Benjamin Jones
Marc Summers, the iconic host of Nickelodeon’s “Double Dare” and a familiar face on television for more than three decades, is now presenting his life story in New York City through his one-man play, “The Life and Slimes of Marc Summers.”
It’s something Summers, 72, thought would never happen. He was mostly out of the entertainment industry after his time at Nickelodeon and Food Network ended. (Paramount is the parent company of Nickelodeon and CBS.)
But Summers’ path hasn’t always been smooth. He faced significant personal challenges, including early rejection based on his appearance and surname, which was Berkowitz by birth.
“An NBC executive once told me, ‘Your nose is too big. And your name, Berkowitz, is too Jewish. Change your name. Fix your nose. But until you do that, I’m not going to hire you,'” he recalled.
Before her television breakthrough, Summers considered leaving the industry altogether.
In 1986, Summers was hired as host of “Double Dare,” a role that would become iconic. A total of 2,000 people auditioned for “Double Dare” in New York and Los Angeles.
Summers admitted he never wanted to work on a children’s show, but his approach to presenting the show became a sensation and defined a generation.
“I treated them as if they were adults. And that worked for me,” he said.
However, his public persona masked a private battle with obsessive-compulsive disorder. He said he had no idea what OCD was, but had suffered from it since he was six years old.
“I was living this nightmare of getting everything perfect and tidy,” Summers said.
He first spoke openly about it in the early 2000s and discussed it in his one-man piece.
His struggle reached a critical point when his wife, Alice, caught him obsessively straightening the fringes of the carpet late at night.
“What are you doing?” Summers remembers her asking. “I have no idea,” he replied.
Thanks to therapy, Summers has made significant strides in controlling his OCD and saving his relationship with his wife. He said he managed to train his brain to avoid intrusive thoughts.
Summers says bringing her play to New York was a “dream.” Although part of her career took place in front of a live audience, being able to share her story in front of a crowd every night has been rewarding.
“I get emotional about it, because… I didn’t think it could happen at this point in my life,” Summers said. “I was pretty much out of the business. You know – the Nickelodeon thing, you know, ran its course. And I was at the Food Network for 20 years. And that ran its course. And here was this opportunity. And what happened in which was simply incomprehensible.”
Nate Burleson
