Biography
With his wide, perfect smile, brown hair, handsome looks and winning personality Bob Goen seems tailor-made for television. It comes as no surprise that his childhood dream was to host game shows. Born and raised in Long Beach, California, Goen began training for his chosen profession in high school, taking speech classes and announcing track meets. While at Long Beach City College, he made inroads into broadcasting by offering radio play-by-play for the school's sports teams. In his senior year at San Diego State, Goen worked as a tape dubber and disc jockey. After graduation, he was unable to land his dream job, so he had to settle for a gig as a news reader at KFOX in Long Beach. As he gained confidence and experience, Goen moved into sports broadcasting, first on radio and then in 1981 as an on-air personality at KESQ in Palm Springs. He soon was making pilots for game shows that didn't sell, but in 1986 he moved to L.A. and soon fulfilled his dream, hosting such efforts as the syndicated "Perfect Match" (1986) and CBS' "The Home Shopping Game" (1987). His biggest break to that date came in 1988 when he was tapped to host the popular daytime revival of "Wheel of Fortune" (CBS), a job he held for some four years. Goen segued to celebrity news in April 1993 when he became a correspondent of the popular syndicated series "Entertainment Tonight." He was partnered with Leeza Gibbons as co-host of the weekend edition and their chemistry and spontaneity charmed viewers. Goen proved a popular TV personality and was tapped for three years running as co-host of various beauty pageants (Miss USA, Miss Universe). When John Tesh decided to leave the anchor spot on "Entertainment Tonight" to concentrate on his music career, Goen seemed the natural selection to replace him in the chair next to Mary Hart.
