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Peter David Tomarken (December 7, 1942March 13, 2006) was an American television personality primarily known as the host of the game show ''
Press Your Luck ''Press Your Luck'' is an American television game show created by Bill Carruthers and Jan McCormack. Contestants answer trivia questions to earn "spins" on a randomly cycling game board. The board's spaces display cash, prizes, extra spins, sp ...
''.


Early life

Tomarken was born in
Olean, New York Olean ( ) is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. Olean is the largest city in Cattaraugus County and serves as its financial, business, transportation and entertainment center. It is ...
, the middle son of Barnett and Pearl Tomarken, who owned Dee's Jewelry store in Olean. His family was Jewish, members of Temple B'nai Israel. They relocated to
Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hills ...
, in the early 1950s. Peter graduated from
Beverly Hills High School Beverly Hills High School (shortly as BHHS or Beverly) is a public high school in Beverly Hills, California. The other public high school in Beverly Hills is Moreno High School, a small alternative school located on Beverly Hills High School's c ...
in 1960 and from
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...
with a bachelor's degree in English. Before hosting game shows, he appeared as a contestant on ''The Rebus Game'' in the 1960s. After graduating from college, Tomarken married his first wife, Dana, who later served on the Beverly Hills Board of Education from 1985 to 1993. He and Dana had three children: Jason, and fraternal twin sisters, Alexis and Candace. Tomarken worked on the magazines ''
Women's Wear Daily ''Women's Wear Daily'' (also known as ''WWD'') is a fashion-industry trade journal often referred to as the "Bible of fashion". Horyn, Cathy"Breaking Fashion News With a Provocative Edge" ''The New York Times''. (August 20, 1999). It provides i ...
'' and ''
Business Week ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'' (and before that ''Business Week'' and ''The Business Week''), is an American monthly business magazine published 12 times a year. The magazine debuted in New York City in Septembe ...
'' in New York City during the late 1960s before moving back to California to work at various
advertising agencies An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generall ...
. He made an appearance as a reporter in the 1978 film '' Heaven Can Wait'', as well as the character Roe in "The Secret Empire" portion of the short lived NBC series '' Cliffhangers''.


Game show career

He later started his own advertising firm, which put him behind and in front of the camera for many commercials in the late 1970s. His agent then suggested that he should try his hand at game-show hosting, to which Tomarken replied, "Why would I want to do that?" His agent said, "Because you work four days a month and get paid six figures!" After a pair of failed
pilots An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they are ...
for
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
— ''
Rodeo Drive Rodeo Drive () is a street in Beverly Hills, California, with its southern segment in the City of Los Angeles, known as one of the most expensive streets in the world. Its southern terminus is at Beverwil Drive, and its northern terminus is a ...
'' in October 1980 (later picked as a series for Lifetime in 1990, ten years later) and ''Duel in the Daytime'' in August 1981, both produced by
Jay Wolpert Jay Sheldon Wolpert (January 29, 1942 – January 3, 2022) was an American television producer and screenwriter. Early life Wolpert was born in The Bronx, New York City. Career Early career His first television appearance came as a contestant ...
— Tomarken got his first network job of another Wolpert production as the host of ''
Hit Man Contract killing (also known as murder-for-hire) is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or people. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of compensation, moneta ...
'' for
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
; it lasted just 13 weeks, from January 3 to April 1 of 1983. He also co-anchored a newsmagazine show on
Playboy TV Playboy TV (originally The Playboy Channel) is a pay television channel based in the United States. History The adult-oriented, commercial-free premium channel Bravo! launched in the summer of 1979. Bravo! aired two PG or R-rated B movies t ...
called ''Playboy on the Scene''. Later that year, Bill Carruthers hired Tomarken to host ''Press Your Luck'', a revival of his 1977 daytime game show '' Second Chance'', originally hosted by Jim Peck on ABC. Tomarken hosted for three seasons on
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
until its cancellation in
1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...
. In addition to hosting, Tomarken also co-produced and co-wrote the 1984
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
special ''Those Wonderful TV Game Shows''. Tomarken then hosted the pilot for ''
Wordplay Word play or wordplay (also: play-on-words) is a literary technique and a form of wit in which words used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Examples of word play include puns, phone ...
'' in October 1986 with announcer
Rod Roddy Robert Ray "Rod" Roddy (September 28, 1937 – October 27, 2003) was an American radio and television announcer. He was primarily known for his role as an offstage announcer on game shows. Among the shows that Roddy announced are the CBS game sho ...
, but Tom Kennedy hosted and
Charlie O'Donnell Charles John O'Donnell (August 12, 1932 – November 1, 2010) was an American radio and television announcer, primarily known for his work on game shows, and for his distinctive baritone voice. Among them, he was best known for '' Wheel of Fortun ...
announced the series. Next he hosted the short-lived '' Bargain Hunters'' for ABC during the summer of 1987. After a year hiatus, he returned to host '' Wipeout'' (which he also produced), which ran in syndication for one season (1988–89). Tomarken's next project was a pilot for a game-show adaptation of the board game ''
Monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...
'', which was produced by
Merv Griffin Mervyn Edward Griffin Jr. (July 6, 1925 – August 12, 2007) was an American television show host and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer, later appearing in film and on Broadway theatre, Broadway. From 1962 to 1986, G ...
and intended to air daily in syndication. Tomarken (and stations) balked at the use of a little person ( Patty Maloney) to portray "Rich Uncle Pennybags", making it impossible to sell. The project was reworked into a summer replacement weekly series for ABC in 1990; Tomarken was replaced by Mike Reilly, a contestant on the pilot, and "Rich Uncle Pennybags" was removed. He hosted several other unsold pilots, including ''TKO'' for
Mark Goodson Mark Leo Goodson (January 14, 1915 – December 18, 1992) was an American television producer who specialized in game shows, most frequently with his business partner Bill Todman, with whom he created Goodson-Todman Productions. Early life and e ...
, ''Two Heads Are Better Than One'' and ''Live Wire'' for ''Press Your Luck'' producer Bill Carruthers, ''Winds of Fortune'', and ''Show Me the World'' before the game show market stalled in the early 1990s. Tomarken then turned to working behind the scenes as a producer and writer. He joined the staff of ABC's ''
America's Funniest People ''America's Funniest People'' is an American reality show on ABC that debuted on May 13, 1990 as a 30 minute television special ''America's Funniest... Part II'', aired after the popular ''America's Funniest Home Videos''. The green-lit series, ...
'' as a segment producer for one season in 1991. He also wrote and produced episodes for ''
Real Stories of the Highway Patrol ''Real Stories of the Highway Patrol'' is a half-hour Broadcast syndication, syndicated Television show, television series which ran in the United States for six seasons from March 22, 1993 to June 29, 1998, Started in the UK, it's produced by M ...
''. He returned to the game-show arena in 1994 when he was hired by the fledgling GSN during its conception and early years in the mid-to-late 1990s, and served as host for their evening interactive telephone games, '' Prime Games'', which featured ''Decades'' and ''Race for the Numbers''. In 2000, Tomarken took his final hosting position on the
Fox Family Channel American cable and satellite television network Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through four different owners and six different name changes during its history. This article details th ...
game show ''
Paranoia Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety, suspicion, or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of co ...
''. He also appeared on several
infomercial An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of di ...
s and acted in small roles, including on the TV show ''
Ally McBeal ''Ally McBeal'' is an American legal comedy-drama television series created by David E. Kelley that originally aired on Fox from September 8, 1997, to May 20, 2002. It revolves around Calista Flockhart in the title role as a lawyer working ...
'', during that time. He semi-retired from television to work as a real estate agent. When GSN decided to revive Tomarken's most successful series as '' Whammy! The All-New Press Your Luck,'' Tomarken taped a pilot episode. Todd Newton (who also hosted a pilot) was eventually selected to host the revival, which lasted for two seasons. In 2003, Tomarken returned to GSN to participate in a documentary based on Michael Larson's run on ''Press Your Luck'' in 1984. He narrated the program, titled ''Big Bucks: The Press Your Luck Scandal'', and also gave his own take on the event. As part of the special, he hosted a segment of ''Whammy! The All-New Press Your Luck'' (making a surprise appearance to host the question round) which reunited the two contestants who competed against Michael Larson with Larson's brother, James, for a grudge match; James won, with a total of $6,695. (Michael Larson had died in February 1999 of
throat cancer Head and neck cancer is a general term encompassing multiple cancers that can develop in the head and neck region. These include cancers of the mouth, tongue, gums and lips ( oral cancer), voice box ( laryngeal), throat ( nasopharyngeal, orophar ...
.) Tomarken is portrayed by actor
Walton Goggins Walton Sanders Goggins Jr. (born November 10, 1971) is an American actor. He has starred in various television series, including ''The Shield'' (2002–2008), ''Justified (TV series), Justified'' (2010–2015), ''Vice Principals'' (2016–2017), ...
in '' The Luckiest Man in America'', a 2024 film dramatizing the events of Larson's run.


