Peter Marshall Dead at 98 After Tremendous Career as Beloved ‘Hollywood Squares’ Host

Peter Marshall, known for his time hosting The Hollywood Squares, has died, his family confirmed in a statement on Thursday, August 15.

The TV personality was 98 years old. He died of kidney failure at his home in the Encino, California, neighborhood, while surrounded by his loved ones, his publicist, Harlan Boll, confirmed to multiple outlets.

“Our beloved husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather passed away this morning. We will love him forever,” a statement on his official X account from his family read.

Marshall hosted The Hollywood Squares for 16 years from 1966 to 1981 after filling in for Bert Parks. Initially, he only thought the gig would only last 13 weeks. Much to his surprise, it lasted far longer and earned him the love of game show fans everywhere.

“In the beginning, we were up against The Dick Van Dyke Show reruns. We languished for maybe nine months,” he told Closer in February 2022. “And then all of a sudden we started growing. The next thing you know, we were a big hit.”

He absolutely loved hosting the iconic game show, working with so many big stars along the way and creating so many cannon TV moments.

“It was so much fun to do. It was not like work at all,” he said. “We’d do a show, and then we’d break for 15 minutes, and then another show, and then we’d have lunch or dinner. We’d do five shows in five hours. It was really easy for me. I didn’t rehearse. I’d just come in and go over the questions. That’s all I did.”

Marshall is survived by his wife, Laurie Stewart, whom he wed in 1989, as well as daughters Suzanne Browning and Jaime Dimarco, and son Pete LaCock from his first marriage. He had 12 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren, along with numerous dogs and cats.

“I met Laurie when I was doing La Cage aux Folles,” he said of their marriage. “She worked for TWA and was seated next to me in first class. She had seen me in La Cage and thought I was gay! That was the beginning. I was 60 years old, and she was 25. But we’ve been together 35 years.”

Marshall opened up about tragically losing son David LaCock to COVID-19.

“It’s really very sad,” Marshall said. “He was just a wonderful boy who had eight children, six grandchildren and a wonderful wife. He was an artist. It just breaks my heart. To lose a child is just awful.”

Services were not immediate announced. However, in lieu of flowers, his family asked that donations be made to Actors & Others for Animals.

“A lifelong animal lover, Peter recently participated in a 50th anniversary tribute for Betty White’s Pet Set and hosted Doris Day’s 90th birthday celebration to benefit her animal foundation,” a post on the late star’s official website read. “In 2017, Peter narrated Wait For Your Laugh, a documentary devoted to his late friend and Hollywood Squares colleague Rose Marie. In 2002, he penned his memoir, Backstage With the Original Hollywood Square.”