Meet television's greatest game show hosts -- Groucho Marx, Bob Barker, John Daly, Garry Moore, Pat Sajak, et al. -- from You Bet Your Life to Wheel of Fortune.

They are the charmers and the cheerleaders, the greatest TV game show hosts in the history of the small screen. Groucho Marx is here, as are Bob Barker, Garry Moore, Pat Sajak, Bud Collyer and other standout personalities who worked the TV game show circuit from the 1940s to the present day. Gentlemen, come on down!

TV Game Shows Began in 1941

The venerable TV game show has been an entertainment staple since the earliest days of the small screen. An offshoot of radio, TV game shows have come in many shapes and sizes, ranging from the classy (G.E. College Bowl) to the downright embarrassing (The Gong Show).

The first game show in the United States was Uncle Jim's Question Bee, premiering over NBC on July 1, 1941. The host, Bill Slater, would quiz audience members on a variety of topics.

Uncle Jim's Question Bee eventually spawned a vast multitude of TV game shows, some of whose hosts -- or masters of ceremonies, as they were originally called -- achieving their own immortality.

Top Ten: TV Game Show Hosts

Although certainly open to debate, here are ten TV game show hosts who take the top prize in their chosen field.

1. Bob Barker

From 1972 to 2007 Barker hosted TV's longest-running game show, The Price Is Right. Prior to that, Barker also hosted the iconic Truth or Consequences beginning in 1956. Prince Bob remains the stuff of legend, the easy-going emcee whose legion of fans never wanted to see him retire.

2. Groucho Marx

A born comedian, "The One, the Only Groucho Marx!" hosted You Bet Your Life from 1950 to 1961. With handsome sidekick George Fenneman in support, the freewheeling Groucho often had the audience in stitches as he humorously probed the lives of his contestants.

3. Garry Moore

The bow tie-wearing Moore hosted the popular I've Got a Secret from 1952 to 1964. None did it better than Moore, whose interplay with celebrity panelists Henry Morgan, Bill Cullen, Betsy Palmer, et al., make I've Got a Secret one of the great gems from the Golden Age of Television.

4. Pat Sajak

The Chicago native began hosting Merv Griffin's Wheel of Fortune in 1981, replacing Chuck Woolery. The winner of two Daytime Emmy Awards, Sajak is fast, funny and able, with his post-game banter with letter-turner Vanna White a treat unto itself.

5. John Daly

Also an ABC News anchor, Daly hosted the legendary What's My Line? from 1950 to 1967. Daly did it with elegance and class, with such celebrity panelists as Bennett Cerf, Arlene Francis, Steve Allen and Dorothy Kilgallen providing charming support.

6. Monty Hall

Billed as "America's top trader, TV's big dealer," Hall hosted Let's Make a Deal during its original run from 1963 to 1977. Surrounded by contestants wearing outrageous costumes, the fast-talking Hall was always a crowd pleaser, even when a studio member got the dreaded "zonk."

7. Alex Trebek

Canadian-born Trebek has hosted Jeopardy! since 1984. Although Art Fleming was the original host, it was Trebek who elevated Jeopardy! to the television institution that it is today. Legendary game show hosts for $200, Alex.

8. Allen Ludden

Brainy and genial, Ludden is best remembered as the host of Password from 1961 to 1975. Ludden -- who met his wife, Betty White, on Password -- was also the emcee of G.E. College Bowl from 1959 to 1962.

9. Bud Collyer

From 1956 to 1968 Collyer hosted To Tell the Truth, another one of those great Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions. His other game show stints included Winner Take All, Break the Bank and Beat the Clock.

10. Regis Philbin

A longtime television fixture, Philbin took the TV game show to new heights, hosting the phenomenally popular Who Wants to Be a Millionaire from 1999 to 2002. "Reege Rage" ruled the airwaves.

Honorable Mention

Other top TV game show hosts: Dick Clark, Bill Cullen, Hugh Downs, Gene Rayburn, Bob Eubanks, Tom Kennedy, Jack Bailey, Ralph Edwards, Peter Marshall, Richard Dawson, Bert Parks, Chuck Woolery, Jack Barry, Hal March, Robert Q. Lewis, Johnny Carson...

Source

Quiz Craze: America's Infatuation with Game Shows, by Thomas A. DeLong. New York: Praeger, 1991.