Everyone has to start somewhere! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for celebs who appeared on game shows before becoming household names.
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00:00I'd like to go to an interesting place. Venus, maybe.
00:02It's supposed to be really pretty there.
00:03That sounds sexy. Thank you.
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo!
00:07And today we're counting down our picks for celebs who appeared on game shows before becoming household names.
00:12And John is just all about anything fabulous for you, Mary.
00:16Number 20. Steve Martin. The Dating Game.
00:19While still a student at UCLA, Steve Martin appeared on The Dating Game show in 1968.
00:24And we're delighted to welcome Steve Martin!
00:27He competed with two other contestants for a date with a woman with the same last name as him, Deanna Martin.
00:32Steve put his charm and humor on full display, ultimately coming out on top.
00:36One of my favorite stories has always been The Good Will.
00:38And I'd like to be locked in there some night, trying on all the old clothes and the ladies' hats.
00:43That likable, funny character was just a preview of what would come.
00:47Deanna saw something in Steve.
00:48Luckily for us, we were able to see more of Steve, starting with his stand-up comedy performances during the 1970s,
00:54and then, of course, in the movies.
00:56How much is this gonna cost me?
00:58Number 19. Joey Fatone. Nick Arcade.
01:02Just before experiencing a massive rise in fame as a member of NSYNC in the late 1990s,
01:06Joey Fatone appeared on Nickelodeon in the game show Nick Arcade.
01:10I'm here today with Joseph of the Yellow Team!
01:12The competition consisted of head-to-head video games and trivia questions.
01:15Just look at those throwback arcade games!
01:17Fatone and his partner didn't get the job done in the end, but they didn't leave empty-handed.
01:21The game show provided them with consolation prizes that give off nostalgic Nickelodeon commercial vibes.
01:26Not bad!
01:37Besides Fatone's fame in the music and acting industries that came after this appearance,
01:40he also went on to be an announcer in a game show!
01:43Number 18. Stephen Merchant. Blockbusters UK.
01:47Choose a letter, get a question, and answer with the word beginning with that letter.
01:51That's the basic premise of the game show Blockbusters.
01:53While in his 20s, Stephen Merchant appeared on the show.
01:56From the get-go, you could tell he meant business.
01:59Revenue. Revenue is right.
02:01After a good start, though, his opponents soon took the lead and never looked back.
02:05About 16 years later, Merchant appeared on the Graham Norton Show and talked about his Blockbusters experience.
02:10That included a funny anecdote about taking on a team of two by himself.
02:14Why was it one person against two people?
02:16Yeah, I agree.
02:19Because I used to watch the show thinking, which idiot goes on on their own?
02:22At this point, Merchant was famous for his contributions to comedy and television shows,
02:26such as the UK's The Office and Extras, and for being a co-host of The Ricky Gervais Show.
02:31Oh, bloody hell. What's the weather like up there?
02:33Oh, I've heard that before.
02:35Number 17. Andy Kaufman. The Dating Game.
02:38He had already been on SNL, Van Dyken Company, and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
02:42by the time he appeared on The Dating Game in 1978.
02:45And number three.
02:46Hello, Patrice.
02:49But Andy Kaufman would become much more famous in the years that followed,
02:52particularly thanks to his role as Lacka Gravis on the sitcom Taxi.
02:56Kaufman went against conventions, as he often did throughout his career,
02:59when he brought his foreign-man character to The Dating Game.
03:02I don't know what she looked like. Could I see what she looked like?
03:06No, you can't.
03:07Kaufman won a fair share of laughs from the crowd, but not the game in the end.
03:10Still in character, he showed that the loss was a tough pill to swallow.
03:14I won.
03:15No, you didn't.
03:16But I answered all the questions right.
03:20Number 16. Linda Cardellini. The Price is Right.
03:23Hi, Linda.
03:24One thousand.
03:25One thousand dollars.
03:26Being able to correctly guess the price of items, or come really close, is an underrated talent.
03:30In a 1994 episode of The Price is Right, Linda Cardellini came so close with her guess of a fireplace's price
03:36that she got to take it home.
03:38Actual retail price, $1,057.
