Michael Richards (born July 5, 1975) is a former American television producer,

game show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a game show host, host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating a ...

host, and

television personality Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group due to the attention given to them by mass media. The word is also used to refer to famous individuals. A person may attain celebrity status by having great w ...

. He was most notably the executive producer of the American television game shows ''

Let's Make a Deal ''Let's Make a Deal'' (also known as ''LMAD'') is a television game show that originated in the United States in 1963 and has since been produced in many countries throughout the world. The program was created and produced by Stefan Hatos and Mo ...

'' and ''

The Price Is Right ''The Price Is Right'' is an American television game show where contestants compete by guessing the prices of merchandise to win cash and prizes. A 1972 revival by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman of their The Price Is Right (1956 American game ...

'' from 2009 to 2019, and of ''

Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead g ...

'' and '' Wheel of Fortune'' from 2020 to 2021. Richards also hosted other television series including '' High School Reunion'', ''

Beauty and the Geek ''Beauty and the Geek'' is a reality television franchise that first aired in the United States. The show follows groups of "Beauties" (people — almost always women — who rely on their attractiveness and outgoing personalities but typicall ...

'', ''

Pyramid A pyramid () is a structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be of any polygon shape, such as trian ...

'', and ''

Divided Division is one of the four basic operations of arithmetic. The other operations are addition, subtraction, and multiplication. What is being divided is called the ''dividend'', which is divided by the ''divisor'', and the result is called the ...

'', and was executive producer of ''

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' (WWTBAM) is an international television game show franchise of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (British game show), British origin, created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight. In its format, cu ...

'' in 2020. In August 2021, Richards briefly succeeded

Alex Trebek George Alexander Trebek (; July 22, 1940 – November 8, 2020) was a Canadian and American game show host and television personality. He was best known for hosting the syndicated general knowledge quiz game show ''Jeopardy!'' for 37 seasons ...

as host of the daily syndicated version of ''Jeopardy!'' after Trebek's death in 2020. However, Richards resigned as host later that month due to criticism over offensive comments that he made on ''The Randumb Show'' podcast, as well as

wrongful termination In law, wrongful dismissal, also called wrongful termination or wrongful discharge, is a situation in which an employee's contract of employment has been termination of employment, terminated by the employer, where the termination breaches one o ...

and

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment based on the sex or gender of a victim. It can involve offensive sexist or sexual behavior, verbal or physical actions, up to bribery, coercion, and assault. Harassment may be explicit or implicit, wit ...

lawsuits from models during his time as the executive producer of ''The Price Is Right''. Richards hosted only a week's worth of episodes, which aired in September 2021 as part of the show's 38th season. On May 20, 2025, it was announced that Richards would join ''

The Daily Wire The Daily Wire is an American conservative media company founded in 2015 by political commentator Ben Shapiro and film director Jeremy Boreing. The company is a major publisher on Facebook, and produces podcasts such as ''The Ben Shapiro S ...

'' and would become president of Daily Wire entertainment and would also become its chief content officer (CCO). This comes following the exit of former president Jeremy Boreing in March 2025.

Early life

Richards was born in

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank had a Census-estimated population of 102,755 as of 2023. The city was ...

, and attended

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private university, private Christianity, Christian research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ, with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pepperdine's main campus consists ...

Career

Early career

Richards began his career in college where he created, wrote, produced, and hosted a weekly late-night comedy talk show called ''The Randumb Show'' at Pepperdine University. The show featured celebrity guests including Kim Fields,

Casey Kasem Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem (April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014) was an American disc jockey, actor, and radio presenter who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably ''American Top 40'', as well as the weekly syndicated televi ...

and

Anson Williams Anson Williams (born Anson William Heimlich; September 25, 1949) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as gullible, well-intentioned singer Warren "Potsie" Weber on the television series ''Happy Days'' (1974–1984), a role for wh ...

. Richards went on to intern for ''

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the fourth and sixth installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Jay Leno, it aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009, replacing ''The Ton ...

