Peter Marshall

Born 1926, Wheeling, Ohio County

While Wheeling native Peter Marshall (born Pierre LaCock) is best-known for hosting more than 5,000 episodes of the five-time Emmy Award-winning game show, Hollywood Squares, he is also a gifted actor, singer and entertainer.

After moving to New York in his teens, he formed a comedy team with Tommy Noonan and appeared in major night clubs, films, and theaters as well as appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show. In London, Marshall starred with Chita Rivera in Bye Bye Birdie, while his first starring role on Broadway was in Skyscraper with Julie Harris. In later years, he appeared in musicals including High Button Shoes, Anything Goes, Music Man, 42nd Street, and Neil Simon’s Rumors. In the 1980s, Marshall performed his role as George in La Cage Aux Folles in more than 800 performances.

Marshall also acted in films including Ensign Pulver, Swinging Along, and The Cavern, and as the radio crooner in Annie. In the mid-’60s, an audition to host the game show Hollywood Squares led to a 16-year run with the show. Marshall also appeared on television shows including Love Boat, Lou Grant, WKRP in Cincinnati, and Sabrina the Teenage Witch. He also hosted the 12-show Big Bands From Disneyland series for the Disney Channel, and produced and toured in a number of big band shows.

Marshall continues performing concerts and is heard nationally on the Music of Your Life radio network. In 2000, he issued the CD Boy Singer which featured new arrangements of standards and a 36-piece orchestra.