Robert Kuehl "Bob" Goen (born December 1, 1954) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
game showA game show is a type of television program in which members of the public or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving problems usually for money and/or prizes. On some shows contestants compete against other players or another team while...
emcee and
televisionTelevision is a widely used telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images, either monochromatic or color, usually accompanied by sound. "Television" may also refer specifically to a television set, television programming or television transmission...
personality, best known for his work on
Entertainment TonightEntertainment Tonight is a daily tabloid-like television entertainment news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world. Kaylee Stacey is the producer...
between 1993 and 2004. He currently hosts
GSN RadioGame Show Network Radio is a live interactive internet radio game show on GSN.com, hosted by husband and wife team Bob Goen and Marianne Curan. Other co-hosts fill in when one of them is unavailable. The four-hour program features interactive games that listeners can play to win cash and other...
, an internet radio game show, with his wife
Marianne CuranMarianne Curan is an American actress, television personality and comedienne. She is currently hosting GSN Radio with husband Bob Goen.-Career:...
.
Goen was born in
Long Beach, CaliforniaLong Beach is a large city located in southern California, USA, on the Pacific coast. It is situated in Los Angeles County, about south of downtown Los Angeles. Long Beach borders Orange County on its southeast edge....
, but was raised in the city's suburb of
Lakewood, CaliforniaLakewood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 79,345 at the 2000 census. It is bordered by Long Beach on the west and south, Bellflower on the north, Cerritos on the northeast, Cypress on the east, and Hawaiian Gardens on the southeast. Major thoroughfares...
. In a 2009 interview at the Game Show Awards Red Carpet, when he was 5, he always dreamed of becoming a game show host, with the encouragement of:
Bob BarkerRobert William "Bob" Barker is an American former television game show host. He is best known for hosting CBS' The Price Is Right from 1972-2007, making it the longest-running daytime game show in North American television history...
,
Bill CullenWilliam Lawrence Francis Cullen was an American radio and television personality whose career spanned five decades...
,
Bob EubanksRobert Leland "Bob" Eubanks is an American television/radio personality and game show host, best known for hosting the game show The Newlywed Game on and off from 1966 to 2000, where he was known for using the catch-phrase, "Makin' Whoopee".-Early life:Eubanks was born in Flint, Michigan, but was...
,
Tom KennedyTom Kennedy is a television presenter who had his greatest fame in the 1960s and 1970s...
,
Geoff EdwardsGeoffrey Oswald "Geoff" Edwards is an American television actor, game show host and radio personality. Over the past decade and a half, he has been a writer and broadcaster on travel. He was born in Westfield, New Jersey....
,
Wink MartindaleWinston Conrad Martindale , better known as Wink Martindale, is an American disc jockey and television game show host.-Career:...
,
Monty HallMonte Halperin, OC, OM , better known by the stage name Monty Hall, is a Canadian-born emcee, producer, actor, singer and sportscaster, best known as host of the television game show Let's Make a Deal.-Life and career:...
, among many others, and his dream came true as a young adult.
Robert Kuehl "Bob" Goen (born December 1, 1954) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
game showA game show is a type of television program in which members of the public or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving problems usually for money and/or prizes. On some shows contestants compete against other players or another team while...
emcee and
televisionTelevision is a widely used telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images, either monochromatic or color, usually accompanied by sound. "Television" may also refer specifically to a television set, television programming or television transmission...
personality, best known for his work on
Entertainment TonightEntertainment Tonight is a daily tabloid-like television entertainment news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world. Kaylee Stacey is the producer...
between 1993 and 2004. He currently hosts
GSN RadioGame Show Network Radio is a live interactive internet radio game show on GSN.com, hosted by husband and wife team Bob Goen and Marianne Curan. Other co-hosts fill in when one of them is unavailable. The four-hour program features interactive games that listeners can play to win cash and other...
, an internet radio game show, with his wife
Marianne CuranMarianne Curan is an American actress, television personality and comedienne. She is currently hosting GSN Radio with husband Bob Goen.-Career:...
.
Early life and career
Goen was born in
Long Beach, CaliforniaLong Beach is a large city located in southern California, USA, on the Pacific coast. It is situated in Los Angeles County, about south of downtown Los Angeles. Long Beach borders Orange County on its southeast edge....
, but was raised in the city's suburb of
Lakewood, CaliforniaLakewood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 79,345 at the 2000 census. It is bordered by Long Beach on the west and south, Bellflower on the north, Cerritos on the northeast, Cypress on the east, and Hawaiian Gardens on the southeast. Major thoroughfares...
. In a 2009 interview at the Game Show Awards Red Carpet, when he was 5, he always dreamed of becoming a game show host, with the encouragement of:
Bob BarkerRobert William "Bob" Barker is an American former television game show host. He is best known for hosting CBS' The Price Is Right from 1972-2007, making it the longest-running daytime game show in North American television history...
