He’s smart, energetic, quick- thinking, with lots of personality and he’s “Come on down” to the stages of 10 game shows over the past 40 years but he’s still waiting for that big payout.

New Mesquite resident Ken Juber lived in Los Angeles, CA for the past 37 years which gave him ample opportunity to audition for and appear on some of the most watched T.V. game shows but it sure wasn’t easy. Juber actually auditioned for about 100 shows just to appear in the 10 he was able to land spots on.

Juber said, “For the most part, shows are looking for people who are smart, energetic, quick-

Thinking; with lots of personality that can entertain an audience.” When meeting and speaking with him, it’s obvious that he has all of those traits so why did he get only a ten percent return on his auditions?

Juber explained that, like everything else, the government has its restrictions on how many times a person can appear on a game show; once per year and no more than three in a 10 year period and certain shows look for certain personalities and pay close attention to the show’s demographics. He said that the ‘Price is Right’ is the best bet for the ‘common Joe’ to appear on; as long as your entertaining.

Juber is anything but common and has rubbed elbows with hosts such as Jerry Springer, Bob Saget  and Drew Carey; he’s even fist bumped Howie Mandel a few times during his five episode stint on ‘Deal or No Deal’ as suitcase holder #11.

Juber has even made appearing on game shows a family venture. In 1995, he appeared with his oldest daughter, who was 10 at the time, on the show ‘Wild Animal Games’ with host Ryan Seacrest. It was Seacrest’s first television job. On the show, the child is the contestant and the parent pays a penalty if the child loses. Juber paid dearly for his daughter’s loss by getting slimed with about two gallons of honey. The sticky loss didn’t deter him one bit although the appearances since then have been solo and strictly adult.

In 2007 Juber was cast as a regular ‘Mob Member’ on Bob Saget’s primetime game show ‘1 vs 100’. The show was scheduled for 24 episodes but the writer’s strike that year cut the season short to only eight.

Juber has won some cash and a lot of consolation prizes over the four decades but his winnings in total don’t even amount to a year’s salary before his retirement although the appearances fit right in with his line of work.

Juber was born in Rhode Island and graduated with a degree in theater and communications from Rhode Island College. He appeared in several theater productions through his college years but his career took a slightly different angle when he decided to be on the backside of the camera rather than in front.

He joined the Army when he was 23 and served as a photographer/filmmaker for three years. After his service in the military he moved to Los Angeles and went to work or TRW in their aerospace division as a member of the film and video production crew.  He finally retired from production in 2017 after working more than 25 years for Smart & Final stores and is looking forward to resuming his place in the spotlight.

Juber now resides in Sun City where he says, “As a new resident to Mesquite, I plan to continue to use my Theater, TV, Emcee, and photography talents to seek new opportunities here in Mesquite.”

Juber is available for presentations about his gameshow appearances to any groups around town who would be interested in learning what it takes to get on TV gameshows.

In August Juber Hosted/Emceed “The Little Black Dress” event at the Eureka and has acted as the official photographer for the Mesquite Rotary Club’s “Glow Run” charity fundraiser.

You can meet Juber on Sunday, Dec. 9, from 5 to 8 p.m. when he will be the Emceeing/Hosting the Bowling Tournament fundraiser for Mesquite Works.