I Was Star Struck When I Met Double Dare Host Marc Summers in Bangor

If you were a kid in the late 80s and early 90s, you were probably a big fan of the Nickelodeon game show Double Dare. The game show for kids ran on the network from 1986 to 1993. Today Nickelodeon only shows cartoons and sitcoms aimed at teenagers, but back then they began to dabble in game shows for kids, with none bigger than Double Dare. 

It's the show that put Marc Summers on the map and gave him the dream job he always wanted. Being a television host.

I was fortunate enough to get to meet Marc Summers in person at a taping of The Nite Show with Danny Cashman at the Gracie Theater in Bangor on Wednesday night.

I've been friends with Dan Cashman ever since he called and offered me a job at the Z107.3 in Bangor doing the morning show. I politely declined him because I loved my job in Portland, even though it would have been fun to go back to the city where I started my radio career.

We found out we had a mutual love for game shows, so we often chat online about game show news. When I found out that Marc Summers was going to be a guest this week, I took the drive in the pouring rain up to Bangor to see the live taping. Afterward, Dan escorted me backstage to Marc's dressing room where I got to meet him in person.

I've had several people ask me if he is as nice as he seems on TV and the answer is an emphatic "yes." Marc is exactly the same guy in person, unlike my idol and Marc's mentor, Bob Barker.

I had to ask Marc if he tried out for Bob Barker's job when he planned to retire from The Price is Right in 2007. I had long thought that Marc would be the perfect replacement, but instead, the suits at CBS decided to go with Drew Carey and a whole new production staff that I feel has completely sucked the life and fun out of the show.

Marc began to tell the tale of how Bob was really kind of a jerk and all full of himself with a super-ego. It was something I already knew about him, but despite that, he was a legend at what he did on stage for which I have the ultimate respect. Backstage was a different story, which you can read in game show announcer Randy West's tell-all book about what celebrities are really like when the cameras are off.

Thanks Marc for taking some time with one of your biggest fans. I say "one of your biggest" because there's no bigger fan than Dan Cashman.

You can see Marc's appearance on The Nite Show with Danny Cashman on Saturday night, December 10 at 10:30 on Fox 23. At 11:30 on WABI Channel 5 and at 1:30 a.m. on CBS 13.