US game show icon Monty Hall dead at 96

Monty Hall, an American TV icon who hosted the long running game show "Let's Make a Deal," died Saturday at the age of 96.

Hall died of heart failure at his home in Beverly Hills, one of his daughters, Joanna Gleason, told The New York Times.

Canadian-born Hall co-created "Let's Make a Deal" in 1963 and hosted it for more than 20 years.

The show changed networks a few times and also went off the air sporadically but largely remained a US television phenomenon. It has been back on the air since 2009 on CBS, with a different host. But Hall always owned it.

In the show, would-be contestants dressed up in wacky outfits to boost their chances of being picked by the soft-spoken Hall from among the audience.

They would don hats with live birds, clown costumes, or Tom Sawyer garb, for instance, and barter their own stuff and banter their way with Hall towards a chance to pick a big prize -- or a dud -- from behind one of three closed doors.

Hall was also known for doing lots of charity work in his private life.

He earned a spot on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1973.

Hall was named to the order of Canada in 1988, and in 2013 he won a lifetime achievement award at the Daytime Emmys.

Source: AFP