![]() But, I met Jonathan and I met Andy Felsher, met Jeff Palmer, Gary Dawson and I met all of these people that had been in the business forever. I was working at Disney, I was dating a nice girl and I, after a long series of auditions, having never hosted anything in my life, I got this job hosting this game show.Īnd I was terrible. ![]() Jonathan Goodson at the time was producing those all over the country. I’m sure you’ve seen these around the country. You know, I had done a tiny little regional game show in Florida called Flamingo Fortune, which was short lived. Uh, the directors, Bob Loudin and Steve Grant became kind of mentors for me. From a full circle perspective, the woman who was stage manager on STYD, Tracy Eskander, was stage manager on battle of the ages. I did meet a lot of people on that job that went on to be really big in game shows and TV and who stayed in my life. I loved our version of the show, don’t get me wrong, but, um, I think a lot of fans were attached to the original version and I totally understand why. I think looking back on it this many years later, maybe my version was maybe not as compelling as Pat’s was with all the stunts and all the craziness… there was something incredibly fun about Pat’s version. I went into it with a pretty good feeling because I kind of had Pat’s blessing, but was a completely different show. If somebody is going to make the money, I’m glad it’s you.” I know they’re redoing it I know I’m not going to be the host. So when I got the call saying, “Hey, they’re looking at you to for this reboot of Shop Till You Drop,” my stomach sank. And I called Pat immediately, and was like, “Oh my God, Pat, somebody just called me about your job.” He said, “Oh, no, no, no. And I’ve always admired him and admired how much he did selflessly for me. Pat was one of those guys that was there for me from the day that I moved to LA. ![]() Come in on Monday, we’ll find you a job.” I’ll tell you, for the next couple of years while I was getting my feet on the ground and getting some on-camera experience in Los Angeles, Pat gave me work, regularly. look man, I don’t want to work at a theme park forever… You’ve got this company, can I come be a PA?”Īnd he said, “Oh, you’re way too good to PA. And after the job, I called him and I said, “Hey. He had a production company that did infomercials, and he hired me to do, like, man on the street stuff in one of his infomercials when I was working at the local theme parks and I was so grateful to get something on camera. I moved to Los Angeles in the early-to-mid 90s and my first job that I ever got when I moved to LA was given to me by Pat Finn. ![]() What was the experience like for you on that show? I think Shop ’til You Drop was-you know, it was usually paired with Supermarket Sweep it felt like the little brother, you know, but I think a lot of people kind of slept on STYD. The second iteration, right? The Pat Finn version was first and then they kind of re-did it for PAX and I was the host for the second iteration of it. First and foremost, I know you from Shop ’til You Drop. So let’s start with your history in game shows. Like, there’s not a lot of new game shows being made and certainly not ones where they don’t hire some sports star or some comedian or like… for guys like me who are just traditional game show hosts, there are not a lot of opportunities. I will be honest and say, well-you know how it is. This interview has been edited for clarity and length. His career path as a presenter looks more like what you would think a game show host’s resume should look like, as opposed to ‘failed actor’ or ‘stand-up comedian looking for work.’ I sat down with JD to talk about where his career started, and how it ended up on BYUtv’s newest game show Battle of the Ages, premiering tomorrow on BYUtv and. JD Roberto may not be the first name you think of when you hear “game show host,” but maybe he should be. ![]()
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