Ralph Pierre LaCock (March 30, 1926 – August 15, 2024), better known by his stage name Peter Marshall, was an American game show host, television and radio personality, singer, and actor. He was the original host of The Hollywood Squares from 1966 to 1981 and had almost fifty television, movie, and Broadway credits.
Marshall was given his stage name by John Robert Powers. Powers had chosen the last name Marshall for Peter's sister (who later chose to use Joanne Dru instead), and Peter adopted it early in his career and paired it with an anglicized version of his middle name.[2][3]
Early life
Marshall was born Ralph Pierre LaCock on March 30, 1926 to Ralph and Jean LaCock, a show business family, in Clarksburg, West Virginia.[4][5] Following his father's suicide when Marshall was 10, he moved to New York City to be with his mother, a costume designer.[5] After he graduated from high school, he was drafted into the
U.S. Army in 1944 and stationed in Italy.[5][6] He was originally in the artillery, but was recruited to be a disc jockey at a radio station in Naples. He was discharged in 1946 with the rank of staff sergeant.[7]
Although Marshall occasionally worked in film and television, he could not find regular work in the industry until his friend Morey Amsterdam recommended him to fill in for Bert Parks (who emceed the pilot) as the host of the game show The Hollywood Squares in 1966.[5]
Though Marshall did not initially want the job, he took it in order to ensure that rival comic Dan Rowan would not get it.[1] Marshall's grudge stemmed back to when he and Noonan had written material for Rowan and Martin, but Rowan had shown virtually no respect to Noonan when Noonan fell terminally ill in the mid-1960s (as opposed to Dick Martin, who was fully supportive of Noonan's fight).[1] He expected to spend 13 weeks as host, then return to Broadway, but ultimately hosted for 15 years and more than 5,000 episodes.[13][14] The show was canceled in 1980,[15] but production continued in syndication into 1981.[5]
Television
Marshall was the host of his own short-lived syndicated music and comedy series, The Peter Marshall Variety Show, which aired during the 1976–1977 season in markets in the United States.[16]
After the completion of the final run of The Hollywood Squares in 1981, Marshall continued working in game shows and playing character roles.[5] He appeared on the game shows Fantasy (1982) with cohost Leslie Uggams,[17]All-Star Blitz (1985),[7]Yahtzee (1988),[7] the "East Hollywood Squares" skit on In Living Color (1994),[18] and Reel to Reel (1998).[19]
In 1986, Marshall portrayed Bob Kenny, game show host accused of murder of a game show contestant on an episode "To Live and Die on TV" on Sledge Hammer!.[20]
In 1989, Marshall hosted the unaired pilot for 3rd Degree! (a Burt & Bert Production in association with Kline & Friends). When the series was picked up for syndication, show producer Bert Convy decided to leave his position as the host of the syndicated edition of Win, Lose or Draw and take Marshall's place on 3rd Degree without informing Marshall. Marshall filed a lawsuit against Convy for the action, but later dropped it after Convy's diagnosis of terminal brain cancer was made public.[21]
In 2002, he returned to the new version of The Hollywood Squares as a panelist during a Game Show Week hosted by Tom Bergeron. Marshall occupied the prestigious center square. For one day that week, Marshall took his old position at the podium to host while Bergeron was the center square.[7]
Other work
Marshall hosted a popular mid-day radio show for more than 15 years on the Music of Your Life radio network.[22] Marshall, along with co-host, singer Debby Boone, are featured in a successful infomercial presented by Time Life, the Music of Your Life Collection. Featuring hit songs from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, the infomercial was re-released in 2016 after selling more than a million CDs a few years prior.[22]
In 1982, he had a small role in the film adaptation of Annie as radio announcer Bert Healy.[16]
In 2002, Marshall published a book about his experiences, Backstage With The Original Hollywood Square.[24] In 2009, he appeared on television promoting compact disc hits from the Big Band era, and also hosted a two-hour PBS special, The Big Band Years. In 2010, Marshall, along with Monty Hall and Wink Martindale, appeared with their wives on a special Game Show Legend version of The Newlywed Game. The special was hosted by Bob Eubanks; the Martindales won the game.[25]
In 2012, Marshall hosted an entertainment-filled memorial service in Branson, Missouri, for singer Andy Williams.[26] In 2014, Marshall returned to West Virginia to host four games of The West Virginia Squares as part of Charleston's FestivALL. The game, which featured questions about the state's history, included West Virginia notables such as Joyce Dewitt and Landon Murphy.[27][28] In 2017, he narrated the Rose Marie documentary film Wait for Your Laugh.[29]
Marshall retired from the entertainment industry in 2021, following a bout with COVID-19.[1]
Theater
Marshall's Broadway credits include Skyscraper[30] and La Cage aux Folles.[31] Marshall appeared in the London 1962 West End production of the musical Bye Bye Birdie,[32] a satire on American popular culture in the 1950s inspired by singer Elvis Presley receiving a draft notice into the Army. Marshall played the lead character of Albert Peterson, who writes a song for the pop-singing sensation Conrad Birdie (played by Marty Wilde), opposite Chita Rivera.[33] The production ran for 268 performances.[34]
Diagnosed with COVID-19 in January 2021, and discharged from a hospital in February in what was considered a hospice situation, Marshall survived the virus at home with a new doctor and 24-hour nursing care.[37] Marshall's 68-year-old son, David LaCock, died in August 2021 from COVID-19 in Hawaii.[38]
^Seaton, Carter Taylor (September 27, 2018). "Peter Marshall". Huntington Quarterly. Archived from the original on November 5, 2021. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
^ ab"Music of Your Life Is on the Move" (Press release). Music of Your Life. Marketwired. June 20, 2016. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved March 30, 2020 – via Yahoo! Finance.
^Meeks, Eric G. (2012). Palm Springs Celebrity Homes: Little Tuscany, Racquet Club, Racquet Club Estates and Desert Park Estates Neighborhoods (Kindle). Horatio Limburger Oglethorpe. p. 429. ASINB00A2PXD1G.
^"Pete LaCock". Retrosheet.org. Archived from the original on August 12, 2019. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
^writer, a Times staff (October 11, 2007). "Game shows get hall of fame". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on July 10, 2020. Retrieved September 4, 2017.