If you grew up in the 60s or happen to love watching old gameshow reruns on cable, then
chances are you've probably seen the classic tic-tac-toe-ish program The Hollywood Squares.
It debuted on NBC in 1966 and ran until 1981.
Since then it has been revived twice – first in 1986 and again in 1998.
The show's premise is fairly simple.
The board of the game is laid out in a three-by-three grid with open-faced cubes – each of these
being occupied by a celebrity panelist sitting at a desk and facing the audience and contestants.
These celebs are then asked a series of questions by the show's host while the contestants are
tasked with judging the truth of the answers given by the stars in order to gain squares
in the right pattern.
Just like in tic tac toe, if the contestants manage to line up three squares in a role,
they win.
One of the things that made the game show so memorable was the comedic answers, known
as 'zingers', often provided by the celerity panelists.
The show's production team typically were the ones that came up with these humorous
quips, which meant that at least some of the program was indeed scripted, while the gameplay
was not.
Peter Marshall hosted the original incarnation of The Hollywood Squares from 1966 to 1988.
He additionally held this post for the nighttime syndicated version of Hollywood squares from
1971 to 1981.
Marshall is a multi-talented star who throughout his career amassed more than 50 TV, film,
and Broadway credits.
While to the viewing public, Peter seemed to be a carefree, typically jovial man who
had a knack for witty one-liners, in truth, his personal life has been rife with turmoil
and heartache.
At 95, the West Virginia native lives in Palm Desert, California.
His health has been steadily deteriorating in recent years, and most recently, he survived
a bout with COVID-19 in early 2021.
At first, Marshall's doctors were almost certain that he was going to succumb to the respiratory
infection, but fortunately, he managed to survive the disease debilitating disease that
has turned the world as we know it upside down for the last two years.
In this video, we'll be taking a closer look at Peter Marshall's life and career.
You'll likely be surprised what this man has gone through over the 9+ decades that he has
been circling the sun on this blue rock.
His story is one that isn't always easy to tell, but throughout all of his struggles,
he has managed to maintain an air of dignity.
So, let's go ahead and dive on in, starting by taking a trip back in time to see what
his childhood and early adult life was like.
Tragedy Struck Early On
There is little that is more heart-wrenching than losing a parent to death.
Peter Marshall was born Ralph Pierre LaCock on the 30th of March, 1926, to parents Ralph
and Jean LaCock.
Marshall, who was given his stage name early on in his career by actor and modeling agency
founder John Robert Powers, grew up in Huntington, West Virginia.
He was reared in a show business family.
His mother was an aspiring costume designer who worked for Macy's as a sales associate,
while his father, who had a love for theater, worked as a pharmacist.
At the tender age of 10, the unthinkable happened when Marshall's dad committed suicide.
Little is known about the reasons that pushed Ralph to take his own life, but it's conceivable
that financial issues and depression led him to this grisly fate.
Following his father's death, Peter moved to the Big Apple, New York City, to live with
his mother who was trying her best to make a career for herself as a costume designer
while putting in long hours at Macy's to put food on the table and keep the lights on.
After Peter graduated from high school, he was drafted into the armed forces in 1944.
He was stationed in Italy with the US Army and was originally in the artillery, but he
eventually was tasked with being a DJ at a local radio station in Naples.
In 1946, he was honorably discharged with the rank of staff sergeant.
Marshall's older sister, Joan, also shared a love for acting.
Under the stage name Joanne Dru, she would become a relatively successful TV and film
actress best known for her roles in films such as She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, Red River,
and All the King's Men.
In 1950, Dru played the character Denver, a sex worker, and entertainer, in the John
Ford film Wagon Train.
On that feature, she got to work alongside stars like Ben Johnson, Ward Bond, and Harry
Carey Jr.
Dru would later pass away after being diagnosed with a respiratory ailment that developed
from lymphatic edema on September 10, 1996.
She was 74 when she died in Los Angeles, California.
According to Marshall, she developed this condition due to chemotherapy that she had
received over the course of her lifetime.
Per her wishes, Dru was cremated and her ashes were scattered at sea in the Pacific Ocean.
Hopefully, you're digging this video so far.
If so, take a moment to show your support by giving us a like, subscribing, and tapping
that bell.
Don't go anywhere just yet.
Stay tuned to learn all about Peter Marshall's recent brush with death and the tragedy that
befell upon his family after his son was diagnosed with COVID-19 in 2021.
Marshall's Early Acting Career
In the early 50s, Peter was earning a living performing in nightclubs as a part of a comedy
act alongside Tommy Noonan.
Noonan and Marshall were essentially family, as Noonan's half-brother, John Ireland, was
married to Peter's sister Joanne.
Peter was first given a chance to appear on television on a handful of variety shows.
That eventually led him to make early appearances in films such as 1951s Starlift, 1959s The
Rookie, and 1962s Swingin' Along.
