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See if you can recognize all these '80s talk show hosts
There were a lot of couches and desks in late night and daytime.
Talk shows exploded in the 1980s. Oprah revolutionized daytime chat shows, which every major network suddenly wanted to keep up with The Tonight Show on NBC. Tabloid talk shows and "trash TV" became a thing. Syndication and cable meant there were far more places to set up a desk and couch.
So, think you can identify the many hosts of 1980s talk shows? We're gathering some of them here. See if you can recognize them all.
Good luck!
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Her red spectacles were a signature look.
Image: Multimedia Entertainment -
The audience sitting above the house band was known as "The Dog Pound."
Image: Paramount Domestic Television -
If Oprah was the queen of daytime, he was the king.
Image: The Everett Collection -
His CBS late night show ran for a little over a year, starting in January 1989.
Image: The Everett Collection -
Calvert DeForest played a character called Larry "Bud" Melman who often appeared on this show.
Image: NBC -
From 1986–87, Joan Rivers hosted 'The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers' for this upstart network.
Image: The Everett Collection -
This sitcom star had a punny name for his syndicated talk show. What was it?
Image: The Everett Collection -
This comedy legend's late night talk show ran for a very, very brief time in 1984.
Image: Metromedia -
This series was a pioneer of the tabloid talk show format that led to Jerry Springer and such.
Image: MCA Television -
This comic hosted the syndicated 'Nightlife' from 1986-87.
Image: The Everett Collection -
This former host of 'Real People' got his own talk show in 1989.
Image: The Everett Collection
See if you can recognize all these '80s talk show hosts
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44 Comments
You got 8 out of 11
11/11. Man, the '80s were a time, wasn't it?
You got 11 out of 11
Only one I didn't know about was Jerry Lewis having a talk show, but the picture makes it easy.
Only one I didn't know about was Jerry Lewis having a talk show, but the picture makes it easy.
10/11. I hate it when they throw in a stupid question about the channel, day, or time on a quiz that's supposed to be about (in this case) show hosts. 😒
10/11
You got 11 out of 11
Alright, let's hear it for the 1980s! WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF!
Alright, let's hear it for the 1980s! WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF!
6 (but I'm 32, okay? xD)
11/11!
7 out of 11.
''You got 11 out of 11'' -------- Alright, let's hear it for the 1980s! WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF!
No sweat 😰 11/11
Was okay, 10/11
10/11. Everything was easy except for #6. I don't really care what network she was on, as I never cared for her humor. However, I LOVED Phil Donahue and David Letterman (and later, Craig Ferguson).