Wil Herbert Shriner (born December 6, 1953) is an American actor, comedian, film director, screenwriter and game show host.

Life and career

Shriner was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, the twin brother of soap opera actor

Kin Shriner Kin Shriner (born December 6, 1953) is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of Scott Baldwin on the ABC soap opera ''General Hospital'' and its spin-off, ''Port Charles''. Early life Shriner and his twin brother, actor Wil Shriner, w ...

, and the son of Eileen "Pixie" McDermott and

Herb Shriner Herbert Arthur "Herb" Shriner (May 29, 1918 – April 23, 1970) was an American humorist, radio personality, actor, and television host. Shriner was known for his homespun monologues, usually about his home state of Indiana. He was frequently co ...

, a

Hoosier Hoosier is the official demonym for the people of the U.S. state of Indiana. The origin of the term remains a matter of debate, but "Hoosier" was in general use by the 1840s, having been popularized by Richmond resident John Finley's 1833 poem "T ...

humorist who had several shows in the early days of television, including ''Two for the Money'' and ''The Herb Shriner Show''. Wil made his first appearance on ''

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' was an American late-night talk show hosted by Johnny Carson on NBC, the third iteration of the ''Tonight Show'' franchise. The show debuted on October 1, 1962, and aired its final episode on May 22, ...

'' and then went on to be a regular on the NBC morning show ''

The David Letterman Show ''The David Letterman Show'' is an American morning talk show that was hosted by David Letterman on NBC. It originally aired from June 23 to October 24, 1980. Originally, the series lasted 90 minutes, then 60 minutes from August 4 onward. Backg ...

.'' For one season in the 1980s (1987–88), he hosted ''The Wil Shriner Show'', a nationally syndicated Group W television talk show. ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

'' described the program as "a daily variety-talk show featuring celebrity guests, segments on health and fitness, and interviews with authors and experts." He also hosted two game shows, the American version of '' That's My Dog'' (replacing Steve Skrovan) from 1993 until its cancellation in 1995 and ''

Small Talk Small talk is an informal type of discourse that does not cover any functional topics of conversation or any transactions that need to be addressed. In essence, it is polite and standard conversation about unimportant things. The phenomenon ...

''. During the early 1990s, he also hosted a weekly syndicated series about amateur and well-known inventors called ''Why Didn't I Think of That?'', which ran for two years. He also hosted the

Miss Teen USA 1989 Miss Teen USA 1989, the 7th Miss Teen USA pageant, was televised live from Orange Pavilion, San Bernardino, California on July 25, 1989. At the conclusion of the final competition, Brandi Sherwood of Idaho was crowned by outgoing titleholder ...

pageant. He spent four years as a correspondent and guest host on the ABC network morning show ''Home Show''. In a 1990 episode of the television show ''

Designing Women ''Designing Women'' is an American television sitcom created by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason that aired on CBS from September 29, 1986, to May 24, 1993, producing seven seasons and 163 episodes. It was a joint production of Bloodworth/Thomason M ...

'', Suzanne Sugarbaker (

Delta Burke Delta Ramona Leah Burke (born July 30, 1956) is an American actress, producer, and author. From 1986 to 1991, she starred as Suzanne Sugarbaker in the CBS sitcom ''Designing Women'', for which she was nominated for two Emmy Awards for Outsta ...

) references Wil Shriner as being the emcee for the 1976 Miss Georgia pageant. He began directing sitcoms in 2000, including episodes of ''Frasier'', ''Becker'', and ''Everybody Loves Raymond.'' He also directed episodes of ''Raising Dad'', ''My Wife and Kids'', ''Norm'', ''Married to the Kellys'', ''Luis'', ''Ladies Man'', ''Two Guys and a Girl'', and ''

Living With Fran ''Living with Fran'' is an American television sitcom that aired on The WB. It starred Fran Drescher and Ryan McPartlin, and was co-created by Jamie Kennedy. The series debuted on April 8, 2005, and ran two seasons before ending on March 24, 2006 ...

''. In 2006, he wrote the screenplay for, and directed the feature film ''

Hoot Hoot may refer to: Publications * ''Hoot'' (novel), a young adult novel by Carl Hiaasen * ''Hoot'', a 1996 children's novel by Jane Hissey * ''Hoot'' (comics), a British magazine published from 1985 to 1986 * ''The Brandeis Hoot'', a student n ...

'', which was released by New Line Cinema on over 3000 screens. The family film came out on DVD in August 2006. ''Hoot'' was added to the film collection of the Museum of Modern Art in 2009.Hoot's acquisition by MOMA
Retrieved May 9, 2009. He now regularly appears on the Paul and Young Ron morning radio show on BIG105.9 FM and also on Real Radio 92.1 FM. He is also the host of the weekly 'The Johnny Carson Show' podcast.

References

External links

* *
Apple Podcasts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shriner, Wil 1953 births American film directors American game show hosts American television directors Living people Male actors from New York City American twins University of Florida alumni American male screenwriters Screenwriters from New York (state)