Marc Summers (born Marc Berkowitz, November 11, 1951 in Indianapolis, Indiana) is an American television personality, best known for hosting the children's game show, Double Dare on Nickelodeon. He currently hosts Unwrapped and the reality show, The Next Food Network Star, both on Food Network.
Although he held various television production jobs before, Summers' career was boosted in 1986 when he was hired as the host of Double Dare. Double Dare was syndicated within two years, and the show's popularity led to other hosting jobs including the syndicated Couch Potatoes in 1989, and Nickelodeon's What Would You Do? in 1991. Summers also made celebrity guest rounds on other game shows including Scrabble, Super Password, Talkabout, Lingo, and Hollywood Squares.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Summers began appearing on television talk shows, including a stint on ABC television's Home Show. After Double Dare's cancellation in 1992, Summers co-hosted Our Home, a daily talk show aimed at homemakers, on Lifetime. After a couple of seasons on Our Home, Summers went on to co-host another Lifetime talk show, Biggers & Summers.
It was during an interview with Dr. Eric Hollander on Biggers & Summers that Summers realized he may have obsessive compulsive disorder, a realization made ironic considering that his most famous hosting work (on Double Dare and What Would You Do?) were extremely messy and would play havoc on his compulsion-driven sensibilities. His diagnosis was confirmed and treated, and Summers went public about his condition on various television shows including Larry King Live and The Oprah Winfrey Show. During this time, rumors about him verbally assaulting a child who was on Double Dare surfaced, but these were proven false. In 1999, Summers, with Dr. Hollander, wrote a book about his experience called Everything In Its Place: My Trials and Triumphs with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
During the 1990s, Summers continued work on other shows, each with varying success. He created and hosted the short-lived children's game show Pick Your Brain; co-hosted Great Day America on the PAX Network; produced I Can't Believe You Said That; and hosted It's a Surprise on Food Network.
Summers returned to Nickelodeon in 2000 as the executive consultant for Double Dare 2000, an updated version of his original show. Two years later, he was the executive producer for another Nickelodeon resurrection, Wild and Crazy Kids.
In recent years, he has returned to television as the host of more shows, including History IQ on the History Channel; the popular Food Network series Unwrapped and its spin-off game show Trivia Unwrapped; and the short-lived Game Show Network series WinTuition. In 2005, Summers became the host of The Next Food Network Star. Summers is also on the Board of Overseers at Emerson College. One of his most bizarre projects includes co-founding the soft-rock band The Happy Birthdays with Gilmore Girls star Scott Patterson.
Summers is on the short list of potential replacements for host Bob Barker when Barker leaves The Price is Right. Others include Todd Newton, Roger Lodge, Doug Davidson, and current announcer of the show Rich Fields. Summers credits Barker and The Price is Right for helping him pursue a game show career. Summers was a young page at CBS when The Price is Right premiered with The Jokers Wild and Gambit and he would often ask advice of Barker, as well as hosts Wink Martindale and Jack Barry about a hosting career. He claims it the best possible education and training in the game show field.
