Peter Marshall, Longtime Game Show Host and Actor, Dead at 98
Peter Marshall, a former Broadway star and the longtime host of The Hollywood Squares, has died. He was 98 years old.
The news of his passing was confirmed by his publicist Harlan Boll, who confirmed to Deadline that the singer, actor and comic died on Thursday, Aug. 15, while at his home in the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles, Calif.
His cause of death was revealed to be kidney failure.
Marshall, born Ralph Pierre LaCock, is remembered for his 15-year run as host of the tic-tac-toe-style game show The Hollywood Squares from 1966 to 1981, during which he earned four Daytime Emmy awards. He was also nominated for two Primetime Emmys for Outstanding Achievement by Individuals in Daytime Programming.
Marshall became known for his role leading the celebrity guests who regularly appeared on the show, including Paul Lynde, Joan Rivers, Rich Little, Rose Marie, George Gobel and Wally Cox.
"It was the easiest thing I’ve ever done in show business," Marshall said in a 2010 interview for the Archive of American Television, according to the Associated Press. "I walked in, said 'Hello stars,' I read questions and laughed. And it paid very well."
But before switching gears to daytime TV, Marshall was known as an accomplished Broadway actor, making his musical debut in 1965 when he appeared in Skyscraper with Julie Harris. He made his final Broadway appearance in the original 1983 production of La Cage aux Folles.
Marshall's other theater credits include High Button Shoes, Anything Goes, The Music Man and 42nd Street. He also worked opposite Broadway icon Chita Rivera in a West End production of Bye Bye Birdie in 1961.
Before going into theater, he starred in a comedy duo with Tommy Noonan, which led to a number of appearances on television and film.
In 2002, he released a memoir, Backstage with the Original Hollywood Square, co-authored by Adrienna Armstrong, where he looked back at his years on the famed game show.
Married multiple times throughout his life, Marshall leaves behind third wife Laurie Stewart, whom he wed in 1989. The couple was previously survived a battle with COVID-19 in 2021, which left the entertainer hospitalized for weeks.
In addition to his wife, Marshall is survived by daughters Suzanne Browning and Jaime Dimarco, son and former MLB player Pete LaCock, plus 12 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his son, David LaCock, who passed away in 2021.
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