Monty Hall OC, OM (August 25, 1921 – September 30, 2017) was a Canadian-American game show host, producer, and philanthropist, widely known as the long-running host of Let's Make a Deal and for the puzzle named after him, the Monty Hall problem, he was referenced several times through the show by Mork.
About Monty Hall[]
Hall was born as Monte Halparin in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on August 25, 1921, to Orthodox Jewish parents Maurice Harvey Halparin, who owned a slaughterhouse, and Rose (née Rusen). He was raised in Winnipeg's north end, where he attended Lord Selkirk School (Elmwood, Winnipeg), and, later St. John's High School. Hall graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Manitoba, where he majored in chemistry and zoology.
Hall's first radio job was working for CKRC radio in Winnipeg while still a student. He briefly worked for the Canadian Wheat Board after graduating before deciding to pursue a full-time career in broadcasting. He moved to Toronto in 1946 and found a job with radio station CHUM, where management shortened his name to Hall and misspelled his first name as "Monty" on billboards, giving him the stage name "Monty Hall". For the next decade he hosted and produced a number of programs for radio stations in Toronto.
Hall moved to New York City in 1955, attempting to break into American broadcasting, but commuted to Toronto several times a month to record episode blocks of Who Am I? In New York, Hall hosted game shows such as Bingo at Home on WABD-TV and guest-hosted more established game shows such as Strike It Rich on CBS and Twenty-One on NBC.
He succeeded Jack Narz as host of a game show called Video Village, which ran from 1960 to 1962 on CBS. From 1961 to 1962, Hall hosted its spinoff, Video Village Junior, which featured children. After moving to Southern California, Hall became the host of the game show Let's Make a Deal, which he developed and produced with partner Stefan Hatos. Let's Make a Deal aired on NBC daytime from December 30, 1963, to December 27, 1968, and on ABC daytime from December 30, 1968, until July 9, 1976, along with two prime time runs. It aired in syndication from 1971 to 1977, from 1980 to 1981, from 1984 to 1986, and again on NBC briefly from 1990 to 1991, with Hall replacing Bob Hilton, who had been dismissed. He was producer or executive producer of the show through most of its runs. During the show's initial run, Hall appeared alongside model Carol Merrill and announcer Jay Stewart.
On September 28, 1947, Hall married Marilyn Doreen Plottel (May 17, 1927 – June 5, 2017); the two had been introduced by a mutual cousin, Norman Shnier, the previous year. They later became United States citizens. They had three children: Tony Award–winning actress Joanna Gleason; Sharon Hall Kessler, president of Endemol Shine Studios; and Richard Hall, an Emmy Award–winning television producer. Monty and Marilyn lived in Beverly Hills, California, from 1962 until their deaths; Marilyn predeceased her husband by four months.
Hall received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on August 24, 1973, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs, California, Walk of Stars in 2000, and in 2002, he was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.
Hall is one of three game show hosts—along with Alex Trebek and Howie Mandel—on both Hollywood's and Canada's Walks of Fame. In May 1988, Her Excellency, Jeanne Sauvé, the Governor-General of Canada appointed him an Officer of the prestigious The Order of Canada for his humanitarian work in Canada and other nations of the world. In 2003, His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba appointed him a Member of the Order of Manitoba.
He 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. On October 13, 2007, Hall was one of the first inductees into the American TV Game Show Hall of Fame in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hall received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2013 Daytime Emmy Awards. [1]
Mork's Multiple References[]
- Mork the Gullible - When Mindy tells Mork he shouldn't give away items like his new coat, Mork points out that Monty Hall does,
- Mork's First Christmas - A panicked Mork tells Mindy that 'roving gangs' of carol singers are out to beat up Monty Hall and his family, singing 'Deck the Halls! Deck the Halls!"
- There's a New Mork in Town - Monty Hall gets another mention in Mork's report to Orson, saying if you bet against yourself you always lose, attributing the quite to Hall.
- Mork and the Bum Rap - refers to Monty Hall singing 'Bess you is my woman now' from the all black Opera "Porgy & Bess" by Gershwin, in the Telethon he watched with Mindy that Fred conducted at in Boulder.