'Link' daytime host goes for the jokes

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- George Gray, the host of the new daytime version of "Weakest Link," presides over a kinder, gentler daytime version of NBC's game show hit -- preferring smart comedy to the tart remarks of primetime host Anne Robinson.

It's largely what won him the gig, since producers weren't looking for a Robinson clone.

"When I auditioned, they said don't try to be Anne," said Gray in a United Press International interview. "We know who the 800-pound gorilla is in this room, and it's Anne."

Robinson became an instant celebrity in the United States when NBC first aired "Weakest Link" last year. She was ready because she hosted the show in its original incarnation in England. Perhaps the only reason she isn't hosting the syndicated version of the show is that she doesn't have time.

Robinson still commutes between New York and London, so she can continue to host the British version of the show.

As it turned out, producers decided that the half-hour syndicated show would be better off with a lighter touch than Robinson delivers in the hour-long show.

"I come from comedy, so I always go for the laugh," said Gray. "In syndication you need to be more accessible. In the hour-long, primetime format, you need to be more intense sometimes."

Nevertheless, viewers shouldn't have any trouble identifying Gray's show as "Weakest Link."

"The sets, the lights, the sound, the tension -- it's all there, but yet it's completely different," said Gray.

In fact, the daytime version is produced on the same set as the primetime version. The only change is that, when Gray is hosting, they use a bigger host podium because he is taller than Robinson.

Gray also provides a cosmetic presence that complements Robinson's look -- wearing all black outfits and prominent eyeglasses.

At times, Gray may seem to be an actor playing a character, but he insists that he's just being himself. Much of what he says on the show is scripted, but he also gets lots of opportunities to flash his wit.

Gray proudly claims that he has made his living doing comedy ever since he came to Los Angeles from Pima County, Ariz. -- where he broke into show business in fifth grade as a movie extra.

"My mom was a casting director," said Gray. "I figured that I could be an extra in films and I would make $35 a day, and I got to ditch school and turn in my homework later on."

He said the money came in handy for buying video games and on top of that, he didn't have to go to school on days when he was on movie sets.

"I never studied acting in high school," he said. Rather, he "teased the theater geeks in black outfits. They'd be quoting Shakespeare, and I was tooling around in my Trans Am."

After he started to make bigger money in show business, Gray began to indulge his interest in vintage wheels. He has a '55 Thunderbird, a '67 Firebird convertible, a '58 Chevy step-side pickup, and a matching '68 BSA Starfire that fits in the bed. He also owns old Harleys, a sidecar bike and a '72 stretch limo.

On "Weakest Link," Gray has already encountered contestants who don't mind talking back to him in ways that it's hard to imagine contestants sassing Robinson. He doesn't mind.

"It doesn't make me uncomfortable," he said. "It's just the opposite. I don't want some boring accountant who's going to kowtow to me. Also, I want people who will give the most amazingly bad answers to things. I love it."

Gray is pretty sure those kinds of contestants make the show more fun to watch for a large segment of the viewing public.

"It ain't 'Jeopardy,'" he said. "This is the show for the C-students, for people who -- if you had a choice in high school between cracking the book and dating the cheerleader, you wouldn't open the book. What you're left with is mediocrity, which is great."

The production schedule is fairly grueling. Some stations are showing two different half-hour episodes five days a week, so producers are pumping out episodes as quickly as they can to keep up with the demand.

Gray is not complaining.

"I have it a lot easier than single moms with three kids and two jobs, or people with kids in private schools," he said. "Those are the people that work."

"Weakest Link" premiered Monday in syndication.