Pat Finn
Encyclopedia
- For the actor, see Pat Finn (actor)Pat Finn (actor)Pat Finn is an American film and television actor.He has guest-starred in numerous television series, notably Friends, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Seinfeld, The King of Queens, That '70s Show, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, Wizards of Waverly Place, House and other series...
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Patrick Joseph "Pat" Finn (born July 24, 1956) is the former host of several game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
s. He is the owner of the production company Rubicon Entertainment.
Finn first hosted the 1990 remake of the classic Jack Barry show The Joker's Wild
The Joker's Wild
The Joker's Wild is an American television game show that aired at different times during the 1970s through the 1990s. Contestants answered questions based on categories that were determined randomly by a mechanism resembling a slot machine....
. In 1991, he became host of Shop 'til You Drop
Shop 'Til You Drop
Shop 'til You Drop is an American game show that aired on various broadcast television networks from 1991–2006. The series was hosted by Pat Finn from 1991–2002, followed by JD Roberto from 2003–2005. Co-hosts/announcers included Mark L...
, where he remained for 7 years, and in 1999 he replaced Jack Gallagher
Jack Gallagher (comedian)
Jack Gallagher is an American comedian, actor, and writer with a recurring role on the HBO sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm...
to become the host of the California State Lottery
California State Lottery
The California State Lottery, also known as the California Lottery, began on November 6, 1984, after California voters passed Proposition 37, the California State Lottery Act of 1984, authorizing the creation of a lottery...
's weekly game show, The Big Spin
The Big Spin
The Big Spin is the California Lottery's first television game show. Originally a Fred Tatashore production, it was later an Alexander Media Services production, followed by a production of Cal Image, and then finally a Jonathan Goodson Production....
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Pat was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Wilkes-Barre is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, the county seat of Luzerne County. It is at the center of the Wyoming Valley area and is one of the principal cities in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area, which had a population of 563,631 as of the 2010 Census...
, where he attended James M. Coughlin High School
James M. Coughlin High School
James M. Coughlin High School is an urban school located in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. It serves approximately 1000 students in grades 9-12 in the Wilkes-Barre Area School District. Its current principal is Patrick Patte. In 2009, the school reported employing 62 teachers with a student teacher...
, from which he graduated in 1974. Prior to entering national television, Finn was a local weatherman
Weather forecasting
Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a given location. Human beings have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia, and formally since the nineteenth century...
, first on WBRE (Channel 28) in Wilkes-Barre, PA; WPXI
WPXI
WPXI, channel 11, is the NBC-affiliated television station for Western Pennsylvania that is licensed to Pittsburgh. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 48 from a transmitter located on the north side of Pittsburgh. Owned by Cox Enterprises, the station has studios in the...
(Channel 11) in Pittsburgh, where he also served as an entertainment correspondent; KPNX
KPNX
KPNX is a full-service television station serving the Phoenix, Arizona television market as the NBC affiliate. Its studios and offices are located in Phoenix and its transmitter is on South Mountain in Phoenix but it is licensed to the suburb of Mesa. It is owned by the Gannett Company which also...
(Channel 12) in Phoenix; and KRON
KRON-TV
KRON-TV, virtual channel 4 , is a television station in San Francisco, California, serving as the Bay Area affiliate of the MyNetworkTV programming service; the station is owned by Young Broadcasting...
(Channel 4) in San Francisco.
In the mid 1980's, while in Phoenix, he also hosted "Finn and Friends," a number one-rated local variety show that aired weeknights after the local news. He's since been the executive producer of TV shows for NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, Lifetime Television
Lifetime Television
Lifetime Television, often referred to as Lifetime TV, or most commonly, Lifetime, is an American cable television specialty channel devoted to movies, sitcoms and dramas, all of which are either geared toward women or feature women in lead roles. The cable network is owned by A&E Television Networks...
, MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
, VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
, FX, and GSN
Game Show Network
The Game Show Network is an American cable television and direct broadcast satellite channel dedicated to game shows and casino game shows. The channel was launched on December 1, 1994. Its current slogan is "The World Needs More Winners"...
.
In the 1990s he formed his own production company, InFinnIty Productions (now known as Results Producers), which has produced, among other things, two GSN original game shows, National Lampoon's Funny Money
National Lampoon's Funny Money
National Lampoon's Funny Money is a comedy game show that aired on GSN from June 15 to October 24, 2003. The show was hosted by stand-up comedian Jimmy Pardo, and Budd Friedman served as the announcer.-Format:...
in 2003, and Starface
Starface
Starface is an American television game show which ran on GSN on August 1, 2006 to November 4, 2006. Reruns aired until January 2007.-Format:...
in 2006.
Pat is currently married to Stephanie Raye, whom he married on November 25, 2006. Together, they have twin daughters, Sienna Mae and Sofia Rae, born on February 7, 2008. He also has a son Corey (born in 1989) and a daughter Kaitlyn (born in 1993) from a previous marriage.