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Star Search

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Star Search was a television show from 1983 to 1995 hosted by Ed McMahon, which also appeared as a remake in 2003-2004. The show was originally filmed at the old Earl Carroll Theatre at 6230 Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood and later at the Disney-MGM Studios in Orlando, Florida.

Essentially a large talent show, Star Search established a format later utilized by other programs, notably American Idol.

Contents

[edit] Rules of Original Star Search

During the course of the show, several contestants competed in several genres of entertainment. While categories were added and removed from season to season, the six basic ones stuck with the show for the duration of the series. They are:

  • Male Vocalist
  • Female Vocalist
  • Young Performer
  • Group
  • Fashion Models
  • Comedy

Similar to American Idol, potential contestants must try out to be on the show. If selected, they will compete. In each category, two people compete, a champion and a challenger. Challenger gets the advantage of performing their act first, the champion performs their act second. All acts are judged by a panel of five judges, each judge can award an act from one to four stars. Once both acts are complete, Ed reveals the scores, best average wins. If there is a tie, a studio audience vote breaks the tie in which the results are revealed at the end of the show.

Any performer must win three matches in a row, to be retired and earn an entry into the next round of the show. In this case, two new performers compete in the category the following week.

The rules for the Quarter and Semi Final shows are the same as above, only random draw determines who will perform first.

The judges are removed for the Championship show, and the studio audience votes for the winners. Winners of Male Vocalist, Female Vocalist, Group, and Comedy are awarded $100,000 and a record contract, winner of the Fashion Model category is awarded $100,000 and a contract with a well known modeling agency. Winner of Young Performer wins $25,000.

In early seasons, before the three match limit rule was adopted, the grand champions were determined by how long a champion held their title. Sam Harris holds the record for longest championship, at 14 weeks in Season 1.

[edit] Remake

In the wake of American Idol's success, Arsenio Hall hosted a new version of Star Search, which ran for two years: 2003 and 2004 on CBS, before ending up in reruns on cable channel GSN for one year from 2004 to 2005. This new version was judged by several people, including Ben Stein and Naomi Judd. It introduced "star" Loni Love, who has appeared in TV shows for VH1, and Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide for Nickelodeon. Dancer Nick Lazzarini (later the winner of Season 1 of So You Think You Can Dance) also appeared on the show.

The eventual winner of the 2004 series was Vickie Natale.

[edit] Star Search Winners

[edit] Notable competitors on Star Search

[edit] Pop culture references

  • Some of the characters in the movie Donnie Darko aspire to appear on Star Search.
  • This show was frequently referenced during the early years of the comic strip, FoxTrot.
  • The show appeared as the plotline of a Full House episode, where Joey Dave Coulier faced comedy writer and future film director Steve Oedekerk, who played himself.da:Star Search

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