Monty Hall
Monty Hall in the 1970s
Born	Monte Halperin (1921-08-25) August 25, 1921 (age 91) Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Occupation	Game show host, actor, producer, singer, sportscaster
Years active	1953–present
Spouse(s)	Marilyn (Plottel) Hall (m. 1947-present; 3 children)

Monte Halperin, OC, OM (born August 25, 1921), better known by the stage name Monty Hall, is a Canadian-born MC, producer, actor, singer and sportscaster, best known as host of the television game show Let's Make a Deal.

Early life [edit]

The handprints of Hall in front of Hollywood Hills Amphitheater at Walt Disney World's Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park.

Hall was born in Winnipeg, the son of Rose (née Rusen) and Maurice Harvey Halperin, both of whom belonged to an Orthodox congregation of Judaism^[1] and who jointly owned a slaughterhouse.^[2] He was raised in Winnipeg's north end,^[3] where he attended St. John's High School.^[4] Hall started his career in Winnipeg in radio, moving to Toronto in 1946.

Career [edit]

Early in his career, 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, before hosting the first show of his own, Keep Talking in 1958. Hall also did color-commentary on New York Rangers (NHL) radio broadcasts during the 1959-60 season. He succeeded Jack Narz as host of a well-received and unique game show called Video Village, which ran from 1960 to 1962 on CBS. On Video Village, contestants played on a giant game board consisting of three sections: Money Street, Bridge Street and Magic Mile. Players advanced with the roll of a large die. The further contestants advanced along the board, the better the prizes that were offered. Hall also hosted its spinoff, Video Village Junior, featuring youngsters; it ran during the 1961–1962 television season.

From 1956 to 1960, along with NBC Radio newsman, Morgan Beatty, Hall co-hosted the Saturday night segment of the NBC Radio Network weekend program Monitor from 8 PM until midnight (EST).

Hall had also served as the host/performer of two local New York City TV film shows for children: Cowboy Theater for WRCA (Channel 4) in 1956 and Fun In the Morning for WNEW (Ch. 5) in the early 1960s.

Let's Make a Deal [edit]

After moving to southern California, Hall was 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, to July 9, 1976, along with two primetime runs. It also aired in syndication from 1971 to 1977, from 1980 to 1981, from 1984 to 1986, and again on NBC briefly from 1990 to 1991, 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 became well known alongside model Carol Merrill and announcer Jay Stewart.

Other game show work [edit]

Besides Let's Make a Deal, the game show Split Second, which originally ran on ABC from 1972-75 with Tom Kennedy as host, and again in syndication in 1987 with Hall hosting that version, was the only other successful program from Hatos-Hall Productions. Other game shows from Hatos's and Hall's production company included Chain Letter in 1966; a revival of the venerable 1950s-era panel quiz, Masquerade Party in 1974; 3 For the Money in 1975; It's Anybody's Guess in 1977, which reunited Let's Make a Deal announcer Jay Stewart with Hall, who also hosted the show, and the Canadian-based The Joke's on Us in 1983. Hall filled in as guest host on several daytime game shows while Let's Make a Deal was on NBC, most notably What's This Song? and PDQ. In 1979, Hall hosted the only game show since Video Village which he did not produce, Goodson-Todman's All-New Beat the Clock.

Later career [edit]

Hall still makes occasional television appearances. He appeared as himself on "The Promise Ring" episode of That '70s Show in 2001. He played the host of a beauty pageant who schemed to become "the world's most powerful game show host" in the Disney animated series American Dragon: Jake Long. Monty appeared on GSN Live on March 14, 2008, and hosted a game of Let's Make a Deal for Good Morning America on August 18, 2008, as part of Game Show Reunion week. He appeared with his wife on The Newlywed Game hosted by Bob Eubanks on May 18, 2010.

In summer 2009, CBS announced that it was reviving Let's Make a Deal on its daytime schedule. The show premiered on October 5, 2009, with Wayne Brady as host. Hall is credited as "Creative Consultant," and as co-creator of the format (with Stefan Hatos). Hatos/Hall Productions is credited as co-production company (with FremantleMedia).^[5] During the week of March 22, 2010, Hall hosted several segments of the "Deal" alongside Brady. He, along with Carol Merrill, made a second appearance on the CBS version on March 1, 2013, as part of the 50th anniversary celebration.

Honors [edit]

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,^[6] and in 2002, he was also inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.^[7] Hall thus became one of only two game show hosts on both Hollywood's and Canada's Walks of Fame, the other being Alex Trebek. In May 1988, the Government of Canada bestowed on him the prestigious Order of Canada for his humanitarian work in Canada and other nations of the world. For many years, he has been associated with Variety, the Children's Charity, helping to raise millions of dollars through their telethons and other related fund-raisers.

Hall 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.

Personal life [edit]

Education [edit]

Hall graduated from St. John's High School. Hall also graduated from the University of Manitoba, where he majored in chemistry and zoology, receiving his Bachelor of Science degree.

Family [edit]

He has been married since 1947 to the former Marilyn Plottel, and he has two daughters (actress and Tony Award winner Joanna Gleason and Sharon Hall, head of television at Alcon Entertainment) and one son (Richard Hall, a television producer).

Other [edit]

In addition to his work on game shows, Hall was a radio analyst for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League during the 1959–60 season.^[8] Between 1956 and 1960, Hall worked as one of several rotating hosts of NBC Radio's Monitor weekend broadcast.^[9] At least one recording of Hall on Monitor is known to exist.

"The Monty Hall Problem" [edit]

Because of his work on Let's Make a Deal, Hall's name is used in a probability puzzle known as "The Monty Hall Problem," which examines the counter-intuitive effect of switching one's choice of doors, one of which hides a prize, if "Monty" reveals an unwanted item behind a door the player did not choose. Hall himself gave an explanation of the solution to that problem in an interview with The New York Times reporter John Tierney in 1991.^[10] In the article, Hall pointed out that because he had control over the way the game progressed, playing on the psychology of the contestant, the theoretical solution did not apply to the show's actual gameplay.

The puzzle was mentioned in an episode of the first season of the television drama NUMB3RS, in the 2008 movie 21, and in the novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. A detailed explanation and rationale for the solution to this problem is presented in the book The World's 200 Hardest Brainteasers by Gary Gruber.^[11] In 2011, it was showcased on an episode of the show MythBusters.

References [edit]

External links [edit]

• Monty Hall at the Internet Movie Database
• Monty's Bio at letsmakeadeal.com
• CBC Digital Archives profile of Monty Hall (1970)