03:42Winner, Linda.
03:44Her 2003 interview on The Sharon Osbourne Show revealed what happened to the prize
03:48and the heartwarming plan her parents had for it.
03:50Alright, Linda, what did you do with that fireplace?
03:53My parents have it in the garage.
03:55The Price is Right was Cardellini's first appearance on television.
03:58She then rose to fame on the screen with roles in series such as ER and Freaks and Geeks.
04:02Oh yeah, and you might recognize her as Velma in the live-action Scooby-Doo films.
04:07Number 15, Meghan Markle. Deal or no deal?
04:10Perhaps you know her as the Duchess of Sussex, the woman married to Prince Harry.
04:14Or for fans of Suits, she's Rachel Zane, paralegal-turned-attorney.
04:18Before all of that, and before becoming a prominent figure in pop culture,
04:21Meghan Markle was on Deal or No Deal.
04:27In 2006, she landed a job as a briefcase model on the NBC game show hosted by Howie Mandel.
04:33She certainly made this woman happy after opening the number 11 case.
04:40After 34 episodes spanning two seasons, Markle had enough of the game show.
04:44Years later, at this point extremely famous, she opened up about the downside of Deal or No Deal.
04:49I was so much more than what was being objectified on the stage.
04:53I didn't like feeling forced to be all looks and little substance.
04:57Number 14, Stephen Fry, University Challenge, UK.
05:01While a student at Cambridge at the time, Stephen Fry put his mind to the test
05:05on the British TV quiz program University Challenge.
05:08Representing Queen's College alongside three other young gentlemen,
05:11Fry was at first flustered in an attempt to answer this question.
05:17After this game show appearance, he would soon be on his way to greatness
05:20in the fields of broadcasting, acting, comedy, and writing.
05:23Alfresco, a comedy sketch series aired from 1983 to 1984,
05:27was one of many significant stepping stones.
05:30The question surely, sir, is why the only totally blind officer we have gets the job of forger.
05:37Over 30 years after the young Fry appeared on University Challenge,
05:40he became president of the mental health charity known as Mind.
05:44We're addressing a real crisis.
05:46Number 13, John Ritter, The Dating Game.
05:49Tex Ritter was a famous singing cowboy and actor.
05:52His son John followed in his footsteps in terms of the latter.
05:55John Ritter. John, good afternoon to you.
06:00Prior to making his mark in his father's footsteps, though,
06:03John Ritter appeared on The Dating Game at 19 years old.
06:06He showed he got game and was selected as the winning bachelor.
06:11Although it wasn't the smoothest reaction to being announced victorious.
06:14He already secured the win, so nothing to worry about, John.
06:17This was John Ritter's first ever appearance on TV.
06:20Among his myriad of TV and film roles that followed,
06:23there perhaps wasn't one more notable than Jack Tripper in the sitcom Three's Company from 1977 to 1984.
06:31Number 12, Lady Gaga, Boiling Points.
06:37Before countless fans went gaga for Lady Gaga,
06:40she appeared on a prank-based reality game show on MTV in 2005.
06:44At that point, she wasn't Lady Gaga yet.
06:47She was Stephanie Germanotta, a 19-year-old with music dreams.
06:55But no paparazzi would have recognized her then.
06:58In this episode of Boiling Points, she found herself on the wrong end of a restaurant prank.
07:04After what was done to her meal, there was no reason to show a poker face and pretend everything was okay.
07:11Just a few years later, that young woman became a pop icon after the release of her debut studio album, The Fame.
07:18Number 11, Farrah Fawcett, The Dating Game.
07:21Whether it was the TV series Charlie's Angels, a cosmetic commercial, or a red swimsuit poster,
07:26Farrah Fawcett appeared in many capacities starting in the 1970s.
07:31She went on to become a household name.
07:33Before her career took off, though, she was looking for a date on The Dating Game show in a 1969 episode.
07:42Fawcett was 22 years old at the time.
07:44As the host mentioned when introducing her, she had other ventures going on back then.
07:48If you were in charge of everything, what would you make the national pastime?
07:52Over three decades later, her sculpture work with Keith Edmire was exhibited at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh.
