jeffery druzba is dreamy

Life With Tagline

Peter Tomarken and his wife died in a plane crash. There’s a loss to game show land.

Before I go any further I need to make the following tasteless but unavoidable joke before anyone else out in Innanet-land does and I can claim all rights and ownership:

Control tower operators reported that the last communication they received from Mr. Tomarken, who was piloting the plane, was a report of engine trouble followed by the repeated phrase, “No whammies! No whammies! No whammies!” until the plane lost contact shortly thereafter.

OK, now I can continue. As a non-celebrity, I’m constantly fed this line, by celebrities, that being a celebrity can be hell. Sure, having to choose between blowout partes in the Hamptons or St. Bart’s can be agonizing but I’ll tell you what has to be true hell: Hosting a game show named “Press Your Luck” and having that follow you around the rest of your life.

I guarantee you that, at least once a week, Peter Tomarken had to listen to some schmuck he just met say something like, “Oh Peter! You’re going to get the raw oysters? I wouldn’t press your luck!” This would inevitably be followed by an awkward pause for expected but never provided applause.

I’m sure Tomarken had it down to a science: “If they mention the show or they mention the whammies, I walk.”

I’ll bet Bob Barker long since stopped bothering doing his own shopping of any kind.
I’ll bet Lee Majors switched to using self-service tax software on a home computer as soon as he could.
And, I’ll bet Peter Tomarken stopped engaging in risky behaviors, after a while, just because it wasn’t worth it.

Seriously, do you think the guy ever went to Vegas?

Oh Peter, pop culture weeps tonight.

• March 13th, 2006
• Current Events, Innanet Finds
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