Marc Summers

Okay, so it seems I’m late to this news. I saw it on teh intarwebs last night. I stumbled to it. It. Is. Fascinating. Here we go:

Do you remember that show “Double Dare”?

I sure do! I loved that show! I was sure I could beat that obstacle course, and it all looked like so so so much fun! The questions were sure easy though. Yeah, that was an awesome show. Remember having to pick the giant nose to find the flag? Yeah.

Do you remember the host, Marc Summers?

Of course! He was so enthusiastic, and really wanted those people to win! He was a good host, I got all excited when I saw him on food network recently.

Guess What?

What?

The entire time Marc Summers was doing the messiest show ever, double dare, he was struggling with obsessive compulsive disorder.

Are you serious?

Yes, completely. Marc Summers hosted double dare from 1986 to 1994. After that he had his own talk show. One day, the guest on the talk show was psychiatrist Dr. Eric Hollander. There, on the show, listening to Dr Hollander describe the symptoms of OCD, Marc realized that he suffered from the disorder himself. He would stay up nights cleaning, and straightening, even the fringe on the rugs had to be right.

Can you imagine that? I mean, every day, immersed in this HUGE mess, getting stuff on you, on the set, on the audience, and especially on the contestants you had to interact with, and being obsessed with cleanliness and order. That man has to be one of the strongest people ever. I don’t think I’m stretching my imagination to say that I would have quit the show, were I the one with OCD. So this ends up being not just a stumbleupon post, but a hope post too, because, it seems that we can overcome things this severe with work and help from others. My hat is completely off to you, Marc Summers. You were awesome when I watched you on TV, but you’re scary cool now.

http://www.viryours.com/ms/index.html