Ex-Game Show Host, Wife Die in Plane Crash

SANTA MONICA, Calif. Mar 13, 2006 (AP)- A former TV game show host and his
wife were killed Monday morning when their small plane crashed into Santa
Monica Bay, authorities said. Rescue crews were searching for a third person
also aboard the plane.

The bodies of Peter Tomarken, 63, host of the hit 1980s game show "Press
Your Luck," and his wife, Kathleen Abigail Tomarken, 41, were identified by
the Los Angeles County coroner's office.

The plane was on its way to San Diego to ferry a medical patient to the UCLA
Medical Center, said Doug Griffith, a spokesman for Angel Flight West, a
nonprofit which provides free air transportation for needy patients.

Griffith said the pilot was a volunteer for the group. According to the FAA,
the plane was registered to Tomarken and he was the pilot.

The plane apparently had engine trouble and was headed back to Santa Monica
Airport, located about two miles inland, but went down about 9:35 a.m. just
off shore, said Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer.

Rescue boats and divers searching for the third person believed to be aboard
the plane were clustered about a half-mile southwest of the Santa Monica
Pier where the plane went down in about 19 feet of water.

Luis Garr said he didn't hear the engine but heard the splash as the plane
"kind of landed into the water."

"It's a big splash, a huge splash. . Then it started going down," Garr said.
"The wings were still floating so I was, `Get out! Get out!' because the
door was still available to get out and nobody came out. So the plane kept
going down, down, down."

Tomarken's death was first reported by "Entertainment Tonight."

"Press Your Luck" was known for contestants shouting the slogan "Big bucks!
No whammies!"

Tomarken's agent, Fred Wostbrock, said his client's first game show was "Hit
Man!," which ran 13 weeks on NBC, followed by the four-year hit "Press Your
Luck" on CBS. He also was on "Bargain Hunters," "Wipe-Out" and "Paranoia."

"He was always a fun guy to be around, and he just loved the genre of game
shows," Wostbrock said.


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