Bob Eubanks, 88, hosted The Newlywed Game from 1966 until 1974, and occasionally returned for revivals until 1999. The star spoke about his involvement in the show during an episode of “The Game Show Starring Bradley Clarke” in 2021, revealing the role that Frank Sinatra played in the lexicon of the show.
During the conversation, Eubanks revealed that he had a say in which questions would be asked during the program. As reported by PEOPLE, he said, “The writers would get into a room, and they would start writing questions, and they would get bored, and they would say, ‘Oh, we gotta get it done,’ and they would come up with some stuff that, for the time anyway, was pretty rich. So they gave me that honor.”
He revealed that he “refused to ask about 20% of the questions that the writers came up with” because he was “the one who would have to take the brunt of it.” One of the questions he was uncomfortable asking involved the phrase “making love.”
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Eubanks stated, “In 1966, as I said, television was pretty quiet, and they wanted me to say ‘make love,’ because the soap operas and all of the other shows were saying ‘make love.’ And I wouldn’t do it because I think you shouldn’t have to explain ‘make love’ to your children until you were ready to do so.”
Eubanks continued, “So Sinatra had the hit record, ‘Makin’ Whoopee.’ I said, ‘I’ll tell you what. Let’s use the word whoopee, and it can be whatever you want it to be.’ So that’s how it was born, over the entire original run.”
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“Makin’ Whoopee” was a song released by Sinatra in 1956. It was included on his album, Songs for Swingin’ Lovers! It contains lyrics like: “He’s washing dishes and baby clothes. He’s so ambitious, he even sews. But don’t forget folks, that’s what you get folks, for making whoopee.”
Eubanks was the longest-running host of The Newlywed Game, but the show has also been hosted by Paul Rodriguez, Gary Kroeger, Carnie Wilson, and Sherri Shepherd. The latest version ended back in 2013.