My Favorite Game Show Hosts. Did Bob Barker Make The List?

The passing of Bob Barker has put game show hosts in the national conversation and got me thinking. Who were my favorite game show hosts? Would Bob Barker have made my TopTen?

I’m not a game show addict, but I have seen enough through the years to have my personal choices. How would my list compare to yours?

• 10 – Ed Grennan. Who? Mr. Grennan was a Chicagoan who hosted the high school quiz bowl show “It’s Academic.” How could I fail to list the man who hosted my television debut?
• 9 – Gene Rayburn. The original host of “The Match Game.” Before it got silly.
• 8. – Alex Trebek. I know it is heresy to say this but during my appearance on “Jeopardy!” I found Mr. Trebek cold and unfriendly. I wonder if the same could be said about my choice at Number 7.
• 7. – Art Fleming, the original “Jeopardy!” host, from the pre-electronic board day. On TV, he seemed like a nice guy, the type who wouldn’t try to prove he was smarter than you were.
• 6. – Vanna White. Not exactly the host of “Wheel of Fortune” but the woman who brought joy to the life of our son Michael, who as a one-year-old toddler would zoom up to the TV whenever he heard Vanna’s voice.
• 5. – Richard Dawson. No one could kiss the ladies like he could. Had he still been host, maybe my family would have been selected for “Family Feud.” We came close!
• 4. – John Charles Daly. Never was there a more sophisticated host than Mr. Daly, Sunday evenings on “What’s My Line?”
• 3. – Regis Philbin. I tried so hard to be a contestant on “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” I just wanted to hear Regis say to me ‘Is that your final answer?”
• 2. – Allen Ludden. “College Bowl” and “Password.” A double-threat, even before he hooked up with Betty White.
• 1. – Hugh Downs. I learned how to solve puzzles by watching “Concentration.” Maybe my fascination with him was that he looked so much like my dad.

That’s my list and I’ll stand by it. Who would you add or delete?