08:00Number 10, Paul Walker, I'm Telling.
08:11I'm Telling was a short-lived Saturday morning game show in which brother and sister teams competed for prizes.
08:16The object of the game was to match answers with your sibling in response to embarrassing and entertaining questions,
08:21with the highest number of matches resulting in a win.
08:29Think the newlywed game, only with siblings instead of spouses.
08:32The late Fast and Furious star was just 14 years old when he stepped onto the I'm Telling stage, playing with his younger sister, Ashley.
08:39The duo did quite well, finishing in second place and each taking home a bike, a board game, and a Slurpee gift card.
08:46His name, Paul, you were terrific. This is my way to go out of the way and be handed. Here's the team to tell you that you're part of this.
08:52Number 9, Vanna White, The Price is Right.
08:55Vanna White's game show career had to be predestined.
08:58It's the only conclusion we can reach due to her fairytale-like journey.
09:01In 1980, White appeared on The Price is Right as one of the initial four contestants.
09:06600.
09:07$600 is her bid.
09:09She didn't make it to the showcase, but her picturesque beauty and bubbly personality made jaws drop.
09:14Some of those jaws happened to belong to some very important TV producers.
09:17What are your bids?
09:18$695.
09:20Just two years after her Price is Right appearance, White auditioned for the vacant hostess spot on Wheel of Fortune,
09:25beating out hundreds of applicants to be named the regular co-host in December 1982.
09:29She is the longest-running game show hostess in history and is the female icon of the industry.
09:35It's my touch. Look. See? You try it. It won't work.
09:40Number 8, Kirstie Alley, Match Game.
09:43Match Game was a super-popular show where contestants tried to match their answers with, well, let's say lubricated celebrity panelists.
09:50In a reversal of roles, Kirstie Alley appeared on the show in 1979, not as a celebrity, but as an unknown contestant.
09:57Some things are just impossible, like a drill sergeant asking Venus de Milo to blink.
10:01Salute.
10:02Introduced as an interior designer from Wichita, Kansas,
10:05Alley's appearance on Match Game came three years before her movie debut in Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan
10:11and eight years before Cheers made her a household name.
10:13I do know you're giving me a headache behind the eyes.
10:16It feels like a little insect boring into my brain.
10:21Paired with Jamie Lee Curtis, Betty White, and others,
10:24Kirstie had one of the best game show performances of a pre-fame celebrity, winning both rounds and taking home $6,000.
10:36Number 7, Tom Selleck, The Dating Game.
10:39Over a decade before becoming the title character in Magnum, P.I.,
10:42and well before his role as New York City Police Commissioner Frank Reagan in Blue Bloods,
10:46Tom Selleck appeared on TV in a crimeless show, The Dating Game.
10:50He wasn't done after his first appearance in 1965, either.
10:53He returned to the show in 1967.
10:55We'd like you to meet Tom Selleck.
10:58Good luck, Tom.
11:00Selleck was a college student and basketball player at USC then.
11:03I promise to fall in love with you if you pick me, for sure.
11:07In a 2024 interview with Entertainment Tonight, he discussed the path that The Dating Game led him on.
11:11His words were quite humble and honest.
11:14Number 6, Paul Rubens, The Gong Show.
11:21Paul Rubens may be best known as Pee Wee Herman,
11:23but before Pee Wee hit it big, Rubens was simply a no-name performer.
11:27During the 70s, Rubens studied with the renowned Groundlings improv troupe
11:31and entertained his way through the lower echelons of show business,
11:34playing nightclubs and short spots on TV shows.
11:37But the peaks of his early comedy career were his appearances on The Gong Show,
11:41the wacky variety show that hosted all kinds of bizarre acts.
11:44And few were weirder than Rubens.
11:53One of these anti-comedy skits featured a duo called Suave and Debonair,
11:57which saw Rubens paired with John Paragon in a satirical nightclub setting.
12:01Another had Rubens in a dance group called Les Shaw,
12:04which we'll let you try to decipher.
12:14Number 5, Simon Cowell, Sale of the Century, UK.
12:24Sale of the Century was a long-running hybrid game show,
12:27equal parts Price is Right and Jeopardy!.
