R.I.P.: Peter Marshall, Longtime Host of ‘The Hollywood Squares'

Peter Marshall (1926-2024)

Peter Marshall, who coaxed cheeky rejoinders from celebrities like Burt Reynolds, Mel Brooks, Joan Rivers and Paul Lynde as the longtime host of “The Hollywood Squares,” for years one of the most popular game shows on television, died on Thursday at his home in Encino, Calif. He was 98.

His wife of 35 years, Laurie Marshall, said the cause was kidney failure. according to The NYTimes.

Marshall, an actor, singer and comedian with an authoritative baritone, hosted “The Hollywood Squares” from 1966 until 1981. The show brought him four Daytime Emmy Awards.

“The Hollywood Squares,” which stuffed celebrity guests and risqué humor into a daytime game show, was a variation on tic-tac-toe, played by two contestants on a set that featured a grid of nine squares rising above the stage, a celebrity guest seated in each.

A contestant would choose a square, Marshall would ask the star inside it a question, and the star would usually respond with a quip — a zinger, in the show’s parlance — before giving a serious answer. The contestant would then tell Mr. Marshall whether the star had answered correctly, and the square would be won if the contestant was right. The first contestant to complete a line won the game; the first to win two games won cash and prizes.

The center square was reserved for the funniest celebrity; the comedian Paul Lynde occupied it for much of the show’s run.

Marshall played the straight man to his comic co-stars. He recalled that the show’s producers, Bob Quigley and Merrill Heatter, had said that they prized one quality in particular when they sought a host: “‘We’re looking for a complete nonentity,’ they told me. ‘Well, look no further,’ I said, and they offered me an audition.”

Marshall maintained that answers were never provided to contestants or celebrities in advance, as they had been during the quiz show scandals of the 1950s. He did admit, however, that questions were tailored to fit a particular star’s expertise or comic sensibility, and that jokes, or at least the outlines of them, were prepared for the less hilarious celebrities.

A week’s worth of shows were taped in one evening, and between tapings cast members enjoyed a boozy dinner, creating a more insouciant atmosphere on the set. The condensed schedule left Mr. Marshall time to work in Las Vegas and appear in touring musicals like “The Music Man” and “Guys and Dolls” during the summer.