was the host of the long-running game show Let's Make a Deal, which he developed with Stefan Hatos from 1963 to 1977, 1980 to 1981, again from 1984 to 1986 and for a limited run in 1990, and has been 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.

Hall hosted shows like Bingo At Home for the long defunct DuMont Network, as well as guest-hosting more established game shows like Strike It Rich, before hosting the first show of his own, Keep Talking in 1958. He succeeded Jack Narz as host of a short-lived but unique game show called Video Village, which ran during the summer of 1960 on CBS. Contestants played on a giant game board consisting of three sections: Money Street, Bridge Street and Magic Mile. Players advanced with the roll of softball-sized dice. The farther contestants advanced along the board, the better the prizes that were offered. A spinoff called Video Village Junior, featuring youngsters, was hosted by Hall and ran during the 1961-1962 regular television season.

In 1962, with a co-producer named Art Stark, Hall sold his first game show to NBC, Your First Impression, which would run for two years. Stefan Hatos was on the production staff of that show, and in time, he and Hall would cement a partnership that would last until Hatos' untimely death in 1991. Besides LMAD, the game show Split Second which originally ran on ABC from 1972-75, and again in syndication in 1987 (with Hall also hosting that version) was the only truly successful program from Hatos-Hall Productions. Other game shows from their production company included Chain Letters in 1966; a revival of the venerable 1950's-era panel quiz, Masquerade Party in 1972; 3 For the Money in 1975; It's Anybody's Guess in 1977, which reunited "LMAD" announcer Jay Stewart with Hall, who also hosted the show, and The Joke's On Us in 1983. In 1979, Hall hosted the only game show since "Video Village" which he did not produce-The All-New Beat the Clock.

Hall filled in as guest host on several daytime game shows while "LMAD" was on NBC, most notably What's This Song? and PDQ.

Hall received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on August 24, 1973, and in 2002 he was also inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame. On 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.

Hall 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.

Hall graduated from the University of Manitoba, where he majored in chemistry and zoology as a pre-med student.

He has been married for many years to his wife, Marilyn, and has two daughters — actress Joanna Gleason and Sharon Hall, a television director and writer — and one son, Richard Hall, a television producer.

[edit] Theoretical influence

Because of his work on Let's Make a Deal, Hall's name is used in a popular probability puzzle known as the Monty Hall problem. In the mathematical sciences, the problem examines the counter-intuitive effects of switching one's choice of doors if "Monty" reveals a goat behind one of doors the player didn't choose. Hall himself gave a pretty good explanation of the solution to that problem, and why the solution did not apply to the case of the actual show, in an interview with New York Times reporter John Tierney in 1991. Because Hall had control over the way the game progressed, he played on the psychology of the contestant. The puzzle was mentioned on the CBS drama Numb3rs in an episode during its first season.

In role-playing games a "Monty Hall" can be an adventure design where one arbitrary choice greatly affects the outcome, such as two doors with a beautiful lady behind one and a tiger behind the other. An easy challenge with massive rewards is known as a "Monty Haul", and the inflationary effect this has on the game world is known as the "Monty Haul problem".

[edit] External links

• Monty Hall at the Internet Movie Database
• Monty's Bio

Persondata
NAME	Hall, Monty
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Halprin, Maurice (birth name)
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Game show host
DATE OF BIRTH	August 25, 1921
PLACE OF BIRTH	Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
DATE OF DEATH	living
PLACE OF DEATH