Mark L. Walberg: from one house to another
Michael A. Knipp | 11/19/2003 host of TBS’s new reality series “House Rules” talks about his life in entertainment1981. The revolutionary year when MTV launched a network dedicated to music videos that would eventually, as touted, kill the radio star. American icon John Lennon, boxing champ Joe Louis, and fast food’s favorite fryer, Colonel Harland Sanders became a mere memory. Pac Man swept the nation. And Anna Kournikova, Justin Timberlake, and Yours Truly had our asses smacked for the very first time.
Meanwhile, at Florence, South Carolina’s Francis Marion University, Mark L. Walberg, host of TBS’s new reality series “House Rules” was initiated into the Delta Tau chapter of the Order.
Walberg’s rush experience began before his first college semester, during the summer of ‘81. The Florence native snuck into local bars with the already attending FMU fraternity men. When fall arrived, he charged the campus with more ease than his fellow freshman and embraced his familiarity. “A lot of my buddies were in the frat,” says Walberg. “I knew guys [in KA] that were four years ahead of me.” After months of pool-side Pabst Blue Ribbon-bonding, fraternity life simply wasn’t an option, it had become an obligation. All signs pointed toward the crimson cross.
But after spending only one year as an active brother, Walberg made the decision that would change his life forever-he left Florence to spend the summer in Michigan with the Young America organization. The judgment, at first, was only temporary. His intent was to put college on hiatus for a year. Fate, however, took its course and landed the young knight in a New York City office opposite Mr. American Bandstand himself, Dick Clark.
Walberg’s career got a jumpstart when a regular comedian for Clark’s production didn’t show. He filled in for the absent performer and absorbed the audience. His incontrovertible talent wasn’t lost on the powers-that-be either. Soon, Walberg was announcing for the early 90’s game show “Shop ‘Til You Drop.”
His future as an entertainment mainstay was an uphill battle. Not until the new millennium did his small screen presence explode with double duty as host of the widely popular Fox reality show, “Temptation Island” and the Game Show Network’s original program, “Russian Roulette.” Currently it’s TBS that’s home to Walberg as he settles into his new engagement as host of the Superstation’s series, “House Rules.”
“House Rules,” in the spirit of “Survivor” and “Big Brother,” pits three teams against each other. The home-improvemently endowed contestants must remodel three homes using their keen eye and better judgment. Obstacles along the way provide a bumpier ride, but at the end of the competition one team’s labor is rewarded; the winners will be handed the deed to their freshly-renovated house. [New episodes premiere Friday’s on TBS, at 8 p.m. EST.]
As if his heap of hosting opportunities isn’t enough, Walberg has added a completely new title to his resume, Executive Producer. He and fellow television personality and longtime friend Mark DeCarlo have united to form GlugginMarx, a television production company. Their first creative endeavor, “The Jack Cash Show,” is a cheeky quiz show that will feature the debut of a real-time, animated host.
Television, although lucrative for Walberg, wasn’t his first professional choice. “I wanted to be a lawyer,” explains the 40 year old husband and father. (Walberg’s wife, Robbi Morgan Walberg, was the first victim in the ever-increasing Friday the 13th slasher films.) “All of my experiences have shaped me-both positively and negatively.”
Because Walberg skipped the university route and headed straight for the big-time, he understands the importance of struggle. He offers some advice for the undergraduate sect: “A college degree is important but work ethic is more important. You have to be willing to put your ego aside and really work,” says Walberg. “You have to work ten times harder than the ones next to you.”
With scores of programs in development and production, the world will be graced with more Walberg than ever before. His successes are encouraging to any gentleman with thoughts of entertaining. Hollywood is arguably the toughest business in the world to break into, but with persistence and diligence and meticulously precise timing, he is a testament that even small-town southern boys can triumph.
Walberg has definitely made his Mark.
About the author: Michael A. Knipp (Beta Rho ‘00) is a recent graduate of Roanoke College and writes an entertainment column for City Magazine in Roanoke, Va.
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