1958, Marshall appeared in an episode entitled 'The Big Hoax' of the syndicated police drama,
Harbor Command.
In 1963, he played Lucy's Brother-in-Law Hughie in Lucille Ball's top-rated CBS sitcom The
Lucy Show in the episode 'Lucy's Sister Pays A Visit'.
The Hollywood Square's And Beyond
Despite occasionally being given roles in movies and television programs, Peter struggled
to find regular work in the entertainment industry until his buddy, actor, writer, and
producer Moritz Amsterdam, recommended him to the producers of The Hollywood Squares
to replace the Bert Parks who had emceed the game show's pilot.
Peter initially wasn't keen on accepting the job offer, but he ended up taking it so that
his rival, comedian Dan Rowan, wouldn't get the gig.
Marshall's beef with Rowan stemmed from the time that he and Noonan had written some material
for Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In.
Apparently, Rowan showed little to no respect for the fact that Noonan had been terminally
ill at the time.
Marshall only ever expected to spend about 13 weeks hosting the program before he would
go back to performing on Broadway.
Ultimately, however, he ended up hosting the program for over 5,000 episodes over a period
of 15 years.
Peter excelled at his duties as host.
He proved to be the perfect comic foil for such wickedly witty panelists as Rose Marie,
Jan Murray, Wally Cox, and Rose Marie.
The program eventually came to an end in 1981 after NBC decided that it had run its course
the year prior.
After The Hollywood Squares had been axed, Marshall continued to work as a character
actor and game show host.
Some of his most noteworthy credits post-Squares were in 1982s Fantasy, 1985s All-Star Blitz,
1988s Yahtzee, the 1994 'East Hollywood Squares' sketch on In Living Color, and 1998s The Reel.
In 2002, more than two decades after ending his tenure as host on the original Hollywood
Squares, Marshall appeared as a panelist on the rebooted Hollywood Squares hosted by Tom
Bergeron during the show's 'Game Show Week'.
For one day of that week, Marshall even took over as host while Bergeron was the center
square panelist.
On the radio, Marshall hosted the popular syndicated mid-day program Music of Your Life
for 15 years, reaching American audiences across the country.
Marshall's final credit was narrating Rose Marie's documentary film Wait For Your Laugh
in 2017.
In 2021, Marshall finally retired from show business.
COVID-19 Ran Through Peter's Life Like A Wrecking Ball
In January 2021, Marshall was diagnosed with COVID-19 at the age of 94.
Given his advanced age and the severity of the illness, Marshall's doctors fully expected
him to die from the highly-contagious and virulent respiratory disease.
In February, he was discharged from the hospital in what was expected to be a hospice situation.
Against all odds, Peter survived the disease at home under the care of a new doctor and
around-the-clock nursing care.
In April 2021, Marshall's third wife, Laurie, told Fox News that her husband didn't think
that he was going to survive his battle with the contagion.
For the first two weeks after his diagnosis, Marshall was put into quarantine and was only
able to talk to his wife via phone.
When Laurie was finally able to see her husband, she described the outlook of his diagnosis
as 'grim'.
Even though Marshall was certainly in a high-risk category, he wasn't about to let it get the
better of him.
He simply refused to let his diagnosis be a death sentence.
Every time that he spoke to his wife, he wondered if it would be the last time that they would
speak.
Peter didn't want to go out like that.
It's that will to live that probably saved his life.
While he had to have let out a sigh of relief after coming out of that situation alive,
COVID-19 would once again rock his world when Marshall's son, 68-year old pineapple farmer
Dave LaCock, was diagnosed with COVID-19 in June 2021.
By early July, the Hawaii resident's condition had deteriorated to the point that he had
to be put on a ventilator.
A little over a month later.
Dave passed away.
Following his death, Marshall urged his followers on Twitter to get vaccinated before it was
too late to do so.
While fortunately, it looks like the pandemic - at least for right now - has entered into
a less dangerous endemic-like state, COVID-19 will forever be remembered as being one of
the worse blights to have ever plagued the world.
As of March 2022, more than 6 million people globally have died from the disease.
Peter Marshall knows first-hand the pain and misery that this virus can inflict on people.
Between COVID, his father's suicide as a child, and his sister's death in the late 90s, Peter
has had to contend with a great deal of loss in his life.
Regardless, he's still plugging along the best he can while trying to enjoy the little
time that he has left with his wife and family.
Anyway, now it's your turn to let your voice be heard.
Who do you think is the most memorable game show host of all time?
And how do you think Peter Marshall stacks up against legendary game show hosts like
Alex Trebek, Bob Barker, and Dick Clark?
Let us know in the comments.
If you've enjoyed this video and would like to show us a little bit of support, take a
second to like, subscribe, and tap that bell to turn on notifications.
That way, you can keep up with all of our latest and upcoming videos as soon as they
drop.
As always, thanks for watching!
We'll see you soon with more content like this covering some of your favorite Hollywood
stars, films, and television shows.