12:29In 1990, a young Simon Cowell made his TV debut on the show,
12:32and he bore no resemblance to the tyrant judge of today.
12:35Polite, well-mannered, and docile in character,
12:38Cowell competed with deft skill and sportsmanship,
12:41answering questions and winning random prizes, like cooking utensils.
12:53He won the game handily, but his integrity won in a much larger way.
12:56Not one rude remark was uttered by Cowell
12:58in what has to be the most subdued television appearance of his life.
13:06Number 4, Olly Murs, Deal or No Deal, UK.
13:10Olly Murs first came to public attention in the sixth season of X Factor.
13:13Or did he?
13:15Two years prior to his X Factor redemption,
13:17Olly appeared on the UK version of Deal or No Deal,
13:19and the show couldn't have gone worse.
13:26Every case he eliminated had larger and larger figures,
13:29and eventually, every substantial sum was off the board.
13:32Host Noel Edmonds described all our thoughts when he said,
13:35this is the most appalling run of luck in the history of the game.
13:45Murs finished the game with only 10 pounds,
13:47which is one of the smallest totals in Deal or No Deal history.
13:50It's obvious his luck has since changed.
13:52I know you're no good, but you're stuck in my brain.
13:56Number 3, Jon Hamm, The Big Date.
13:59Long before Jon Hamm conjured the charm of Don Draper,
14:02he was just an uncomfortable 25-year-old on a game show.
14:05Jon Hamm is next. He's 25 years old. He's a waiter.
14:07Jon Hamm, ladies and gentlemen.
14:09With a strange haircut and an even stranger expression,
14:12Hamm disconcerted viewers as a contestant on The Big Date,
14:15a derivation of the dating game in which players compete for a date
14:18with a near-mythical beauty.
14:20Hamm's assault with the Bachelorette didn't earn him any favors,
14:23neither did his creepy answers to the predictably trite questions.
14:26Start off with some fabulous food, a little fabulous conversation.
14:30Whether his actions came as a result of suggestions from the producers
14:33or his own personality is tough to say,
14:35although it's clear he was doomed on the show from his less than fabulous start.
14:39What else fabulous, Jon?
14:41End it with a fabulous foot massage for an evening of total fabulosity.
14:47Number two, Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Dating Game.
14:50Please join me in welcoming to the new dating game,
14:53the current Mr. Olympia, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
14:57The Dating Game was the cornerstone of 70s game show culture,
15:00and many pre- and post-fame celebrities were the objects of desire.
15:04Probably the most retrospectively famous person to grace the show
15:07was Arnold Schwarzenegger, who made an impressive appearance in 1973.
15:10Lady number one, I'm a man and you're a woman.
15:14Now where do we go from here?
15:16Arnold had just tiptoed into the public consciousness
15:18thanks to his bodybuilding exploits,
15:20but this was years before his acting career made him a household name.
15:23It was on The Dating Game that mainstream American audiences
15:26got the first taste of his unique foreign charm,
15:28as the governator wooed the three contestants,
15:30one of whom was a playboy bunny.
15:32In the end, he bypassed the bunny,
15:34electing to choose the least weird of the three spacey girls.
15:37It was very hard to choose, but I would say lady number two.
15:41Number two, alright!
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15:59Number one, Aaron Paul, The Price is Right.
16:02Aaron Paul might be the only successful actor to owe his career to meth.
16:06Not literally, of course, but we wouldn't blame you
16:08if you thought his energetic demeanor
16:10during his pre-famed Price is Right appearance gave that impression.
16:16Even Paul himself stated in an interview
16:18they looked like he was on serious crack during the show,
16:21as the producers said they wanted energy.
16:23Paul went above and beyond the call of duty.
16:25The 20-year-old ingested six cans of Red Bull prior to shooting,
16:29and he exploded onto the stage when announced,
16:31running around, screaming,
16:33and even telling Bob Barker that he's his idol.
16:36He failed to win, but the rest of us did
16:39when the video of Jesse Pinkman in a much more colorful light
16:42surfaced years later.
16:51Let us know in the comments what game show you would go on.
16:57Did you enjoy this video?
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