Robert Leland is a television and radio personality and game show host known professionally as Bob Eubanks, born on 8th January 1938 in Flint, Michigan USA, and is perhaps still best known for recurrently hosting “The Newlywed Game” show from 1966. Bob has received an Emmy Award lifetime achievement from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
Have you ever wondered how rich Bob Eubanks is? According to sources it has been estimated that Bob Eubanks’ net worth is $25 million, as of mid-2016, accumulated by becoming one of the most successful TV and radio personalities of the twentieth century. Bob also served as a manager to country music stars such as Marty Robbins, Barbara Mandrell and Dolly Parton, which significantly increased his net worth. Since he is still active in the entertainment industry, his net worth continues to grow.
Bob Eubanks Net Worth $25 Million
Although born in Flint, Michigan, Bob was raised in Pasadena, California where he grew up listening to the music of artists such as Frank Sinatra and Doc Watson. At a young age, Eubanks became a child model, doing photo shoots for advertisements where he got the chance to meet his idol, Gene Autry. He also watched popular television and quiz game shows, being largely influenced by Cary Grant, Buddy Hackett and Howard Hughes. He went to Pasadena High School and upon matriculation worked in several Cinnamon Cinder nightclubs as a disc jockeys, ultimately becoming one of California’s most popular, and establishing his net worth.
One of Bob’s first experiences in working at a radio station was joining KRLA 1110 in Pasadena as a disc jockey, and later as an overnight show host. He was soon promoted to the morning drive slot, and later to the 6-9 evening slot. In 1966, Eubanks was offered to host a new game show called “The Newlywed Game” which would premiere on ABC the same year. The show turned out to be an instant hit, and was ranked in the top three daytime game shows for five consecutive years from 1968 to 1973, which made Bob famous among the public, mostly for his youthful energy and ability to approach the contestants, asking them various questions. He was widely known for using his catchphrase “makin’ whoopee”, when refering to marital sexual intercourse.
When not taping, he was also a producer of concerts for such popular bands as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Supremes, and became the manager of Dolly Parton, Barbara Mandrell and many others. Bob signed an exclusive live-performance contract with Merle Haggard, with whom he produced over 100 dates per year for almost ten years. Bob’s net worth also benefited significantly.
After more than two decades of his work on the show, Eubanks left “The Newlywed Game” in order to pursue his other interests. He then hosted a number of popular game shows such as “Rhyme and Reason”, “Card Sharks”, “Dream House”, Trivia Trap”, “The Diamond Head Game”, “Powerball: The Game Show” and “Family Secrets”.
Some of his most recent activities as a television host include NBC’s “Most Outrageous Game Show Moments” specials, and the “$250 000 Game Show Spectacular”. Apart from hosting shows, Eubank also made other notable appearances in the TV sitcoms “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”, “Kenan&Kel” and “That ‘70s Show”. For a few years, Bob was also the host of the Miss California USA Pageant and Mrs. International Pageant, between 2000 and 2003. Eubanks’ autobiography “It’s in the Book, Bob” was published in 2004.
When it comes to his private life, Bob was married to athlete Irma Brown from 1969 until her death in 2002. Eubanks remarried two years later, to Deborah James. He has three children from his first and one from his second marriage.
The Newlywed Game, I Love the '70s: Volume 2, Trivia Trap, Dream House, All Star Secrets, Rhyme and Reason, The Diamond Head Game, Card Sharks, Powerball: The Game Show, Family Secrets
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Trademark
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His silly persona
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The catchphrase - "Makin' Whoopee".
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Quote
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I was a smart-ass, snot-nosed kid. I walked with a certain swagger and style that was different from the typical hosts at the time. I was young and into rock and roll. Times were changing and the networks wanted their game shows to push the envelope more, which I was willing to do.
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There are a lot of dogs in the game show business, and I've hosted my fair share of them. Sometimes you have to put your ego aside and say yes, even when you know it's going to be a disaster. One show in particular, The Diamond Head Game, was such a piece of you know what. They took a poorly designed game, shot it in Hawaii, and thought it a good idea. I hated every minute of hosting it. Luckily, it didn't hurt my career.
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Bill (Cullen) took me under his wing and helped me develop my own voice as a host. He was always warm and treated me with respect. What you saw on TV, he was like that in real life as well. A sly sense of humor, very intelligent, made anyone feel like the most important person in the room. A wonderful mentor who I continue to miss today.
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Chuck Barris was a genius. Crazy, no doubt, but a genius. He never took his shows too seriously because he knew game shows were a silly genre, but at the same time he knew the right mix of creativity and insanity to make them ratings hits. He was one of the true renegades in the business.
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Fact
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As of 2011, he became the first game show host ever to host the same show for 45 years.
Before he was a successful game show host, he used to work at JCPenney Department Stores.
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His parents were John Ortho Leland Eubanks, a barber, and Gertrude Eubanks, a housewife.
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He played the guitar.
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Moved to Pasadena, California in 1940.
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Ranked #9 on Life's 15 Best Game Show Hosts.
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His second wife, Deborah James is a wedding/events coordinator in Ventura, California and has her own company, Bella Vita Events.
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Ranked #10 as GSN's Top 10 Game Show Hosts of All Time.
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As a teenager, he grew up watching quiz and game shows that led him to being a game show host.
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Before he hosted the revamp version of Card Sharks (1978) for CBS, he made a guest appearance on the original Card Sharks (1978) that was hosted by Jim Perry for NBC. At the time, he was there to promote his short-lived game show All Star Secrets (1979).
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His parents were originally from Missouri.
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Was employed at Mark Goodson Productions from 1984 to 1989.
Graduated from Pasadena High School in Pasadena, California, in 1955.
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Has the distinction of hosting two longest-running game shows in television history for almost 35 years, 1 in front of Alex Trebek, and 2 behind Bob Barker and Wink Martindale. He hosted The Newlywed Game (1966), for more than 30 years, in between ABC and syndication, and Card Sharks (1978), for 4 1/2 seasons on CBS.
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Was the second choice to host the revamp version of Card Sharks (1978) for CBS, when fellow game show host, Jim Perry who was Mark Goodson's first choice to host the show, a second time, when he was already under contract with NBC, hosting the immensely-popular game show Sale of the Century (1983).
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He alongside Chuck Woolery and Jamie Farr was one of the three rotating hosts of the $250,000 Game Show Spectacular at the Las Vegas Hilton, until the show closed in April 2008.
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His first wife, Irma Brown, was a ranch forewoman and a gifted artist. They purchased a 20-acre portion of a working cattle ranch, before expanding to 26 acres.
When he was growing up, he enjoyed listening to music the most. At least two singers named him as Eubanks's favorite childhood radio heroes were: Doc Watson and Frank Sinatra.
He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Television at 6712 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.
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Was a deejay on Los Angeles radio station KRLA, where he was replaced by Bob Hudson as morning man in 1963.
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Sub-hosted for Casey Kasem on "American Top 40" twice -- January 9, 1982 and April 16, 1983.
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Helped finance The Beatles' first performance at the Hollywood Bowl.
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Has hosted 4 different versions of The Newlywed Game in as many decades
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Has been a commentator of the Tournament of Roses Parade for L.A. television station KTLA from 1978 to present.
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Bob Eubanks was a guest on the new I've Got a Secret (2000) program on the Oxygen Cable Channel in December 2001. His "secret" was that he was Dolly Parton's agent in the 1960s and 1970s.