''. Between 1996 and 2003, he regularly performed stand-up comedy in Los Angeles. Richards was the second host of ''

'' and produced numerous game shows, including '' Weakest Link''. He later hosted seasons of '' High School Reunion'' on

The WB The WB Television Network (shortened to The WB, stylized as "THE WB", and nicknamed the "Frog Network" and/or "The Frog" for its former mascot Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network that ran from 1995 to 2006. It launched on ter ...

. During his early career, Richards was vice president of development and current programs for

Dick Clark Productions Dick Clark Productions, LLC (DCP, stylized in lowercase as dick clark productions or dcp) is an American multinational television production company founded by radio and TV host Dick Clark. The studio primarily produces Awards ceremony, award sh ...

. He hosted the daily movie news show ''Dailies'' for three years and served as a correspondent for the

American Music Awards The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show produced by Dick Clark Productions since 1974. Nominees are selected on commercial performance such as sales and airplay. Winners are determined by a poll of the public and ...

and the 2005 ''

Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve ''Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve'' (''NYRE''), billed since 2008 as ''Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest'', is a New Year's Eve television special broadcast by American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The special broadcasts ...

''.

CBS: ''The Price Is Right'' and ''Let's Make a Deal''

From 2009 to 2019, Richards was the executive producer of ''

'' and ''

''. He was also a candidate to host ''The Price Is Right'' in 2007 before

Drew Carey Drew Allison Carey (born May 23, 1958) is an American comedian, actor and game show host. After serving in the United States Marine Corps, U.S. Marine Corps and making a name for himself in stand-up comedy, Carey gained stardom in his own Situa ...

was chosen. In interviews of those two shows, Richards was described as "exclusionary and dismissive of longtime show employees"; he fired announcer

Rich Fields Richard Wayne Fields (born November 30, 1960) is an American media personality, author, motivational speaker, former game show announcer and meteorologist. He is best known as the announcer for the American version of ''The Price Is Right'' with ...

and held on-air auditions, similar to the ones he later used on ''Jeopardy!'', to hire George Gray as Fields's replacement. He also dismissed longtime producer, and longtime friend of

Bob Barker Robert William Barker (December 12, 1923 – August 26, 2023) was an American media personality, game show host, and animal rights advocate. He hosted CBS's '' The Price Is Right'', the longest-running game show in North American television ...

Roger Dobkowitz Roger Kurt Dobkowitz (born July 30, 1945) is an American television producer best known for his 36-year tenure on the CBS game show ''The Price Is Right''. In addition to ''The Price Is Right'', Dobkowitz also worked on other game shows, such a ...

. Richards often neglected ''Deal'' and was frequently absent from day-to-day operations. A post-producer was fired after sarcastically making an introduction that drew attention to Richards's absences. Beginning in 2013, Richards hosted a podcast, ''The Randumb Show'', which was promoted as a look at the production of ''Price''. '' The Ringer'' reported that Richards, "repeatedly used offensive language and disparaged women's bodies". In 2021, the Anti-Defamation League criticized his disparaging stereotyping of women, Jews, Asians, and the disabled on the podcast and called for an investigation, after which Richards apologized for the material and took the podcast offline. Richards was the subject of two

lawsuits from models on ''The Price Is Right''; one lawsuit was by Brandi Cochran, who alleged that CBS and

FremantleMedia Fremantle Limited (), formerly FremantleMedia, is a British multinational television production and distribution company based in London. The company was founded as Pearson Television in 1993 when publishing and education company Pearson ...

discriminated against her by firing her after she became pregnant with twins, and another was by Lanisha Cole, who claimed that Richards and fellow producer Adam Sandler (not to be confused with actor and comedian

Adam Sandler Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. Primarily a comedic leading actor in films, List of awards and nominations received by Adam Sandler, his accolades include an Independent Sp ...

) berated her in front of her peers and wrongfully terminated her. ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' stated that Richards made a disparaging comment about Cochran's pregnancy at a 2008 party, and that Richards claimed she was fired because he thought that she "would not take us to great."

GSN: ''The Pyramid'' and ''Divided''

Richards hosted GSN's 2012 revival of '' The Pyramid'' and the network's American version of ''

'', which aired on the network from 2017 to 2018.

Sony Pictures Television: ''Wheel of Fortune'' and ''Jeopardy!''

