Bob Eubanks facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bob Eubanks
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Eubanks in 1964
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Robert Leland Eubanks
January 8, 1938 Flint, Michigan, U.S.
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| Occupation | Game show host Television personality Radio personality |
| Years active | 1956–present |
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| Children | 4 |
Robert Leland Eubanks (born January 8, 1938) is a famous American television personality. He is best known for hosting the popular game show The Newlywed Game. He hosted this show many times since 1966. Bob also hosted the successful show Card Sharks from 1986 to 1989.
In 2000, he received a special star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. This award was for his work as a radio DJ. It is located in front of Grauman's Egyptian Theatre, where he started his career. In 2005, he won a lifetime achievement Emmy Award. This award recognized his long and successful career in television.
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About Bob's Life
Bob Eubanks was born in Flint, Michigan. He grew up mostly in Pasadena, California. As a child, he loved listening to music. Some of his favorite artists were Frank Sinatra and Doc Watson. His parents, John and Gertrude Eubanks, were from Missouri. They moved to Flint during the Great Depression. Bob was their only child. Later, the family moved to California.
When he was young, Bob worked as a child model. He did photo shoots for advertisements. During one shoot, he met his idol, Gene Autry. Bob also enjoyed watching classic television and quiz shows. He was influenced by famous people like Cary Grant and Bill Cullen.
Bob went to Pasadena High School. He graduated in 1955. After high school, he attended Los Angeles Pierce College. He then became one of California's most popular disc jockeys. In 1956, Bob started working at his first radio station, KACY, in Oxnard, California.
He joined KRLA radio in Pasadena in 1960. He hosted the overnight show there. By 1962, he was hosting the morning show. A year later, he moved to his well-known evening slot from 6 to 9 pm.
During the 1960s, Bob also promoted many concerts. He helped bring The Beatles to Hollywood Bowl in 1964 and 1965. He also promoted concerts for the Rolling Stones. In Los Angeles, he promoted artists like Barry Manilow, Dolly Parton, and Elton John.
Bob married Irma Barnard in 1969. They had three children: Trace, Corey, and Theresa. In 1970, they bought a 20-acre part of a cattle ranch. They later made it larger, to 26 acres. The whole family loved roping and riding horses. Bob even took part in rodeos in his free time. He is a member of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. Irma passed away in 2002.
In 2004, Bob married Deborah James. She works as a wedding and event planner. They have a young son named Noah.
The Newlywed Game and Music Career
In 1966, Bob Eubanks got a call from Chuck Barris. He was asked to host a new game show called The Newlywed Game. The show started on ABC later that year. It was an instant hit! The show was so popular that the network made it a prime-time show. It ran for five years.
Bob was only 28 years old when he started hosting. He became very popular for his youthful energy. He would ask contestants funny questions. This often led to embarrassing and hilarious answers. The Newlywed Game was one of the top game shows for many years.
When he wasn't filming, Bob also worked in the country music business. He managed famous artists like Dolly Parton and Barbara Mandrell. He also signed Merle Haggard to a special live-performance contract. He produced over 100 shows a year for Merle Haggard for almost ten years.
The Newlywed Game ended in 1974 after 2195 episodes. This made Bob Eubanks one of the most-watched game show hosts. He also hosted different versions of the show in later years. These included versions from 1977–1980, 1985–1988, and 1997–1999.
In 2009, Bob hosted a special celebrity episode of The Newlywed Game. He also hosted another episode in 2010 called "Game Show Kings." This episode featured other famous game show hosts like Monty Hall and Wink Martindale. Bob Eubanks is the only person to host the same game show in six different decades! That's from the 1960s all the way to the 2010s.
In 1988, Bob left The Newlywed Game to try other things. He was still hosting Card Sharks on CBS at the time.
Other Game Shows
After The Newlywed Game, Bob Eubanks hosted many other game shows. Some of these included Rhyme and Reason, Dream House, and Trivia Trap. He also tried out to host the CBS daytime version of Wheel of Fortune.
In 1985, Mark Goodson hired Bob again to host a new version of Card Sharks for CBS. Bob hosted Card Sharks from January 1986 until March 1989. He also appeared as a special guest on the original Card Sharks show. He was there to promote his own game show, All Star Secrets, which he also produced.
His last network game show was Family Secrets. In recent years, he has hosted special TV shows called Most Outrageous Game Show Moments for NBC. Bob was also one of the hosts for the "$250,000 Game Show Spectacular" in Las Vegas.
His company, Hill-Eubanks, produced other shows too. These included The Guinness Game and Buddy Hackett's You Bet Your Life revival. They also produced Infatuation, which Bob hosted in 1992. He even traveled to Britain to host a British version of Infatuation. Bob tried acting, but he found that hosting game shows was more fun and paid better.
Radio Career
Before becoming a game show host, Bob Eubanks was a very popular radio DJ. He worked at station KRLA 1110 in Los Angeles from 1960 to 1968. He was also a music promoter and manager.
He is famous for bringing The Beatles to Los Angeles. They performed their first West Coast concerts at the Hollywood Bowl in 1964 and 1965. Bob even mortgaged his house to make this happen! Other KRLA DJs, Dave Hull and Reb Foster, joined Bob in introducing the band. He also owned several Cinnamon Cinder nightclubs.
Bob also filled in for Casey Kasem twice on the radio show American Top 40.
Other Appearances
Bob Eubanks hosted the televised 1964 Miss Teen USA pageant. The actor Sebastian Cabot was a guest at the event.
Bob appeared in Michael Moore's 1989 documentary Roger & Me. This film was about General Motors closing factories in Flint, Michigan.
In 1992, Bob appeared on the TV sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. He hosted a game show called "Double Trouble" in one episode. That same year, he had a small role in the movie Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. He played a game show host named "Ding-Dang-Dong." In the movie, he mentioned that contestants stayed at the Plaza Hotel in New York City.
He has also hosted the Tournament of Roses Parade on Los Angeles TV channel KTLA since 1976. He co-hosted with Stephanie Edwards for many years. In 2015, Bob and Stephanie announced that the 2016 parade would be their last one.
Bob Eubanks appeared as himself on the Nickelodeon sitcom Kenan & Kel in 1999. He also guest-starred on That '70s Show in 2000.
He hosted the Miss California USA Pageant and the Mrs. International Pageant for several years.
On July 6, 2007, Bob was a celebrity "Mob Member" on the NBC game show 1 vs. 100. He also appeared as a guest on GSN Live. His most recent TV appearance was on The Amazing Race 17 in 2010. In 2011, Bob hosted a special live version of The Newlywed Game for NASCAR.
His book about his life, called It's in the Book, Bob, was published in 2004.
Bob Eubanks also briefly appeared in the music video for The Offspring's song "Why Don't You Get a Job?"
In 2013, Bob toured with a show called "America's Greatest Game Shows: Live on Stage."
In 2015, he appeared as a host on the show Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars.
On April 21, 2023, it was announced that Bob Eubanks would be in a new documentary. The four-episode show is called The Game Show Show by ABC News. It covers the history of game shows in America. The documentary started on May 10, 2023.
