Monty Hall
Monty Hall was a prominent Canadian-American television personality, best known for creating and hosting the classic game show "Let's Make a Deal," which aired from 1963 to 1986. Born in 1921 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Hall initially aspired to become a physician but shifted his focus to entertainment after engaging in various theatrical and radio activities during his university years. His game show became renowned not just for its entertaining format involving costumed contestants and hidden prizes, but also for inspiring the "Monty Hall Problem," a probability puzzle that sparked widespread debate among mathematicians and the public regarding optimal strategies in decision-making scenarios.
After moving to New York and then Los Angeles, Hall continued to shape the television landscape, also contributing to charitable causes throughout his life. He was recognized with numerous awards for his philanthropic efforts, including the Order of Canada and multiple lifetime achievement honors. Hall's legacy extends beyond entertainment to significant contributions in areas such as diabetes research and support for youth sports in Israel. He passed away in 2017, leaving behind a lasting impact on both television and charitable initiatives.
Monty Hall
- Born: August 25, 1921
- Birthplace: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
- Died: September 30, 2017
- Place of death: Beverly Hills, California
Canadian-born actor, entertainer, and philanthropist
Best known as host of the long-running and successful game show Let’s Make a Deal (1963–86), Hall was a television producer, an actor, and an emcee. The recipient of many awards for his generous involvement in philanthropic activities, he considered his children his greatest accomplishment.
Early Life
Born in 1921 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, to Maurice Harvey Halparin and Rose Rusen, Monty Hall grew up in his grandfather’s house, with aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and two sets of great-grandparents. Hall wanted to attend medical school and spent two years working in his father’s butcher shop to save the $150 needed for the University of Manitoba (UM) tuition. After one year, Hall’s money was gone; he had to leave school. When clothing merchant Max Freed inquired about his presence in the shop, he learned why and offered Hall the tuition. In exchange, Hall agreed to repayment, to keeping good grades, and to helping another person.
Upon his return to UM, Hall served as student body president and found his passion to be entertainment, not medicine. Hall’s decision came after he produced and starred in theatrical performances, worked at a radio station, and emceed a traveling army show. On September 28, 1947, Hall married television producer and writer Marilyn Doreen Plottel. They had three children: Joanna (Gleason), Richard, and Sharon Fay. Hall called his children his greatest achievement. When Joanna was born in 1950, Hall was working at the Canadian Wheat Board and had changed his name from Halparin to Hall. Actor Joanna—married to actor Chris Sarandon—received a Tony Award for Best Actress and Broadway’s 1988 Theatre Award. Richard is an Emmy Award winner. Sharon was president of Endemol Shine Studios from 2016 to 2017.
Life’s Work
The Halls moved to New York in 1956, and he began working for the National Broadcasting Company (NBC). He served as a sports announcer from 1956 to 1963. The Halls moved to Los Angeles in the early 1960s. He sold his show Your First Impression and emceed such shows as The Sky’s the Limit (1955–56); Cowboy Theatre (1956–57), Bingo-at-Home (1958), Monitor (1956–61), Byline: Monty Hall (1959), and Video Village (1960–1962). He held recurring roles on ER.
In 1963, Hall and Stefan Hatos created Let’s Make a Deal (1963–86). The show gave costumed contestants the chance to trade items they had with them for an unknown prize in a box or behind a door. The game show led to the development of a puzzle by Steve Selvin in 1975, and it was published in American Statistician. Selvin called this dilemma “The Monty Hall Problem” or “The Monty Hall Paradox”: There are three doors with prizes behind each. The contestant chooses one door. Monty Hall offers to change the door the contestant chose for another and also reveals the prize behind one of the doors not chosen. Should the contestant make the switch?
Although Hall did not regularly use this practice, the conclusion is that the contestant should make the exchange. Originally, the probability is 1:3 that the selected door is the correct one; after opening one door, the usual conclusion is that the probability is 2:3, the chance is doubled. Mathematicians and the public have debated the probability statistics for decades.
When Hall left Let’s Make a Deal in 1986, he devoted his time to fund-raising for various charities. After the CBS network brought Let's Make a Deal back in a contemporary format in 2009 with host Wayne Brady, Hall made appearances on the show and continued to offer advice and input as one of the show's original creators. As of 2018, the program was still airing.
Hall's awards were numerous: the 1988 Order of Canada, the highest award from the government of his birthplace; induction into the National Broadcasters Hall of Fame (1995); stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (1973), the Palm Springs Walk of Stars (1996), and Toronto’s Walk of Fame (2002); and the Lifetime Achievement Award presented at the fortieth Daytime Emmy Awards in 2013. Hall was Hollywood’s honorary mayor from 1973 to 1979, and he earned more than five hundred awards for charitable and philanthropic activities, including the Variety Clubs International Humanitarian Award (1983). He received honorary doctorate degrees from the University of Manitoba, Haifa University, and Philadelphia’s Hahnemann Medical College.
Hall died, reportedly of heart failure, at his home in Beverly Hills, California, on September 30, 2017; he was ninety-six years old.
Significance
Hall was highly regarded for his charitable work, using his celebrity status to promote worthy causes, Jewish and secular. He was the driving force behind the development of Israel Tennis Centres, and beginning in 1972, he spearheaded the annual Monty Hall Diabetes Tennis Tournament, which provides funds for the Diabetes Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. From 1985 to 1995, the annual Monty Hall Golf Classic raised money for young people who compete in the World Maccabiah Games in Israel. His work with Variety clubs, a worldwide organization sponsored by people in show business, benefited young children with limited means for improvement, in health or in education. For the contributions Hall and his wife made to the Jewish Home, the charity gave its inaugural lifetime achievement award to Marilyn and Monty Hall and named its charitable arm the Marilyn and Monty Hall Statesman’s Society.
Bibliography
Gardner, Gerald, and Jim Bellows. Eighty: From Ben Bradlee to Lena Horne to Carl Reiner, Our Most Famous Eighty-Year-Olds Reveal Why They Never Felt So Young. Sourcebooks, 2007. Still active and still involved with his family, Hall spoke in his interview about the work that is still important to him.
Hall, Monty, and Joe Durso. Growing Up Western. Twodot, 1997. This account of his boyhood includes Hall’s story of growing up in the West and includes tales from Old Al, his grandfather.
Hall, Monty, and Bill Libby. Emcee Monty Hall. Grosset and Dunlap, 1973. This book is Hall’s autobiography. It describes in detail his creation of Let’s Make a Deal, the most successful game show in television history.
Hevesi, Dennis. "Monty Hall, Co-Creator and Host of Let's Make a Deal, Dies at 96." The New York Times, 30 Sept. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/09/30/obituaries/monty-hall-dead-lets-make-a-deal.html. Accessed 29 Mar. 2018.
King, Alan. Matzo Balls for Breakfast and Other Memories of Growing Up Jewish. Free Press, 2004. Jewish celebrities share anecdotes about their childhoods. In addition to Hall’s story, there are contributions from Billy Crystal, Woody Allen, and Steven Spielberg.
Rosenhouse, Jason. The Monty Hall Problem: The Remarkable Story of Math’s Most Contentious Brainteaser. Oxford UP, 2009. This is a readable but serious explanation of the Monty Hall Dilemma, faced by contestants choosing and changing unopened boxes for prizes. Psychologists, philosophers, and mathematicians share their perspectives.