Richards left both ''Price'' and ''Deal'' in 2019 and joined

Sony Pictures Television Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production company, production and broadcast syndication, distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, California, it is a division o ...

, where he was assigned to the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

primetime return of ''

'' as an executive producer alongside host

Jimmy Kimmel James Christian Kimmel (born November 13, 1967), known professionally as Jimmy Kimmel, is an American television host, comedian, writer, voice actor, and producer. He has been the host and executive producer of '' Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', a late-n ...

and Michael Davies for the nine-episode first season of the show during the 2019–20 season. Richards also served as the executive producer for the 2021 GSN revival series of ''

Chain Reaction A chain reaction is a sequence of reactions where a reactive product or by-product causes additional reactions to take place. In a chain reaction, positive feedback leads to a self-amplifying chain of events. Chain reactions are one way that sys ...

''. For the 2020–21 season, Richards succeeded

Harry Friedman Harry Friedman (born November 12, 1946) is an American television industry executive. He was the executive producer of the syndicated game shows ''Jeopardy!'' and '' Wheel of Fortune'' from 1999 to 2020. Initially he shared the title of executiv ...

as executive producer of '' Wheel of Fortune'' and ''

'' After ''Jeopardy!'' host

died on November 8, 2020, Richards appeared at the start of the November 9 episode to pay tribute to him. Richards later filled in for two weeks as a guest host of the show, with his first episode airing on February 22, 2021. On August 4, it was reported that Richards had entered "advanced negotiations" to become the permanent host, though with other candidates still in contention. After that announcement, a lawsuit filed against Richards and others during his tenure as the executive producer of ''The Price Is Right'' resurfaced, causing controversy. On August 11, it was announced that Richards would succeed Trebek as host of the daily show, with ''Jeopardy!'' guest host

Mayim Bialik Mayim Chaya Bialik ( ; born December 12, 1975) is an American actress, author, and former game show host. From 1991 to 1995, she played the title character of the NBC sitcom ''Blossom (American TV series), Blossom''. From 2010 to 2019, she play ...

hosting future prime-time specials and spinoffs. However, on August 20, it was announced that Richards would step down after offensive comments he had made in the past emerged. It was also alleged that he had multiple conflicts of interest while participating in the host selection process. The five episodes Richards filmed the previous day, the show's first day of production on the new season, aired in September to kick off the show's 38th season. Richards initially remained executive producer of ''Wheel of Fortune'' and ''Jeopardy!'' after resigning as host, with the backing of Sony Pictures and the head of its television division, Ravi Ahuja. However, on August 31, 2021, a week and a half after Richards resigned as permanent host, he was fired as executive producer of both shows. Michael Davies from

Embassy Row Embassy Row is the informal name for a section of Northwest Washington, D.C., with a high concentration of embassies, diplomatic missions, and diplomatic residences. It spans Massachusetts Avenue N.W. between 18th and 35th street, bounded ...

served as interim executive producer for ''Jeopardy!'' following Richards's departure, and on April 14, 2022, was announced to be taking the role full-time. On March 23, 2022, it was announced that Bellamie Blackstone would take over the executive producer role for ''Wheel of Fortune''. Bialik and

Ken Jennings Kenneth Wayne Jennings III (born May 23, 1974) is an American game show host, former contestant, and author. He is best known for his work on the syndicated quiz show ''Jeopardy!'' as a contestant and later its host. Jennings was born in Edm ...

were eventually chosen as co-hosts for the syndicated version of ''Jeopardy!'' on July 27, 2022.

The Daily Wire

On May 20, 2025, it was announced that Richards would join ''

'' and would become president of Daily Wire entertainment and would also become its chief content officer (CCO). This comes following the exit of former co-CEO Jeremy Boreing in March 2025. Richards is expected to work out of The Daily Wire's headquarters in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

Personal life

Richards and his wife, Stephanie, have two sons.

Filmography

Accolades

Notes

References

External links

*
The Randumb Show
podcast backup, on

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Mike 1975 births 2021 controversies in the United States American game show hosts People from Burbank, California Living people Pepperdine University alumni Television personalities from California Television producers from California The Daily Wire people Sony Pictures Entertainment people