Career planning

Bill Engvall had an allergic reaction to the proposal that he host GSN's Lingo remake: "When they asked me if I wanted to host my first thought was, 'Oh God, is my career over already?' but I actually had a blast doing it."



Nice to know that a blast was had. But game show hosting has gotten a rep as the kiss of showbiz death. Maybe it's the notorious Family Feud curse, which allegedly strikes every host of the long-running survey-fest. Yes, the curse turned all too real for Ray Combs, but current incumbent Steve Harvey seems immune. His Feud turn has producers talking to him about a syndie talk show. And his radio gig is still going strong.



Meredith Vieira is another convenient counterexample. Her Millionaire decade hardly wiped out her career, as she navigated from The View to Today. She's now retiring from her non-Millionaire jobs, but that seems to be her decision and not some baleful curse.



Alex and Pat are getting along in years, so they'll probably just pack it in sooner or later and won't worry about any new show business work. Despite a possible Achilles-tendon curse afflicting Jeopardy hosts, Alex should do okay in retirement.