István Vágó (14 February 1949 in Budapest, Hungary) is a Hungarian television host and political activist, best known as the host of "Legyen ön is Milliomos!" the Hungarian version of '' Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?''.

Life

Vágó was born and raised in Budapest. His original profession was a chemist, but he found a job working for Medimpex import-export company. Vágó speaks at least five languages. When Vágó started his career he wanted to create a political show, but it was impossible to create one like he wanted (dealing with internal politics, analyzing decisions of the system) at the time so he ended up hosting quiz shows. Vágó has been hosting various game shows, mostly quiz shows, since the '70s. He has become one of the more popular TV personalities in Hungary. He is usually known as "The Quiz Professor" by Hungarians. Vágó hosted ''Millionaire'' for several years; after a hiatus the show got back on the air in 2007, with Vágó hosting the redesigned show once again. The second run proved less successful with an eventual cancellation in 2008. He was the host of

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

for 22 years, then he changed for

TV2 Channel 2 or TV 2 may refer to: Television networks, channels and stations *Channel 2 (Iran), operated by Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting *Channel 2 (Israel), a commercial television station *, entertainment and music television in Latvia * ...

, then RTL Klub. In 2009, he was the host of

, then hosted a game show ''Átvágó'', co-created by himself on Story4, which was cancelled after one season. Following the cancellation of ''Átvágó'' he announced his retirement as a television host.

Politics and views

Vágó is an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

and skeptic, and is the former president of the

Hungarian Skeptic Society The Hungarian Skeptic Society (HSS) (Hungarian: ''Szkeptikus Társaság Egyesület'') is a skeptic organisation based in Hungary. Founded in 2006, it has been a member of the European Council of Skeptical Organisations (ECSO) since 2007. Its ...

. He vocally supports the Hungarian left-wing, most notably former prime minister

Ferenc Gyurcsány Ferenc Gyurcsány (; born 4 June 1961) is a Hungarian entrepreneur and politician who served as Prime Minister of Hungary from 2004 to 2009. Prior to that, he held the position of Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports between 2003 and 2004. He ...

and the liberal SZDSZ party. He was present at antifascist demonstrations. Vágó spawned controversy when he campaigned vocally for Ferenc Gyurcsány and health minister Ágnes Horváth. In 2014 he participated in the elections as a representative of the left wing, supporting Gyurcsány's party, Democratic Coalition. In the 2014 municipal election, he ran as a candidate for local government as a joint candidate for the Democratic Coalition, the MSZP, the Co-PM, and the "European Federalists", though he told ATV that he did not understand local government politics. According to its flyer program, it would introduce a fairer local tax, abolish toll parking at unjustified locations, and take over the building, the burial cemetery of St. John's Parish in Upper Christina City on Apor Vilmos Square, and make it a playhouse. to preserve Normafa and prevent any investment planned there. In an interview with HVG, he spoke in favor of Ferenc Gyurcsány and said that he was working to make DK leader a challenge for Viktor Orbán . In January 2015, he joined the Democratic Coalition and became the leader of the party's media working group. As a member of the party's national presidency, DK XII. District Representative in September 2016, replacing Szabolcs Kerék-Bárczy, who left the party.

Hobbies

Vágó plays the guitar since his early teens, and is the

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...

of Hungarian band ''Favágók''. He is a huge fan of The Beatles and Paul McCartney.

Shows hosted by István Vágó

* ''Van benne valami'' * ''Kerék Bár'' * ''Az ország tesztje'' * ''Mindent vagy semmit'' (Hungarian version of '' Jeopardy!'', aired during the mid-1990s) * ''

Legyen Ön is milliomos! This table lists all international variants in the television game show franchise ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' that have been broadcast since the debut of the original British version of the show on 4 September 1998. International version ...

'' ('' Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'') * ''PókerArc'' ('' PokerFace''; with

Balázs Sebestyén Balázs Ottó Sebestyén (born 18 July 1977, Budapest, Hungary) is a Hungarian television presenter and winner of multiple "Story Ötcsillag" prizes. Shows Sebestyén began his career as presenter of a music request program. Since then, he ha ...

, another Hungarian television host) * ''Párbaj'' (''

Duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...

'') * ''Átvágó'' * Hungarian commentator of the ''Eurovision Song Contest'' (1986–1989, 1990–1997) * National final of the ''Eurovision Song Contest'' in Hungary (1996–1997)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vago, Istvan 1949 births Living people Hungarian television personalities Hungarian bass guitarists Male bass guitarists Skeptics Hungarian atheism activists Democratic Coalition (Hungary) politicians 20th-century atheists 21st-century atheists