Hosting a game show is something of an art. You've got to be amiable but authoritative, and you've got to make it look easy. You've got to look happy when a contestant walks away with thousands of dollars (or even millions, at this point) and you've got to look contrite when a contestant loses -- especially if due to a bad answer. You've got to project warmth, seem approachable and always appear ready for fun, even when enforcing the rules.

Since the first quiz shows of the late 1940s, through the infamous scandals of the 1950s, up until the present day of huge cash prizes, game-show hosting has been an amazing long-term gig for the people -- almost always men -- who get the job. Who, then, are the 10 greatest game-show hosts in history? Check out our after the jump.

The term "adult video games" sounds admittedly dirty, so we'll steer clear of that and call CBS Consumer Products' upcoming line of TV series-based titles "grown up."

CBS announced in a press release that they're breaking out a line of games related to hit shows that aren't exactly on the kids' radars -- what with their rock n' roll and their Hula-Hoops and their "Beavis and Buttheads." You'd expect to see console or computer games based on The Clone Wars or Battlestar Galatica, but Diagnosis: Murder and Hollywood Squares? What would Paul Lynde say?

But, those latter two shows are on the list, with a PC & Mac game heading our way in 2010 for Diagnosis and an iPod Touch and iPhone game of Squares coming next year.

There will come a time, no doubt, when every show on TV will be turned into a video game to delight and distract us from all the other important stuff we're supposed to be doing in our lives.

CBS is stepping up to help contribute to our delinquency with a new slate of TV-based video games. They've already got two 'CSI' games on shelves, and six more are in the works for a number of systems, including the Wii, Nintendo DS, iPhone and iPod Touch.

We thought we'd help out by supplying a few possible scenarios for these upcoming games.

When I was a kid, I remember watching Soupy Sales. He had a children's show, The Soupy Sales Show, on channel five in the New York area and he was a wacky, funny guy. He had bizarre creatures around him, puppets named Pookie and White Fang and Black Tooth. Soupy did outrageous things and often ended up with a pie in the face. In a lot of ways, there might have been no PeeWee Herman if there hadn't been a Soupy Sales. In my memory, I always liked Soup and liked his show. On Thursday, Soupy Sales died at the age of 83.

In addition to The Soupy Sales Show, Soupy was a comedian. He played clubs and did shtick, and all through the 1960s and 1970s he was a regular on game shows, including What's My Line, To Tell the Truth, Match Game and Hollywood Squares.

The Price is Right ... Hollywood Squares ... Family Feud ... see where they rank on our list.

Come on down ... you're the next reader of AOL TV's Top 20 Game Show countdown, our list of the finest tube efforts to have contestants name that tune, make a love connection and guess if the price is right.

Did your favorite game show make the cut?

Survey says: Keep reading to find out.

Veteran Match Game panelist Brett Somers has died at age the age of 83.

I was going to say that Somers "was" married to Jack Klugman, but an interesting fact: even though they separated in 1974, while The Odd Couple was on the air, they never divorced! Somers played Klugman's ex-wife on the show.

Besides her many game show appearances, Somers also guest starred on The Love Boat, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Love, American Style, Barney Miller, Battlestar Galactica (the original), The F.B.I., The Defenders, Ben Casey, Naked City, and many other shows.

Somers died of cancer in Westport, CT on Saturday. Her co-star Charles Nelson Reilly died earlier this year.

Update: GSN is having a marathon this Saturday from 9am to 4pm, featuring Somers' Match Game appearances and a Password where she guested with Jack Klugman.

Aw, this is sad news: longtime Match Game panelist Charles Nelson Reilly has died at the age of 76.

Of course, he was known for a lot more than that. He won a Tony Award in 1962 for his work on Broadway in How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. Reilly was also an acclaimed director, directing such plays as The Belle of Amherst and The Gin Game. He also directed several episodes of the TV show Evening Shade. He was a regular on The Ghost and Mrs. Muir and appeared on many other shows, including Hollywood Squares, Love Boat, Nanny and the Professor, Lidsville, Here's Lucy, Love, American Style, Amazing Stories, Family Matters, The Drew Carey Show, SpongeBob SquarePants, and The X-Files.

He died of pneumonia in Los Angeles on Friday.

The New York Post is reporting that Bravo is editing all of comedian Kathy Griffin's standup specials, because she makes several jokes about Anna Nicole Smith on them.

I actually thought of this when Anna Nicole died, how Kathy Griffin used to joke about Anna Nicole's reality show (and the fact that it would cause Daniel to go into rehab - ouch), how Anna Nicole acted, how she seemed when both of them were guests on The Hollywood Squares. It must be odd when a major part of your act actually dies, tragically and young, and you can't use that material anymore. I'm sure some comedians would still do it, but Griffin doesn't want to because she's genuinely sad about what happened.

Griffin just finished a new special for Bravo titled Everyone Can Suck It.

[via TV Tattle]

There is an interesting post over at YesButNoButYes on ten infamous game show moments. There are a couple good ones, like the guy who lost on the first question of Millionaire, and a couple classic Family Feud and Newlywed Game answers.

Unfortunately, it's more a good idea for a list than an actual good list, because their definition of "Game Show" is insane. I just don't get the reasoning behind adding moments from The Bachelorette, Big Brother, and Top Chef. Especially when there are so many great moments from actual game shows that could have been added.

Some non-reality show contenders for such a list: From The Price Is Right, recently there was a guy who kept bidding 420 (video after the jump). Going back in the TPIR archive there was the time when a rather buxom woman was so excited to be comin' on down that she didn't realize her boobs had bounced right out of her tube top.

So, what do you get when you mix comedian Paul Lynde, the rock group KISS, and Halloween? You get one funky holiday special.

Below (after the jump) is a rare video of a 1976 Paul Lynde Halloween special, featuring KISS and a woman who I believe it Margaret Hamilton from The Wizard of Oz, because Lynde calls her "Margaret" and she's dressed like, well, the witch from The Wizard of Oz. Hard to tell though, since she doesn't speak much and the video is a bit grainy. Might be a bit young to be her.

It's a classic clip though. Lynde is wearing a glittery tux that would make Liberace proud, along with one of those 70s bowties that make you feel the person could take off any moment and fly around the city. Lynde gets off a few good one-liners too, but he was always known for that on The Hollywood Squares.

Wayland Flowers may not be with us any longer (he died in 1988), but his famous puppet is still going strong. Madame has her own web site, and is now controlled by another puppet master. Seems she was devastated after Flowers' death, and is only now starting to perform again:

"I stayed in my box for what seemed like an eternity to my many fans, only coming out for the occasional dry martini and foot massage...well, a girl can't allow herself to go to pot!"

Madame is going to be perform again, though there are no dates posted on the site yet. However, you can see photos of Madame with her celeb friends, including Whoopi Goldberg, Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Stewart, and Robin Williams. There's one of Wayland Flowers and Joan Rivers, and I swear I thought it was Madame at first.

(There must be a bunch of readers in their 20s saying to themselves right now, "Who the hell is Madame?!?" Heh.)

Of course, your interest in this probably depends on how much you can stand the humor of Gottfried. Me? I've always found him rather humorous, whether it's guest appearances on sitcoms, game show, or his Aflac commercials.

It probably helps if you read his blog entries the right way. Just close your eyes and imagine the blog entries being read by Gottfried in that voice of his. Oh, wait, if you close your eyes you won't be able to see the blog. OK, try this: read the words but still try to imagine it being read in his voice. Yeah, that'll be better.