Bob Eubanks

Robert Leland Eubanks (born January 8, 1938) is an American disc jockey, television personality and game show host, widely known for hosting the game show The Newlywed Game on and off since 1966. He also hosted the successful revamp version of Card Sharks from 1986 to 1989. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his radio DJ work in 2000. It is in front of Grauman's Egyptian Theatre, where he worked during the first years of his broadcasting career. In 2005, he received a lifetime achievement Emmy Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

Eubanks was born in Flint, Michigan, but was raised primarily in Pasadena, California, where he grew up listening to music, most notably favorites like Frank Sinatra and Doc Watson. His parents, John Otho Leland Eubanks (September 28, 1905 – April 11, 1995) and Gertrude Eubanks (née McClure; 1907–1997), were originally from Missouri. They moved to Flint during the Great Depression, where their only child was born, before moving on to California. The young boy became a child model, doing photo shoots for ads and meeting his idol, Gene Autry, during an ad photo shoot with him.

Eubanks watched popular classic television and quiz game shows. Also growing up in the 1940s and 1950s, he was influenced by Cary Grant, Howard Hughes, Buddy Hackett, and Bill Cullen. He attended Pasadena High School, where he graduated in 1955. After graduation from high school, he attended Los Angeles Pierce College (according to his commentary on a Card Sharks episode) and then went on to become one of California's most popular disc jockeys. In 1956, Eubanks worked at his first radio station, KACY in Oxnard, California. He joined KRLA in Pasadena in 1960 to do the overnight show. In the spring of 1962, he was promoted to morning drive; a year later, he moved to his long-running 6–9 pm evening slot. During most of the 1960s, he was also a promoter of concerts such as the Beatles' 1964 and 1965 Hollywood Bowl performances and the Rolling Stones during the first two years of their American tour. While still in Los Angeles, he also promoted such artists as Barry Manilow, The Supremes, Dolly Parton, Bob Dylan, Elton John, and Merle Haggard, among others.

Eubanks married Irma Barnard of Ann Arbor, an avid athlete, ranch forewoman and artist, on September 10, 1969. They had three children: Trace, a retired firefighter; Corey, a stuntman; and Theresa. In 1970, the couple purchased a 20-acre (81,000 m²) portion of a working cattle ranch, and later expanded it to 26 acres (110,000 m²). The entire family enjoyed roping and riding, with Eubanks participating in rodeos during his spare time. Eubanks is a gold card member of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. Barnard handled interior decorating, landscaping, and mounting one to two equestrian shows a year. She died in 2002 after a prolonged illness.

In 2004, Eubanks married Deborah James, a woman 29 years younger. James is a wedding/events coordinator in Ventura, California and has her own company, Bella Vita Events. The couple has a young son, Noah. In October 2010, Eubanks and James put their Westlake Village, California home on the market.

In 1966, Eubanks received a phone call from Chuck Barris, asking him to host a new game show, The Newlywed Game; the show premiered on ABC later that same year. During its debut, it was an immediate hit, and the show's popularity led the network to expand the prime-time lineup, where it had run on the air for five years.^{[clarification needed]} Only 28 years old when he started hosting, Eubanks became widely popular for bringing a youthful energy to daytime television, pressing contestants into giving embarrassing and hilarious answers. The Newlywed Game was also ranked as one of the top three daytime game shows, for five consecutive seasons, between 1968 and 1973, and was ranked in the top three prime-time game shows, also for five seasons, between 1966 and 1971.

While hosting The Newlywed Game, Eubanks was known for using the catchphrase "makin' whoopee", in reference to sexual intercourse. It was Eubanks who borrowed the term from the song of the same name, in an attempt to keep parents with young children from having to explain the facts of life because of a television show. While the network was comfortable with the term "making love", its Standards and Practices Department did not allow the use of the word "panties".

While not taping, he also pursued a career in the country music business, where he served as manager of such artists as Dolly Parton, Barbara Mandrell and Marty Robbins. The same year,^[which?] he also signed Merle Haggard to an exclusive live-performance contract, producing more than 100 dates per year with the performer for almost a decade.