Death

Tomarken—a
private pilot A private pilot licence (PPL) or private pilot certificate is a type of pilot licence that allows the holder to act as pilot in command of an aircraft privately (not for remuneration). The basic licence requirements are determined by the Inter ...
—and his second wife, Kathleen (born June 12, 1964), were killed when his Beechcraft Bonanza A36, N16JR, crashed a few hundred feet offshore in
Santa Monica Bay Santa Monica Bay is a bight of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, United States. Its boundaries are slightly ambiguous, but it is generally considered to be the part of the Pacific within an imaginary line drawn between Point Dume, in ...
during climb-out from the
Santa Monica Airport Santa Monica Airport (Santa Monica Municipal Airport) is a general aviation airport largely in Santa Monica, California, United States, in the Greater Los Angeles area. It opened on April 15, 1923, making it one of the United States' oldest a ...
in California on the morning of March 13, 2006. The aircraft lost power shortly after takeoff and Tomarken attempted to turn back to the airport before crashing into the bay. The
National Transportation Safety Board The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and inci ...
determined that the Tomarkens' chances of survival "would have significantly increased" had the plane been equipped with shoulder harnesses in addition to lap seat belts. The cause of the crash was determined to be an improper repair to the aircraft engine that resulted in a complete loss of power. The Tomarkens were volunteers with
Angel Flight Angel Flight is the name used by a number of groups whose members provide free air transportation for passengers in need of medical treatment far from home and perform other missions of community service. Such a non-profit organization may be l ...
West, a nonprofit organization that provides free air transportation to needy medical patients. They were en route to
San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
to pick up a cancer patient who needed transportation to
UCLA Medical Center Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center (also commonly referred to as UCLA Medical Center, RRMC or Ronald Reagan) is a hospital located on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), in Westwood, Los Angeles, California, United S ...
for treatment when their airplane crashed. The charity and the Tomarken children have since established a "Tomarken Heroes" fund in memory of the couple. Tomarken and his wife are buried in the same plot at
Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery The Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery is a Jewish cemetery in Culver City, California, United States. Many Jewish people from the entertainment industry are buried there. The cemetery is known for Al Jolson's elaborate tomb (designed by Los Angeles ...
in
Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights, Californi ...
.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tomarken, Peter 1942 births 2006 deaths Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States American game show hosts People from Olean, New York American real estate brokers University of California, Los Angeles alumni Accidental deaths in California 20th-century American Jews Burials at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 2006 21st-century American Jews