,
Bill CullenWilliam Lawrence Francis Cullen was an American radio and television personality whose career spanned five decades...
,
Bob EubanksRobert Leland "Bob" Eubanks is an American television/radio personality and game show host, best known for hosting the game show The Newlywed Game on and off from 1966 to 2000, where he was known for using the catch-phrase, "Makin' Whoopee".-Early life:Eubanks was born in Flint, Michigan, but was...
,
Tom KennedyTom Kennedy is a television presenter who had his greatest fame in the 1960s and 1970s...
,
Geoff EdwardsGeoffrey Oswald "Geoff" Edwards is an American television actor, game show host and radio personality. Over the past decade and a half, he has been a writer and broadcaster on travel. He was born in Westfield, New Jersey....
,
Wink MartindaleWinston Conrad Martindale , better known as Wink Martindale, is an American disc jockey and television game show host.-Career:...
,
Monty HallMonte Halperin, OC, OM , better known by the stage name Monty Hall, is a Canadian-born emcee, producer, actor, singer and sportscaster, best known as host of the television game show Let's Make a Deal.-Life and career:...
, among many others, and his dream came true as a young adult. Goen graduated from
Lakewood High SchoolLakewood High School may be in reference to:*Lakewood High School — Lakewood, California*Lakewood High School — Lakewood, Colorado*Lakewood High School — St...
in 1972, years before he graduated from
San Diego State UniversityFor a railway station that serves the campus, see SDSU Transit Center.San Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...
in 1976 with a degree in telecommunications and film. In 1977, he used his college radio experience to land a part-time job at
KFOXKFRN 1280 AM is a non-commercial traditional Christian radio station licensed to Long Beach, California and serving the Los Angeles market, which runs programming from Family Radio. Its transmitter is located in Wilmington, California....
radio in his native Long Beach, which led to his first full-time job as a disc jockey/producer for
KPROKPRO is a radio station broadcasting a Christian radio format. Licensed to Riverside, California, USA, the station serves the Riverside-San Bernardino area. The station is currently owned by Impact Radio, Inc. and features programing from CNN Radio and Westwood One.The station airs mainly...
in Riverside, where he was promoted to work as a director. In 1981, he came to television, becoming a sports anchor at
KESQ-TVKESQ-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for the Coachella Valley of California. Licensed to Palm Springs, the station broadcasts a digital signal on UHF channel 42. KESQ's transmitter is located northeast of Cathedral City. The station is owned by...
, the
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. It first broadcast on television in 1948...
affiliate in
Palm SpringsPalm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, approximately 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 42,807. Golf, swimming, tennis, horseback riding and hiking in the nearby desert and mountain areas are...
.
Career
Around that time, he also served as
ESPNESPN is an American cable television network dedicated to broadcasting and producing sports-related programming 24 hours a day....
's desert-area correspondent. After almost four years in that role, he came to Hollywood, where he has hosted several game shows, including
Perfect MatchPerfect Match may refer to:*Perfect Match *Perfect Match , a game show where married couples tried to answer their spouse's questions to win money...
(syndicated, 1986),
Home Shopping GameThe Home Shopping Game was a short-lived American television game show that aired in syndication for three months in 1987 and blended the popularity of home shopping with word-identification challenges...
with co-host
Bob CircostaBob Circosta is television's first ever home shopping host and has achieved over one billion dollars in personal product sales on live television. His offices are in Clearwater, Florida, just a few miles from the Home Shopping Network's corporate building...
(syndicated, 1987),
BlackoutBlackout was an American game show that aired on CBS from January 4 to April 1, 1988. The pilot was hosted by former Entertainment Tonight anchor Robb Weller, but he was replaced by Bob Goen when the series was picked up. Johnny Gilbert announced until the final two weeks, when Jay Stewart took over...
(
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is an American television network, one of television's original "big three", which also include NBC and ABC. Like NBC, CBS started out as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System...
, 1988),
The Hollywood Game (CBS, 1992),
Born LuckyBorn Lucky was an American television show in which contestants earned mall money and prizes. It was hosted by Bob Goen and announced by Jonathan Coleman. Four contestants competed in a stunt game show taped at various shopping malls for a chance at $2,000 in mall money...
(
Lifetime TelevisionLifetime Television, often referred to as Lifetime TV, or most commonly, Lifetime, is an American television network devoted to movies, sitcoms and dramas, all of which are either geared toward women or feature women in lead roles...
, 1992) and
That's the QuestionThat's the Question is an American quiz game show on GSN, hosted by Bob Goen, which premiered in 2006. It was based on a show of the same name originating in the Netherlands, developed by 2waytraffic. The first season was shot in the Netherlands, with Canadians and Americans who live there as...
