Johnny Olson - Match Game and Later Career

Match Game and Later Career

In 1973, Olson started announcing for a revived Match Game, another show transplanted from New York to California; the show's "Get ready to match the stars!" became a second catchphrase associated with him for the following nine years. Like executive producer Mark Goodson, Olson filled in on the days when a scheduled guest failed to appear in time for a taping. Olson only missed one taping of Match Game during the CBS years; Bern Bennett was his fill-in for one week of daytime shows and one nighttime show.

During the 1970s and early 1980s, while going strong with his announcing duties on Price and Match, he announced nine other shorter-lived game shows, including Now You See It, Mindreaders, Double Dare, and a revival of Tattletales, all of which shows were Goodson-Todman productions. Olson even filled in for Bob Hilton on Blockbusters and his final non-Price assignment, Body Language, both of which were also Goodson-Todman productions.

Olson's name was occasionally the solution to clues and puzzles on shows he announced for; this happened on both Now You See It and Body Language. Additionally, when "Come on _______" was used as a question in the "Super Match" portion of an episode of Match Game '78 (with then Price host Bob Barker serving as a panelist), host Gene Rayburn called Olson to center stage to read the top answer ("Come on down!").

Olson spent his off time on his spacious farm located at Buckingham Acres in Lewisburg, West Virginia.