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    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Television»TV by Decade»TV Shows - 1990s
    TV Shows - 1990s Variety 3 Mins Read

    American Gladiators

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    1 9 8 9 – 1 9 9 7 (USA)

    In 1982 an American ironworker named Dan Carr and an Elvis impersonator named John Ferraro took over a high school gym and put on a fundraiser production for the people of Erie, Pennsylvania.

    Originally called ‘King of the County’, the show was inspired by the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger film The Running Man in which strong men fought to the death for entertainment’s sake.

    The locals who accepted the challenge were electricians, truck drivers, car dealers – anyone who would savage his neighbour for $500. The feats of strength in which they engaged were crude – arm-wrestling, tug-of-war etc – and the whole thing was set to music. 5,000 people showed up.

    Ferraro had the good sense to hire a camera crew, as he hoped to sell the idea as a movie. Carr bowed out and Samuel Goldwyn Jr. told Ferraro that what he had on his hands was a much smaller production, something that would work better on TV.

    For seven seasons American Gladiators – revised to pit Average Joes in a highly-stylised physical competition against a team of superfit pros – enthralled a curious nation with its star-spangled spandex onesies, campy stage names, blow-dried personalities and punishing hits.

    Four contenders began each week, each in a separate contest, two men facing male gladiators and two women battling female foes. Contenders found their strength, agility, endurance and strategy tested as the gladiators attempted to defeat them at every step.

    The ever-changing games were bruising, tough and unusual. Among them were The Joust, Powerball, Assault, Breakthrough and Conquer, Human Cannonball, Altlasphere, Hang Tough, The Wall, Swingshot and The Maze.

    The final event was The Eliminator, a taxing obstacle course during which gladiators attacked the contestants with mock weapons (everyone was well padded) or blocked their way, trying to slow them down.

    Contenders earned points according to how well they fought their way through all this, and high scorers advanced to an elimination tournament.

    Although the names of the gladiators were not generally revealed, Marisa Pare (Lace) revealed a lot more than her name when she was featured in the October 1990 issue of Playboy.

    American Gladiators was broadcast in the UK by ITV and in 1992, ITV debuted their own version called simply Gladiators, becoming the first country to adapt the show.

    Hosts
    Mike Adamle
    Larry Csonka
    Joe Theismann
    Todd Christensen
    Larry Czonka
    Lisa Malosky
    Dan Clark
    Referee
    Larry Thompson
    Announcer
    John Harlan
    Gemini
    Michael M. Horton
    Nitro
    Dan Clark
    Malibu
    Deron McBee
    Laser
    Jim Starr
    Titan
    David Nelson
    Thunder
    Billy Smith
    Turbo
    Galen Tomlinson
    Viper
    Chuck Berlinger
    Cyclone
    Barry Turner
    Diesel
    Daz Crawford
    Sabre
    Lynn ‘Red’ Williams
    Hawk
    Lee Reherman
    Tower 
    Steve Henneberry
    Blaze 
    Sha-Ri Pendleton
    Lace
    Marisa Pare
    Sunny
    Cheryl Barldinger
    Gold
    Tonya Knight
    Zap
    Raye Hollitt
    Ice
    Lori Fetrick
    Diamond
    Erika Andersch
    Storm
    Debbie Clark
    Sky
    Shirley Eson
    Elektra
    Salina Bartunek
    Siren
    Shelley Beattie
    Jazz
    Victoria Gay

    Video

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