(
GSNGSN is an American cable television and direct broadcast satellite channel dedicated to game shows and casino game shows. The channel was launched on December 1, 1994. Its slogan is "Play Every Day"...
, 2006-2007), which was based on a format from the
NetherlandsThe Netherlands is a country in Northwestern Europe, constituting the major portion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east...
. His greatest success in this area came as the host of the daytime network version of
Wheel of Fortune (CBS, 1989-1991;
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices in Burbank,California...
, 1991).
Goen now trains celebrities on the art of being interviewed. He works for Media Training company, J2 Strategic Communications http://j2sc.com, alongside
Steve KmetkoSteven Kmetko is an American entertainment television host and reporter.Kmetko was born in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. His most prominent job was on the E! cable network. He had previously worked as an entertainment reporter for CBS's Los Angeles affiliate . The television station replaced him with...
,
Jon KelleyJon Kelley is an award winning American sports journalist, author, producer, and television personality. Born and raised in Lincoln, Nebraska, Kelley played four seasons as a running back for the University of Nebraska before graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in broadcast journalism...
and
Terry MurphyTerry Murphy may refer to:* Terry Murphy , American television host and correspondent* Terry Murphy , Northern Irish snooker player*Terrence Murphy, American football player...
.
Bob Goen now joins his wife on GSN Radio, playing games from 1-5 PM EST which streams online at www.GSN.com/radio. The show began on August 18th, 2008.
Entertainment Tonight
On April 12, 1993, he joined
Entertainment TonightEntertainment Tonight is a daily tabloid-like television entertainment news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world. Kaylee Stacey is the producer...
as a substitute anchor and a reporter. When
John TeshJohn Frank Tesh is an American pianist and composer of pop and contemporary Christian music, as well as a radio host and television presenter. Besides playing keyboards , he plays the trumpet and sings, and has sold over 7 million records...
left
ET on May 30, 1996, to pursue his music career, Goen was promoted to nightly anchor alongside Mary Hart.
Between 1994 and 1996, he hosted the worldwide telecasts of
Miss Universe,
Miss USA and
Miss Teen USA Pageants, all for CBS.
As
ET host, he made guest appearances on two separate movies in 1999. On September 11, 2001, he covered the attacks on the
World Trade CenterThe World Trade Center was a complex in Lower Manhattan in New York City whose seven buildings were destroyed in 2001 in the September 11 terrorist attacks...
. In 2003, he interviewed
Suzanne SomersSuzanne Somers is an American actress, author and businesswoman, best known for her television roles as Chrissy Snow on Three's Company and as Carol Lambert on Step by Step....
about the death of actor
John RitterJonathan Southworth "John" Ritter was an American actor and comedian perhaps best known for playing Jack Tripper in the ABC sitcom Three's Company.-Early life:...
.
In April 2005, a cartoon character named 'Bob Glimmer' was voiced by him in an episode of
The Fairly OddParentsThe Fairly OddParents is an American animated television series created by Butch Hartman about the adventures of Timmy Turner, who is granted fairy parents named Cosmo and Wanda. The series started out as cartoon segments that ran from September 4, 1998 to March 23, 2001...
. Glimmer, alongside 'Fairy Hart', anchored a show named 'Fairytainment Tonight'. Goen also appeared as an interviewee on a 1997 episode of the cartoon mock-
talk showA talk show or chat show is a television or radio program where one person or group of people come together to discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host...
Space Ghost Coast to CoastSpace Ghost Coast to Coast is an animated spoof talk show. The show centers on numerous characters from the 60s Hanna-Barbera cartoon series Space Ghost, in which they return to host a humorous talk show purportedly shot and broadcast from Space Ghost's studio on the Ghost Planet in outer space...
.
Personal life
In August 2004, after 11 years of serving as
ET anchor, he left to spend more time with his new wife and to pursue other projects.
Mark SteinesMark Anthony Steines is an American broadcast journalist and a co-anchor of the syndicated gossip and entertainment round-up program Entertainment Tonight since 2004. He joined the show on August 24, 1995.-Personal life:...
succeeded him.
Goen was married to Sabrina in 1988, and had a son in 1994. The couple divorced in 1997. In 2004, he married fellow television personality
Marianne CuranMarianne Curan is an American actress, television personality and comedienne. She is currently hosting GSN Radio with husband Bob Goen.-Career:...
.
In his spare time, Goen does annual charity work for his golfing tournament, “The Bob Goen Lexus Invitational”, which benefits the
Make-A-Wish FoundationThe Make-A-Wish Foundation is a 501 non-profit organization that grants wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions.-History:...
.